What’s in Store: Scarpe

July 30th, 2008, 11:20 am · Post a Comment · posted by Sam Mittelsteadt

Scarpé
Market Street at DC Ranch
14616 N. Pima Road, Suite 207
Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Starting in mid-August, fall hours will be 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday
Information: (480) 502-4949 or www.scarpeboutique.com

When Tennille Avelenda moved with her husband to Scottsdale from the Napa Valley area to open a shoe store, she wasn’t sure what to expect: “I thought it was all prairie skirts and boots,” she says with a laugh, and that’s what she stocked a lot of at the beginning. It didn’t take long before she realized area women were “sophisticated and cultured, much like the area I came from.”

Luckily, a store constantly reinvents itself according to its buyer’s taste — each season of new stock allows a total transformation. “From the beginning until now is like night and day,” Avelenda says. “Now we’ve got a lot more modern styles and fun, bright color. And bags and fashion jewelry, which were kind of an afterthought when we first opened, have grown to be a very important category.”

Avelenda, who has been in the shoe business since age 18 and started as a buyer for a boutique in St. Helena, Calif., says picking the styles to stock is “an agonizing process. I take tons of notes, and then have to narrow (the selection) down, eliminating things I loved. I feel like I’m cutting off my right arm.”

What’s in the window (left): Metallic stamped-crocodile-print satchel, $855, by Rafé. Three-inch “Idil” heels, $215, by BCBG Max Azria. Gladiator-style “Jayleen” sandal with laser-cut leather medallion in pewter or bronze, $115, by Jessica Bennett. Birkenstock-style “Promise” sandal with toe strap, $162, by Donald J Pliner.

Core customer: “Many are in their early 40s, and live nearby,” Avelenda says. “She likes a classic shoe but follows fashion regularly. And she’s looking for comfort: She’s tired of killing herself.”

High price point (right): Calleen Cordero shoes (like this Dr. Scholl’s-style sandal, $388) “are handmade in Hollywood,” says Avelenda. “Thirty-five people handle each pair of shoes.” The company uses only eco-friendly techniques, such as vegetable-based dyes and techniques. “And they’re very padded,” Avelenda says, squishing the insole of the whisperweight sandal with her thumb. “They’re deceptively comfortable.”

Low price point (left): This patent leather tortoiseshell sandal by Jessica Bennett ($148) is “fashionable, trendy and young, at a fun price point,” Avelenda says.

Best-seller (right): It’s not just name recognition that moves styles by Donald J Pliner, Avelenda says: “Most Italian shoes are going up at least 20 percent in price, but these have remained relatively reasonable.” (Giraffe-print “Takic” leather wedge, $268). “I stick to the fashion part of the line, not buying any of the more matronly looks.”

Local lines (right): Jewelry by Colleen Lee of Scottsdale (earrings and rings $60-$100, necklaces $160-$180). “They’re so pretty and delicate, and I like the way they hang in the ear, like little pendulums. They’re like fashion and architecture.”

She’s excited about: “For the past few seasons we’ve seen a lot of grays and browns,” Avelenda says. “This fall it’s all about bright jewel tones — I’ll have Kooba bags in beautiful greens, olives, and other lines will have jewel tones, purples and reds.”

ammit

WHAT SAM WORE: 7/30/08

The shirt: Long-sleeved button-up (with cool fastener detail on back) by Byblos (Neiman Marcus, on final call sale)
The pants: Jeans by Paper Denim & Cloth (Last Chance)
The shoes: Sneakers by Diesel (Last Chance)
The scent: The long-discontinued Versus by Gianni Versace, which I got 15+ years ago when I still lived in Colorado — thanks, Sharyn and P.J.!
Listening to: “I Seen Beyonce” by Cazwell (Sample lyric: “I seen Beyoncé at JC Penney / She rolled up in a ‘94 Chevy.”)