I could wait and save up money to buy another pair of ultra-comfy Tara Shoes...or I could buy shoes in Buenos Aires, and take advantage of the ridiculous exchange rate. On Monday, Dom and I set off on a Shoe Expedition. First stop: Tango8 and Loló Gerard, located across the street from each other in the Abasto neighborhood. I was looking out the window of the bus and knew exactly when we needed to get off: mannequins. On this stretch of Corrientes, almost every store is a mannequin shop. With heads, without heads, black, tan, lifelike and completely not...mannequin families in every window. Mind-boggling.
I did not buy shoes at Tango8 or Loló Gerard. Too uncomfortable and most styles had a far too open toe. I am not interested in getting my toenail kicked off. We lunched nearby and discovered the word for "fava beans" (porotos), which luckily went well with the beets we had ordered on our salad. :-)
During the afternoon we also went to see Fabio Shoes (for Dom) and NeoTango (for me). No luck in either place. NeoTango shoes weren't so comfortable either, and they had almost nothing in my size, probably due to dancers arriving for the Festival Tango de Buenos Aires and buying tons of shoes.
On Wednesday, after a quick stop at the museum of modern art, we headed to Regoleta for some sightseeing, lunched at the Design Center there, and then went to hit a couple more shoe shops. We stopped at Comme Il Faut, which was very quiet since they were closing in an hour. No shoes on display there--you describe what you're looking for and they bring you things to try on. No way. Totally uncomfortable and also waaaay too gaudy for my taste. Our last stop of the day was Segunda Generación. Those were definitely the most comfortable shoes yet, but I wasn't crazy about the style. They had a few classic styles, but looked like mostly a clothing shop. Hrmph.
Later in the week we went to Susanna Artesanal, and there I bought 2 pairs of shoes: a red pair that will be my "workhorse" pair: comfy, toe open enough for comfort but protected enough for careless dance partners, and a black pair that I just had to have. I'm not a fan of black shoes in general because I think they look kind of severe, but these sheer black ones were just the thing I needed.
An hour and a half before I left for the airport, I saw a display of DarCos shoes and totally fell in love with them. Next time I'll go visit that shop. I hope they're totally uncomfortable, because otherwise I will need a shoe budget. :-)