Shoofuni is a shoe fair, taking place at the Jaffa port and offering a variety of shoes from Israeli designers, usually at lowered prices. This fair has actually taken place for the 8th time, but for me it was the first visit (did we mention I’m a late bloomer?), and I thought it’s a great opportunity to share this experience with you. Apologies to all my non-Israeli readers, although this might be interesting to anyone who’s an avid shoe lover.
Overall, I’m going to go ahead and say it was a positive experience. It might be because of the unexpected rain, but it wasn’t too crowded, which allowed a more pleasant shopping experience. The designers and saleswomen were mostly very welcoming and willing to help. The only thing that rained on my shoe parade was the prices, which are less than accessible shall we say.
Trends
I honestly don’t know how in-tune the Israeli shoe industry is with global trends. Hell, I don’t even really know what are the global trends. I can, however, tell you about a few trends that were very recognizable across almost all the designers’ stands.
Colorful. The neutral colors of black, grey and nude were actually a rare view in the landscape of spring/summer shoes. Vivid, bright colors such as blue, orange, red and yellow pretty much dominated the scenery.
Flats vs. Heels. As someone who can’t walk in high heels to save her life, I was pleasantly surprised by the variety and abundance of flats, which you don’t always enjoy at the popular shoe retailers. As an FOF (fan of flats – I just totally made that up), I feel that many times you have to choose between elegance and comfort, but there was such a variety of beautiful flat shoes, that such a choice was not necessary.
This photo has been taken from Shoo Funi facebook page. I have no copyright over this image.
Laces. Not in the traditional sense of shoes with laces, but more like shoes with corsets. Feeling a little Victorian, are we? The first pair I saw was actually pretty cool, but after seeing this repeated over and over again, it felt a little worn out. It is, however, a great solution for anyone who has narrow feet because it allows you to adjust the size according to your own measurements.
Peep-toe. Many of the high-heeled shoes at the fair rocked this style, which I personally really love. Generally, many models I saw were very retro-chic, and their design reminded me of the shoes I’ve seen in photos of my grandmothers when they were young. The peep-toe is no exception, although I think it really has a timeless chic.
Prices
This is really the only thing that was less enjoyable. It should be taken into account that these are designer shoes, and not shoes that are manufactured in mass-production for retail chains, but still, calling prices of around 500-650 shekels discounted prices is a little disconnected from reality. Although I definitely think it’s worth investing in one high quality pair instead of two or three pairs of lesser quality, I believe that most Israeli women still can’t afford shoes at this price.
Bullchic 