Anyone knows me from Shorty Stories (and probably from this site, too), knows that I have rather small feet at size 5. One of my go-to brands when it comes to shoes is Stuart Weitzman. His shoes are almost always available in size 5, sometimes even smaller. So when the first Stuart Weitzman boutique opened in Toronto at the Eaton Centre last September, I was extremely excited. With a boutique, it meant that there’d be more choice, perhaps even the full line, rather than the more limited selection one sees at stores like Brown’s and Holt Renfrew. However, I was very disappointed when the store opened and still am.
Stuart Weitzman store at the Toronto Eaton Centre
At a recent trip to the Eaton Centre store, I wanted to buy a pair of low peak-a-boo wedges that I could wear with just about anything this summer. I asked for a 5 and lo and behold, it wasn’t available. The salesguy said that they didn’t get a lot of size 5s at all, and that these sizes usually go to their Vancouver boutiques (no surprise). However, I would have assumed that, based on Toronto’s demographics, we’d get smaller sizes too. After all, size 5 is usually available at the other stores that have traditionally sold Stuart Weitzman. However, this isn’t the first time I’ve heard that line about Vancouver. I realize Vancouver may have more petite Asian women, but Toronto also has more people. It’s getting disappointing because a shoe shopping trip shouldn’t mean that I have to buy a plane ticket west (Stuart Weitzman doesn’t have e-commerce in Canada).
Of course, an issue could very well be the mall that the store is located in. Had the Stuart Weitzman boutique been in say, Bloor-Yorkville or Bayview Village, would they still have fewer small sizes? Holt Renfrew on Bloor Street and the Browns stores at both locations tend to have a good selection of 5s. This entire situation does make me wonder whether much research about Toronto’s demographics have been done for the Stuart boutique, or they just ordered random common sizes (i.e. size 6 and up). It’s pretty important for a brand to know a city’s demographics when they first enter, don’t you think? That said, I did add my name on a mailing list so I’d be informed about trunk shows and such. That’s really the only way I can almost be guaranteed something my size. It would be nice if I could shop for shoes like everyone else, though.
