David’s Shoes On First

I went to David’s Shoes on First yesterday after looking at a number of shoe stores near my home on the north shore. Googled David’s, saw lots of styles and good reviews on Unilocal. I have a corporate office close by in Somerville (45 miles from my house) so I thought I’d check it out. I am a 63 yr. old professional business man so I know good quality and service when I experience/​see it. This place is great! Bobby the manager was professional and patient as I have a wide foot and was not sure exactly what I was looking for. He offered me options, no pressure and in the end I made a purchase. If you’re wanting a large selection of men’s/women’s shoes, many manufactures to choose from and a variety of standard and modern styles. This is the shoe store to find what you’re looking for, at good prices, high quality and non-​pressured expertise. I will surely return.

I was really excited to come here after reading the reviews as I need a new pair of winter boots. I chose a couple of pairs of boots and one pair of shoes that I was hoping to buy if they had my size available, but the customer service was painfully non-​existent. No greeting, no asking if I needed help, nothing. Just completely ignored the entire time I was in there. I absolutely would not return.

I have been coming to David’s since I moved to the Boston area in late 2001. Their inventory is high quality — Clarks (still made mostly in Europe), Naot, Bostonian, Wolverine, Doc Martens. The prices for top quality shoes are as low as you can find, and the service is personal, honest and no-​pressure. There are certain types of shoes I have returned to buy at David’s. There are few stores with the combination of quality of inventory, service and prices you get at David’s. I’m grateful they are still around. Some things never go out of style.

Ladies! If you are like me and frustrated with the glut of cute and cheap yet crappy shoes you can find at DSW/Macy’s/anywhere, please consider going here. I went here because I was sick of my feet hurting or my shoes wearing out after 2 weeks. I was also not going to purchase an «orthopedic» shoe just for the sake of comfort though. Such is vanity.
When you walk in, it does seem like the majority of the shoes are catered to an older clientele; however, a good 20% of the shoes are cute, comfortable, AND durable. You do have to look kinda hard for them.
I got a great pair of boots for around $ 90 that are attractive and have survived two winters. They are also waterproof — booyah. They sell great brands, and the gentleman who helped me was very well-​informed about the pros and cons of each brand.

Seems like a top spot for getting shoes, they helped me out by being straight forward and knowledgeable. When I asked him certain shoe would look as it aged, he told me I should go with a different type of leather. Thats the kind of salesmanship I need when buying things. They have all good brands too so I’ll end up paying less in the long run because my shoes will last me 2 – 3 times longer than a sub $ 50 shoe. I ended up buying a pair of clarks with a clean look.

I slammed the door [quite hard ] as I walked out of that store; if that explains how bad the service was. Race wasn’t an issue, his ignorance was.

I have been a customer of David’s Shoe Store in Cambridge for over 30 years and will buy shoes there till the end. They are very friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. They have a great selection of the top brands and the best sellers. They also discount the shoes which is a plus. A lot of times I find shoes somewhere else and then order them from David’s.

I hate shoes. Yes, I do, and that has been my mantra here on Unilocal ever since I signed on. I do not live in a shoeless society, however, so I have to buy them and then wear them, otherwise I might be mocked and scorned in this cold, shoe loving world. (Note that when I travel, I only go to warm, beachfront locations where flip flops and sandals are the only foot gear required, and I usually slip those off as soon as I can.)
David’s has been a best friend to me for several years as they totally understand my feet and my desire for comfort. I can march in here in old grizzled boots that are begging for retirement and then march out with the most comfortable, nice looking foot gear in town. This is not a place for high heels and peek-​a-​boo styles. This is where you find really top quality, comfortable boots, sandals and walking shoes. Larger sizes are here for people with the Big Foot syndrome. Styles are rather conservative, not trendy.
Can’t say enough about these guys. They have been in business for years, so they know what they are doing. They are located about 3 minutes from the Lechmere T stop, just behind the Galleria Mall. Wish they sold comfortable dancing shoes for those occasions when I need them. But for solid comfort, I only go to David’s.

Great store if you are looking for good quality comfort shoes. Some of the brands they have are Dansko, Naot, and Merrell.
Cute little local store right by the Cambridgeside Galleria!

Good prices, good service, good quality. They had a variety of comfortable but fashionable shoes. I got some leather boots that were super comfy for a good price here. The staff was very helpful.

We’ve been coming to this store for years and I’m glad to give my business to a local small business– but in turn, you get great deals on really nice shoes. They have a really large selection and a great sale rack. Will always be a customer– One thing to note, is that they do not accept Amex (I forget every time) but for a $ 20 deposit– you can hold the shoes for 30 days. Pretty good deal, if you bring the wrong card.

Hmm. I don’t know — didn’t like the guy’s vibe. Not very welcoming. It was as if he was like, hey, you’re not supposed to browse a shoe store, you’re a guy, your dick might fall off. And if you are going to have the audacity to come in here, you should somehow already know which side of the store has the mens shoes, and what aisles aren’t actually aisles but stock areas. Normally I use zappos for all my footwear needs, but I was at the mall and figured I’d see if they had those super breathable merrel portage shoes in the cool black color and get a feel for them and see if they fit my narrow feet. And the same with those born lagos fisherman sandals. Never again. They didn’t have either shoe anyway.

