Luxury News : l'Actualité des professionnels du Luxe et de la Mode

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saks Fifth Avenue

Experience: While I'm browsing, a salesman comes over to help. He's reserved and patient, and not at all pushy. He listens to what I'm looking for and steers me to loafers, which he says combine the best of both worlds -- dressy enough for the office, but relaxed enough for the evening. We head to the Ferragamo wall, where he grabs a brown loafer, saying it would pair well with gray or beige summer suits, as well as navy winter suits and jeans.

While fitting me, he runs through the shoe's features, noting that it has a low vamp that doesn't rise at a severe angle, giving the style a more relaxed feel. And the tapered toe is right on trend, he says.

"Ferragamo is the best in Italian shoes," he adds. "This is what they're known for and this is what they do the best."

To test his resolve, I ask about other brands, even pointing to more expensive shoes on the rack, the ones crafted in exotic skins and full of embellishments. He assures me the others are interesting -- but not for meeting with clients. I push on. Is there anything trendier? He suggests poking around the contemporary collection upstairs. The collections a floor up are cute, but not for me.

The score: [++++]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeffrey N-Y

Experience: The power of Jeffrey Kalinsky's boutique lies in his salesmen as much as it does in the founder's taste in men's footwear. When the salesman hears my needs, he smiles and suggests two pairs of more traditional, yet still exciting, dress shoes: a pair of Lanvin pointed toes ($590) with a raised heel that give them more of a boot feel, and a pair of Gucci shoes with a tapered toe and large buckle. Then he offers something more aggressive: Martin Margiela dress shoes ($745) in dark green and pale gray. "Now this is definitely taking a bit of a risk, but these are awesome," he explains. "Margiela is good because he doesn't put his name all over the place, and his shoes are just killer." The salesman begins fitting me. The Guccis fit well, but aren't as comfortable -- nor elegant looking -- as the style from Lanvin, which carries a simple, tapered last unbroken by seam stitches on the upper. The Margielas feel great, but I'm hesitant about the price. He brings a pair of gray Prada trousers to show how sharp the shoes will look. He's right.

My buy: Martin Margiela. The salesman's up-sell is successful -- and I didn't blink twice about paying more. The salesman takes all of my contact information and asks if there are other accessories or shoes I might need, picking up on my earlier interest in a massive leather tote bag from Bally. He says he'll call me if anything comes in that I might like.

The score: [+++++]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barneys Co-op

Experience: Despite the hectic feeling in the store, the saleswoman tries to be helpful. "Everything depends on your style," she tells me, asking various questions about how I like to dress and where I hang out. "I can wear a dress that looks like lingerie on me, but could look totally different on someone else. It's the same with your shoes. It all depends on what your style is." After she hears my ad agency/nightlife scenario, she selects three styles: an NPC dress style in tan antiqued leather, a pair of Co-op private-label elongated black dress shoes and a distressed canvas style from Sciapo. I put them on myself. She says NPC's shoe is a "shoe collector's shoe," perhaps to justify its $425 price tag. "It's different [looking] and looks nice and has that feel like it could have been your grandfather's shoe," she says, adding that the vintage effect was created by painting and then washing the leather. It comes down to the private-label black shoe and the antiqued NPC style. Erring on the side of cautious fashion, she pushes for me to go with the less expensive black shoe at $285.

My buy: The black private-label pair. As we head to the cash register, she tries to sell me on jeans that would produce a British-rocker-look with the new shoes. After failing, she gracefully hands me her business card.

The score: [+++]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bergdorf Goodman Men

Experience: The help -- like the styles -- isn't impressive. The salesman isn't overly receptive to helping me solve my dilemma. "You're young, so you want to go with something fashion forward, not too conservative," he says, repeating nearly verbatim my original query, and then tells me to find something I like on my own.

There isn't much in the way of distinctive looks, and the To Boot collection looks very similar to the other designer names lining the walls. When the salesman eventually returns, I ask about a pair of black Zegnas with an elongated last that looked elegant, though not very day-to-evening ready. He instantly suggests a similar To Boot New York style that is marked down. Taking matters into my own hands, I head to a John Lobb laceup in elegant antiqued leather and ask if it would work with my wardrobe needs. "That's a really serious shoe," he says, implying it isn't for me.

He sends me back to the sale rack. A three-toned dress style from Stefano Branchini stands out. What this engaging style is doing in the sale aisle at $199, while much less inspiring product occupies the upper echelons of the price brackets, is beyond me. I find the same salesman, who gets my size and then leaves. He returns much later to ask, "Are we all set here, then?" as if we'd made this journey together.

My buy: More than happy to ring up the sale of the Branchinis, he disappears with my credit card, then returns, takes my signed receipt and gives me pointers on using conditioner to maintain the shoes' look.

The score: [++]