Delicious!

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>> When I'm out and about hunting in London for stores, openings and ventures that are new, itching to be the first to post about something, the problem is that I forget about the pre-existing and the long-standing.  In 2005, shoe designer Tracey Neuls opened her shoe store on Marylebone Lane, a quaint little stretch that is worth detouring to for decent fish and chips, buttons, ribbondry and of course well-crafted shoes.  Neuls has made the most of the white-washed walls of her store by often displaying her shoes as artefacts as well as transforming the space with installations using her main Tracy Neuls and diffusion TN_29 lines of shoes.  The connection between the Lane's lining of artisanal food stores and the store's current setup is clear as soon as you walk into the store as Tracey Neuls has transformed the space, into a 'Delicious!' restaurant complete with French bistro lacey curtains and Retrouvius tables and chairs, the sort that might grace any 'small plates' restaurants that are popping up all over Soho in London (I hate Russell Norman for all the queuing I do in his establishments…)

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Her shoes hang in the air as they normally do, for viewer to see them from all angles and really get to grip with the architecture of the heels even if they are kept to the low-to-middling height that Neuls favours, as comfort is a huge factor in the design her shoes.  Below the hangings though is a feast of her shoes laid out for dinner…

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Bread, wine, cheese, grapes… and a pair of sturdy shoes… what more do you need? 

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Neuls confesses that her designs don't necessarily run alongside any trends and in this way, she has carved out a shoe niche for herself that keeps people coming to her for unique shoe needs. 

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In her current mainline Tracey Neuls collection, she has worked with knitters dotted around London to created these hand-knitted uppers made out of neon red fishing line. 

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For TN_29, she's created a new heel shape that emulates that lovely feel of smooth beach pebbles in your hand.  I used to scour beaches looking for the perfect one to hold in your hand as a sort of comfort charm. 

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Little touches dot Neuls' shoes that are for the wearer to discover such as signatures on the soles by the craftsmen who made the last of the shoe…

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… or linen wax emboss on a leather that almost looks like deckchair canvas…

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The point of accompanying the shoes with table settings though is for shoppers to have a go at savouring Neuls' footwear, which I definitely admire for their ability not to date and age so easily…

26 comments

  1. Dying. These are awesome and I love how she’s displayed them–if I could live off shoes, I would.
    & that lace pair–how lovely!

  4. Oh I need to visit her store, her shoes are so unique and beautiful. I love the craftsman’s name on the sole of the shoe, such a lovely detail!

  5. Ah the shop on Marylebone Lane Rd, I haven’t been inside the shop yet I always have my hair trimmed at the J.Moriyama (opp the shop), maybe I should pop in and have a look.

  6. These shoes are so amazing. I want some! And such a cool little shop.
    Eat your heat out,
    Sammi

  8. Always loved looking through the windows of that shop, although never managed to go in! The concept is so good, but does that pair comes with the cutlery because my broke butt needs cutlery..

  22. what a genius idea!
    this store looks like so much fun!
    it’s like the mad hatter turned his hats into shoes and had a tea party.

  25. What a neat display concept! I definitely need to visit someday. Even though they are “comfort” shoes, I spotted a few that I’d wear. The colors are fun!

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