For Shoe Addicts Only

Why is it that many women are addicted to buying shoes? Why are shop windows so mesmerizing that women stop, stare and walk into the shop? We do we want to have sneakers, flip-flops, dress and sandels?

I don’t know, but I do know that shoe shops are my favourite shops. . I love to see neat stacks of boxes with hidden treasures wrapped in soft tissue paper; high-heeled satin shoes, delicate sequin-adorned slippers or sturdy walking boots. Therefore, I was delighted when I discovered Jouw Stoute Schoenen at OZ Achterburgwal 133, right in the middle of the Red Light District.

It may seem strange a shoe shop in this (in)famous part of Amsterdam. On both sides of the canal, mundane shops rub shoulders with window brothels and erotic displays. Amsterdam City Council wants to reduce the number of window prostitutes and encourages non-erotic-oriented entrepreneurs to start businesses in the Red Light District and gives them tax relief.

Jouw Stoute Schoenen translates as; your naughty shoes, but also reminds of the Dutch expression: de stoute schoenen aantrekken meaning pluck up courage.

That is exactly what is needed because the shoes in this shop are of all sorts of materials; drinking straws, cotton wool, plastic bags and paper. But they have one thing in common they are all designed for walking.

Jouw Stoute Schoenen is both shop and studio for handmade leather shoes and bags. The master shoemakers Esther van Schagen and Jelske Peterson design your dream pair of shoes, your exact size, your choice and your colour.

Shoe addict Jelske admits that she owns at least sixty pair of shoes, nothing compared to the Queen of Shoes, Imelda Marcos, wife of the former president of the Philippines who was said to possess 3,000 pairs. But sixty pairs means that Jelske can wear a different pair of shoes each day during two months. She loves high heels and walks gracefully on 11-centimeter heels, but not when she has to run and catch a bus. She will use them for the stilletto race next March. This annual event takes place in P.C. Hooftstraat, Amsterdam’s most famous fashion street. Scores of women speed along in stiletto heels, nine-centimetre is the minimum height,
and all hope to win the first prize; € 10,000

If you want a pair of designer shoes you have to reach into your pocket. Women shoes start at € 600. Men will have to rob the bank as theirs start at €1200. The reason is that men’s heels are more complicated to make.

Jouw Stoute Schoenen
Oudezijds Achterburgwal 133
Amsterdam

opening hours: Wednesday-Saturday 10.00-17.00, closed on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

photo credit: snapshotstrawn @flickr