Photograph by Dilip Vishwanat
Less than 10 minutes after Robin Brooks unlocks the door of her Clayton shoe store, Sole Treasures, a young woman slips inside, immediately eyeing a pair of leather lace-up stiletto boots and the metallic handbags. Never mind the fact that Brooks’ new high-end boutique isn’t open today. (Mondays are by appointment only.) Brooks beckons the shopper farther into her cozy, 600-square-foot gallery. The designer footwear is exhibited like ancient Greek sculptures—but the kind that are OK to touch.
With 60 styles on display, Brooks’ venture focuses on ladies seeking more than the elegant and trendy; it’s tailored for those searching for styles you can’t find anywhere else in St. Louis. “Sole Treasures helps fill a void of high-end, independent shoe stores in St. Louis,” says the self-professed shoe-aholic, who admits she owns at least 200 pairs. “There’s just not a lot in St. Louis. The high-end market here has pretty much been provided by department stores.”
It was this lack of high-end shoe stores that brought Brooks back to her hometown. Before realizing her dream, she spent 25 years in San Francisco, most recently working as a vice president of an insurance brokerage firm. Then, about three years ago, tragedy struck. Brooks lost two close companions in less than a year—her mother to cancer and her former husband to divorce. “During that time, it really made me think of the brevity of life,” she says. “So I thought, ‘If not now, when? And if it doesn’t work out, I’ve been in the insurance industry for over 20 years. I can go back.’”
A year before her move, Brooks began doing extensive research and attending trade shows in places like Milan, Paris and New York. She also called on previous retail experience, from a time when she worked as a department-store manager shortly after college. Finally, in fall 2007, she left her job, sold her California home and moved back to St. Louis to open up shop.
Highlights from Sole Treasures’ collection—which features everything from open-toed pumps to boots of every imaginable length—include a gray satin evening heel with a Swarovski crystal bow from Spanish designer Pura López ($345), a two-tone black suede hidden platform heel by Claudia Ciuti ($400) and a black patent-leather boot by Stuart Weitzman ($395).
While Brooks calls her storefront near the corner of Maryland and Forsyth “just wonderful,” she acknowledges the financial climate is unfortunate. “However,” she adds, “I’ve gotten a really positive response on my shoes.” While consumer spending habits may have shifted, Brooks believes women’s borderline addiction to anything with heels can transcend even economic turmoil.
“Women will always buy shoes,” she says with a laugh. “I don’t care what’s going on!”
Sole Treasures, 8121 Maryland, 314-721-8880
