R. Sole

R. Sole is the be all end all of hip, trendy, brand name tennis shoes. It’s like a color-​explosion when you walk in here. Made even more so by the lush, black painted walls. The shoes are seriously the star of this place. Whoever designed this store, deserves a medal. I couldn’t concentrate on any other merchandise but those sneakers. (When I finally did, I took note of some killer designer sunglasses near the cash register) They even go so far as to place these shoes into light boxes on the walls. Insane I tell you! I second Kerry C. — this is a shoeseum.
This little shoeseum comes with quite the price tag. The shoes are very expensive, we’ve found the same retro P.F. Flyers for $ 40 bucks online, compared to their $ 79, but they have an amazing selection. I much prefer purchasing my shoes at a store, and really getting a feel for them upon my feet. I know my husband wanted a couple pairs, including the ACDC Chuck Taylors on the wall. He just had a real hard time rationalizing paying twice the price. If anything, go here just for the eye candy. Seriously, it was so much fun wandering around the little store front and admiring the crazy designs.

A few weeks ago, I stopped into Davis-​Kidd to pick up some new notebooks. When I was done, I took a quick walk around Laurelwood. At the corner of the block of shops that Davis-​Kidd occupies, there’s a shop with huge, frosted glass windows. They were closed, but I managed to peek into one of the non-​frosted squares and saw a room full of colorful high-​end sneakers.
The shop is R. Sole, and they carry hard-​to-​find, high-​end and designer sneakers, clothing, sunglasses and watches. The space has the vibe of a fine art museum for footwear. A shoeseum, if you will. Colorful shoes pop against the dark walls and limited edition kicks given holy glows in light boxes around the store.
Store manager Delisha showed me around the store, pointing out some of her favorite shoes. She was quick to point out these Supras, which are a favorite of rapper Lil’ Wayne. She also showed off some Nike Jordans and AirMax in unconventional colors.
R. Sole’s clientele is diverse. They get players from the Grizzlies and Tigers, out-​of-​towners, college students, middle-​aged shoe nerds (one came in while I was there, looking for a pair of vintage Nike Waffles), and ladies. The shop has a fairly extensive ladies section that’s got shoes from Lacoste, Nike, and Converse.
Like their customers, R. Sole is big on exclusivity — they don’t carry many of each shoe, but they’re totally willing to search for whatever you’re looking for. Delisha told me she would keep an eye out for the perfect green Chuck Taylors that I’ve been looking for in my size.