Lola’s Shoe House

A non-​descript storefront in a non-​descript strip mall in the heart of Bathurst, Lola’s has been open forever.
A huge sign announces 20% off the store’s calling-​card brands; gum-​soled Clark’s wallabees (which were hot for a moment in the early 2000’s), and New Balance walking shoes. This sign is a constant as well; in fact, one wonders whether a permanent 20% discount, applied to prices that are normally 20% higher than what one would find at the Eaton Centre or a New Balance store, is really a sale at all. I’ll leave that for the philosophers in the crowd to decide.
Merchandise is strictly functional. Not a high fashion piece for either gender. Perhaps, given the location this reflects the usual customer’s preference for walking and modesty.
Lola’s prides itself on it’s selection of shoes in different sizes and widths. Owner/​salesman Shimmy is happy to help, but his advice is flawed. Strangely, it skews towards whatever he has in stock. I’m normally pretty narrow-​heeled, but Shimmy watched my heels walk out of a pair of gum-​soled Wallabees and pronounced them a perfect fit.
One suspects that if one looked in the back, one would find merchandise dating back to the store’s opening. Fashionistas might call such footwear ‘vintage’; psychologists might label it ‘hoarding’, but unless you’re in the market for the most basic of styles you’ll likely give it a pass.