Flamenco Shoes Blues

I actually don’t have as many shoes as I thought! Get me to Flamenco West!

Unless you can go to Spain, buying flamenco shoes is such a hassle. You know your size and style and you order online. Then what happens? You have to wait for months for them to arrive. In one case my students and I ordered a bunch of Gallardos from Flamenco-World and some took 7 months to arrive. Others didn’t arrive at all. And even worse, some arrived the wrong size!!!!

I have many flamenco shoes. Some I love, some I tolerate. And some, unfortunately, I despise! I think only one pair that I ordered online was perfect. The rest, not so much. I have a bunch of Arte FyL that I had made while living in Madrid. I keep them because they’re perfect for me, although they are waaaay past their prime. I have a pair of Begoña Cervera that are cute and comfortable, but took a year to break in because they were too narrow. I love the style of my Gallardos with the garrucha heel- so sexy. But they were too narrow so I had them stretched. Now they fit weird and the actual placement of the carrete heel feels awkward. I’ve ordered a gorgeous pair of Begoña Cervera that were a combo of burgundy and red. Too big. Had to sell them.

Then there was an opportunity to have someone from Menkes to come to my studio with samples so I could order. Someone coming to me to sell shoes? Love the idea. Of course, there weren’t any samples in my size because I have tiny feet. But I found a style that I loved and I know my size so I ordered anyway. I ordered a beautiful two toned leather Elite model. That model has a double sole so there’s a better sound. The verdict? They came quickly. Nice. They were gorgeous. Great. They were too big. No! Just a smidgin, but definitely bigger that all my other shoes that were the same size. And the double sole? It’s like wearing platform shoes. Ugh! I realize that I need that proprioception of the floor when I dance. So, I think I’ll have to sell these, too.

I’ve come to the realization that the ones that were too big may have been because I ordered them in a wide size. Instead of actually making the shoe wide, the maker just upped it by half a shoe size. Beware!

So, with all this bad luck with ordering shoes you’d think I would have gone straight over to Flamenco West in Playa de Rey where they have Senovilla shoes ready for purchase and plenty of samples to make a custom creation. Plus, if they arrive and they don’t fit, you don’t have to buy them! No excuses, except that it’s hard for me to go anywhere. But next week, I am getting my flamenco whiny self over to Flamenco West to get me some Senovillas— so embarrassingly late to the party. Hopefully, I’m just fashionably late.