Leffot's Footwear Fantasy

While women vie for spectators elsewhere in the city, men's footwear specialty shop Leffot has taken up residence in the West Village. Located just a few doors down from the exquisite women's shoe and jewelry store Diana Broussard, and a block away from the upscale children's Shoe Garden, this retail-rich neighborhood seems to have transformed into a venerable shoe haven.

Steven Taffel, Leffot's owner and proprietor, saw a need for a shop that catered to men who wanted luxury shoes but didn't want to trek uptown to Barneys or Bergdorf. A former Prada executive, Taffel maintains that men love shoes as much as women do—they just don't talk about it as much. To that end, he and his wife Hiroko have worked to create a welcoming and elegant, yet masculine space. They deployed architectural firm Front Studio to create a "dining room" where shoes are displayed on a 14-foot Hudson Furniture solid ash table, while a custom designed chandelier by Brand van Egmond provides low lighting and Timorous Beasties' black-on-black floral wallpaper creates an understated ambiance.

The focus is on brands that make only shoes—rather than fashion companies with a shoe line—and the carefully edited selection includes ready-to-wear from Edward Green, Church's, Pierre Corthay, J.M. Weston, Artioli and, exclusively to Leffot within the US, Gaziano & Girling and Aubercy. And, of course, custom shoes are also available. Never a better place for shoes to make the man.

Shop address: 10 Christopher Street, New York, NY 10014
212.989.4577
www.leffot.com

—Meghan Cleary