Tango Shoes
Jason writes:
I got a request to post a photo of the shoes we bought while in BA. So here they are:
The new tango shoes.
I bought my pair of shoes at Darcos, a specialty store for tango shoes in Microcentro, and the best place in town for men’s tango shoes. The ones I got are an Italian design with Cuban heels. They weren’t easy to find! I wear a size 46 here (comparable to a men’s size 13 in the US) which is virtually unheard of here. Few shoes in BA are available above size 43. I tried about a dozen shoes before I got to this pair, which has been customized to fit my feet. They’re great on the milonga floor or in class; they’re very flexible and precise.
Heather writes:
Unless you dance tango, you have probably never heard of Comme Il Faut shoes. If you dance tango, you already know that the reverence held for women’s tango shoes approaches fetish, and no design house is held in more esteem than Comme Il Faut. While many American tango businesses import Comme Il Faut shoes for sale, there is no Comme Il Faut website, no way of buying them directly short of going to Buenos Aires. So it should come as no surprise that one of our first stops after arriving here was the small Comme Il Faut showroom in Recoleta.
On Arenales in the Recoleta barrio, there is small sign reading “Rue des Artesanales” just outside of a courtyard. Inside the courtyard are several doors are either side, each leading to stairways. If you walk all the way to the end of the courtyard and go into the last door on the left, and walk up the stairs, you’ll see a closed door and a small sign that simply reads, “Comme Il Faut.” Ring the buzzer, and (I am not making this up) a small window slides open in the door revealing two eyes peering out at you. Stand for a heart-stopping moment wondering if the person behind the door is going to let you in. Then the door opens and you walk into a tiny room lined with cushioned chairs and benches.
There are few shoes on display, and no catalogue to look at. Instead you tell them your size and a general description of what you want, and sit on one of the benches as they bring you box after box of shoes to try on. As you model shoes in front of the mirror, a friendly sales assistant (or even the owner) will dart back into a doorway and come back out with even more boxes of shoes for you to try. Meanwhile, every other available seat in the small room is taken up by other women (they do not sell men’s shoes) who have made the same pilgrimage. It is a particularly feminine experience, and Jason (the only man in the room) was the subject of some gentle teasing while he waited for me there.
One advantage of going all the way to Buenos Aires to buy Comme Il Faut shoes was the price. You can easily spend $200 USD or more on tango shoes in the U.S. Prices at the Comme Il Faut showroom ranged from $280-$400 AR (or $80-$114 USD). Bring cash to get a better price. I ended up buying two pairs for myself and a pair for a friend back in the U.S.
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