Sole Proprietor
Leokadia's Jessica Lynn explains her outsize passion for (and obscene collection of) shoes.
The name of your shop sounds like the name of an exotic bird. It's Polish. Leokadia is my mother's name.
So you grew up clopping around in mom's heels? She's a size 8 and I'm a size 9, so there was only a short period of time when I could fit in her shoes.
What shoes are you excited to carry this season? I absolutely love Repetto flats -- I just bought some for myself. They are so well made. They look very slim, like you could wear through them, but you won't.
OK, let's talk ankle boots. Should real women just leave them to the Olsen twins? Everyone can wear ankle boots. Last year, we started to see them on the runways -- designers are pairing them with tights and dresses and putting them under pants. Now, I feel like ankle boots are a key thing in everyone's wardrobe this season. There are different styles, though. I have a pair of ankle boots that are eggplant patent leather, with a 5-inch heel and a platform. Those aren't for everyone.
Any trends you can't stand? When I walk down the street, I see people wearing Tory Burch shoes, bags, and shirts -- it's overkill, it's too much. Wasn't it Chanel who said, 'When you walk out of the house, take one accessory off?' Apply that to Tory Burch. Take it off.
Do you consider the weather when deciding what to sell? The Farmer's Almanac said it was going to be a very wet winter. If this winter is like last year's, when it was wet but not that cold, you'll need a really good rain boot, something you can put a liner in.
How many shoes do you own? In my apartment, I have at least 200 pairs. Our bathroom in the store is now being overrun by a second shoe collection -- there are at least 40 pairs in there. I have a whole other shoe closet in our house in Connecticut and had to move more shoes into storage in one of my parent's basements. . . . Half of my kitchen is shoes. If you open a cabinet, you expect to see plates, but I have shoes.
Leokadia 667 Tremont Street, Boston, 617-247-7463, leokadiashoes.com 