DOORS NYC is where shoe lovers go to find brands and styles that are on trend and in season. Each store offers 25,000+ pairs of shoes, plus handbags and accessories.
The Garment District shop stocks a solid selection of workwear-ish footwear from Japan’s Engineered Garments, as well as its own backstock of Tricker’s boots that push the style envelope in interesting ways.
Moulded Shoe
A hidden gem in the heart of New York City, Moulded Shoe is a tiny shoe shop that looks like it hasn’t changed since 1942. It is narrow and tall, with shoe boxes stacked all the way to a double-height ceiling. Newspaper cuttings and customer photos hang on the walls. It is a shoe lover’s paradise. The store sells shoes from Alden, a famous American shoe manufacturer. It also makes custom shoes and orthotic inserts. In addition, it repairs shoes.
One of the key things to remember when caring for leather shoes is that they must be kept in an airy, dry place. This is particularly important during humid seasons, when mould can be more easily created. If your shoes are stored in a closed closet, try to leave the door open or use ribbed carpet to let air circulate through them. This will prevent the formation of mould.
Maurice says that he has owned the shop for 35 years, and it still looks pretty much the same as it did then. A photograph of the owner with Henry Kissinger sits beside a chair tucked under a set of stairs. The store specializes in shoes made on the Modified last, which has serious orthopedic benefits but is quite different looking from other Alden shoes (and is sometimes referred to as a clown shoe). Moulded Shoe works closely with Alden to create “makeups” of the modified last, distinct permutations of shoe style and detailing (say, a brogue medallion or the placement of eyelets) that no other retail partner stocks. These are called “bespoke” shoes in the business, and they are worth the trip to the shop.
Grahame Fowler
For over a decade, Grahame Fowler, one half of London-based design duo Timney Fowler, has run his eponymous menswear shop in NYC. The West Village space, a converted dry cleaner, retains the old tenant’s revolving mechanical rack, on which he hangs his own line of button down shirts alongside high-quality brands from England, Italy, and Japan. Each season brings a new collection that is designed by Mr. Fowler, influenced by his British heritage, and made in New York City. He also carries Tricker’s shoes, which are made in North Hampton, England—the “shoe capital of the United Kingdom.”
Grahame’s clothes are a perfect blend of casual and luxurious style. He’s the sort of man who combines his love for Issey Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto with his love of vintage Italian Lambretta scooters. And he’s a genuinely nice guy, which helps to explain why Analog Shift was thrilled to host him for an event celebrating his new ten-year anniversary in the US.
I met him in his studio, surrounded by screenprinting gear, piles of clothing he’s designed and made, vintage sewing machines, and Lambretta body parts. He was wearing a John Smedley cardigan, a plaid scarf he’d made himself, and a Goorin Bros. fedora on a rainy day when he was riding his daily Lambretta to his studio for work.
Brooklyn Tailors
Founded by a third-generation tailor, this family-owned operation offers custom clothing and shoes for gents seeking a tailored fit (including tuxedos). Nick Torres’ team of 13 creates everything from shirts, suits and topcoats to trousers, casual pants and neckties in English or Italian style, and will alter any off-the-rack purchases. Shirts start at $895; suits begin at $1,495. The shop also has a sister studio for brides, Beyond Bridal, to ensure every detail is perfect.
When it comes to designer shoes on DOORS NYC, Brooklyn Tailors delivers a solid, if not particularly flashy, line of ready-to-wear footwear. The brand was started in a Clinton Hill apartment in 2007 and now has a robust bespoke component as well as a growing ready-to-wear line that boasts an impressive selection of lean-fitting, impeccably made shirts, trousers and jackets.
The heirloom-quality goods here are more than worth the trip to East Williamsburg. This family-owned brand makes a wide range of classic styles, including chukkas, Chelseas, longwings and cap toe brogue oxfords, all of which are available in a plethora of colors.
In addition to its own shoe designs, this small maker carries a good selection of other American and European brands such as Red Wing, Drake’s and Wolverine 1000 Miles. It is also the only store in New York City that stocks a full selection of Plain Toe and Indy boots from Alden.
This shoemaker has been around since the 1800s and still employs many of the same techniques that it did in its first century of existence. While many Americans have been conditioned to value brands and trends over quality, the team at Carmina continues to make fantastic shoes with little change in the way they’re made.
Drake’s
It takes a lot of style to turn a former sandwich shop into a bona fide menswear store, but the guys behind Drake’s (known for their ties and scarves) are doing it right. The London-based purveyors of neckwear opened their first US outpost in Soho this weekend, a temporary space that looks as if it’s been there all along. A long upholstered bench that’s perfect for trying on shoes lines a bay window, while the rest of the room features modular shelving units that can stack sweaters or hang jackets.
The tightly curated footwear selection includes sneakers from Corthay and Edward Green, desert boots from French comfort virtuosos Paraboot, and Drake’s own line of moc-toe suede chukkas. There are also cap toe brogue oxfords from English heritage brand Tricker’s, chelseas from England-based Loakes, and Norwegian split-toes from German maker Hansen.
And that’s just for starters. The shoe-lovers at Drake’s also stock a wide range of pre-owned pairs, including some that have never been worn. Unlike many re-sellers who just buy the shoes and put them out on display, Drake’s actually pays for shoes they like—and then sells them at a fairer price than you’ll find on eBay.
While namechecking high-end brands in rap lyrics is nothing new, Drake’s OVO label goes much deeper than music. It has become its own respectable luxury brand, with a strong focus on tailoring, as well as a number of art and collaborations. And while Drake’s Visvim paisley down coat from OVO is a good place to start, it’s the rapper’s custom Patek Philippe Nautilus that really proves his sense of style runs deep. He’s been seen wearing the watch to several of his concerts and a Toronto Raptors game, and it even got customized by Off-White founder and Louis Vuitton Menswear Director Virgil Abloh.
Aldens
The shoes that are made on the lasts lined up in this workroom define the feet of celebrities and power brokers. They include Saudi princes, casino mogul Steve Wynn, actor James Gandolfini, Venezuelan businessman Gustavo Cisneros, former Coca-Cola CEO William Salomon, and actresses Phylicia Rashad and Patti Scialfa. But you don’t have to be rich to come here: The shop is open to anyone who appreciates fine footwear.
Located in the heart of the Midtown shoe-geek triangle (Alden, Allen Edmonds, and Crockett & Jones), this shop is one of the best places to see how a well-made pair of men’s shoes are made. Behind the shop’s pristine exterior, you’ll find Oriental carpets, Oriental-style antique tables, and period cabinets that hold the shoemaker’s wares. Inside, Moorefield, wearing an apron, toils at the bench, carving wooden lasts—the foot-shaped forms upon which every pair of custom shoes start.
A tight range of Alden shoes—from cap toe brogue oxfords and loafers of all ilk to chukkas, Chelseas, and longwings—is available in a vast array of colors. And if you’re after something more exotic, the store offers a range of “special make-up” models that can be purchased only at the shop.
While the store has a tight selection of shoes and boots from other makers, such as whites from Sanders and Loakes, things really get interesting when you crack open the boxes of Drake’s, French comfort virtuosos Paraboot, or English shoe brand Drake’s own Italian-made desert boots. These are the shoes that Drake’s customers wear with everything from khaki-cut shorts and rolled up chinos to a suit. And Drake’s chukkas, in particular, are some of the most comfortable, durable, and handsome shoes you can buy for under $200.
