With its natural beauty and laid back lifestyle, many people consider Hawaii to be heaven on earth. It is paradise to me though, largely because of the fact that Hawaii is home to Leather Soul and its two amazing shops.
In the capital city of Honolulu, amongst the tourists, bankers, government workers and other assorted business men –many of them seriously wearing Hawaiian shirts to the office, which is apparently totally acceptable business attire – sits Leather Soul Downtown, the newest offshoot of what I think to be the best shoe store in America. The only thing wrong with this new(ish) shop is the fact that it is still too many thousands of miles away from where I live.
The offerings at LSDT are a bit more conservative than what is on hand at the original shop (which I affectionately call “the mothership” or “ground zero for handsome footwear and other assorted greatness”), but they are not by any means less angeringly awesome. Tricker’s, Alden, Quoddy, John Lobb, Edward Green, J.M. Weston, New Balance, Saint Crispin’s – they’re all there. Plus, Globe Trotter and Rimowa. It’s probably for the best that your wallet was stolen while you were enjoying the Hawaiian beach life.
This new boutique also has a bit more space to play around with and is much more of a club house than any of the other Leather Soul locations. (My company does help out with some marketing work for all of the three Leather Soul locations, FYI.) If you are friendly and a good customer there’s even private area in this store for leather chairs, entertainment and an obscene amount of very nice booze to relax with. It’s a paradise within a paradise wrapped in a stunningly beautiful island.
If you happen to be interested in clothes and find yourself in the middle of the Pacific, this is the one shop you need to visit on Honolulu. Buy your better half a full day massage, paddle board lessons and a tour of the island, that should give you just enough time to sneak over to Leather Soul. It might be hard to hide all of the shoe boxes though. Don’t worry, LS will ship everything straight from the store to help protect your fine footwear transgressions.
Leather Soul Downtown | 119 Merchant Street #100 Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
Have been fortunate to get in on an Alden pre-order or two and have always received sterling service from Oki…. but have never had the opportunity to visit!
The LSDT store looks like a destination if I ever get back to Hawaii. Sigh…..
I agree Michael, Leather Soul is an excellent retail establishment. I wonder though, where do you rank Leffot, in NYC, in comparison?
Your blog is a great read, and one of my very favorite sites.
Keep up the excellent work.
@M. Louis Smith Leffot is great. I’m not trying to take anything away from what Steven is doing there. I’m on board, it’s awesome. I think Leather Soul by nature of its location is overlooked. That’s all. Also, I think LS fits my personal style a bit better than Leffot does.
ACL
It looks amazing! Great post.
I’ve been trying to get in contact with them to cary my shoe line. But they don’t answer the emails :(
Nevertheless great store and amazing product.
Thanks for the insight Michael. Both have starring roles in my shoe dreams!
This is a great looking store! It looks relaxed, casual, and fun while still professional. I love there shoes as well.They look so high-quality and classy!