I usually HATE shoe shopping, but this was great. After a bad pair of shoes bought online that wrecked my feet, I decided it would be better to go to a local shop where I could get advice on what to get. The selection was perfect with all well made, classic, comfortable shoes. The staff was great and when I realized there was a stain on the shoe I wanted, they aggressively scrubbed at it to try to remove the stain AND gave me half off! I will be back!

David’s Famous Name Shoes is within walking distance from my apartment, and I finally checked them out last March.
The gentleman working there was super nice, and welcomed me to the store, since I mentioned it was my first time there. He explained all the good stuff I needed to know, and then after browsing around I found a style that I really liked. It was a Clark’s brand shoe. Nice looking, comfortable AND affordable!
They only had the shoes I wanted in black, and I was hoping for brown, so they kindly ordered a pair for me, and said it would take about a week for them to arrive. I gave a $ 20 deposit, and went on my merry way.
About 6 days later I got a call, saying my shoes were in. Yay!
When I got to the store, there was a different man there, who was just standing there staring at the TV above the door. He did not greet me, and was dressed casually, so I assumed he was a customer. It turned out that he DID work there, and I got my shoes.. . it was a little weird. BUT I will be back when it’s time for for some more new shoes. :) It’s cool that they can order similar styles and other colors for you, so if you like comfy good walking shoes, go here!

Please note that David’s is open from 10:30am — 6:30pm on Mondays to Fridays, but call ahead to double check. After reading all the great things people had to say, I decided to swing by yesterday morning before work, only to learn that they don’t open until 10:30. Poo. Avoid this mistake!
The guy that works at the store has a breadth of shoe knowledge you won’t encounter at your average chain shoe store. They carry all of the comfort shoe brands the Tannery carries, so forget about the techno music and sketchy sales, go here instead. They also offer true 10%-15% discounts, as in– they don’t mark up the shoe and then discount it, so you’re really getting money off the retail price.
They don’t carry trendy, sexy crap here. The shoes offered here are the variety you have a «relationship» with. The clerk is super honest and will talk you out of silly purchases. I went in to pick up a pair of Santana Canada: Vermonts and he talked me out of buying a cute dansko sheepskin clog… eventhough the clogs cost more and he would’ve made a pretty penny.
I would definitely come back here. The lack of foot traffic means you’re likely to find something here that is sold out elsewhere. I’m even talking about zappos and endless, you’re not competing with the entire continent for shoes!

The clerk at David’s claims that they’re the largest distributor of Rockports in New England. Perfect, because I have very narrow feet, which basically means that I either buy Rockports or need to go find a cobbler for custom-​made shoes.
The selection of Rockports and Clarks and Naots and a few other brands is enormous. But it’s not quite big enough. They don’t have many smaller sizes below a men’s 9, so you have to order them through David’s. This is too much of a pain for me: a $ 20 deposit on each pair of shoes that you order, which gets refunded when you come in and try them one, but you still eat $ 5 if you decide not to buy the pair.
The clerk was happy to show me the Rockport catalog. He was also happy to drop a few f-​bombs in the middle of some trite comments about one of our former presidents («would love to have a beer with the guy…»).
Worth a crack. But call ahead to see if they have your size.

I recently bought some shoes off the Internet from both Endless and Zappo’s. I thought that would save some time and money. But I found that it wasn’t that easy getting a feel for how good a shoe was just by looking at a picture of it. And sizing was especially difficult. I spent a long time checking out shoe reviews to get a sense from other people. When they arrived, they didn’t look quite how I thought they would look, and the size turned out to be uncomfortable for me (every manufacturer and even each line has a different fit). I had already worn them, thinking I would grow into them, and so it was too late to ship them back.
Contrast this with my experience at David’s. I walked in randomly off the street (it’s near the Cambridgeside Galleria) because they looked like they had a pretty big selection. Also, it didn’t have a fancy sign and such, so I thought they would have good prices. I was right on both counts.
Boy, these guys really know their shoes. The store has been there for 50 years. I got great recommendations, fantastic advice on sizing, and they even put in some small heel lifts into the sole because I mentioned how the part just below the ankles often cuts into my skin just below the bone until I break a pair in. I never knew this was an option!
And the prices … The online retailers often have 10%-20% deals if you buy two, etc. The prices here were already discounted, and you don’t have to buy two or search for a coupon. No sales; it was just their normal prices. In the end, I got to physically try on several pairs and several sizes, and it took less time than doing online «research», especially compared to sending shoes back and forth through the mail.
Great, friendly service. Never rushed. Lots of useful advice. Great prices. These are my shoe guys from now on.

Large selection of comfortable dress and dressy casual shoes including Doc Marten’s, Josef Siebel, Rockport, Nunn Bush, Dansko. They also have boots and sandals. I was there for men’s business casual shoes for work and followed the advice of other Unilocal reviews. The price was great for the Doc Marten’s I got. Very friendly staff with interesting news and trivia from the shoe world. The owner wasn’t there but I heard he still works all the time and he’s 90 years old. The parking in the back was great. It is right across from Cambridgeside Mall and closest to the Best Buy there. It was just what I was looking for.

These guys know there stuff.
Very knowledgeable staff that actually seems to care about the product they sell. If you are tired of trendy boutiques, with snotty teens talking on there sidekicks «helping» you… than check this place out, wide variety of clark’s is always a plus

I have lived down the street from this store for two years and finally went in this weekend. I wanted very practical, comfortable «Mary Jane» type shoes and this store had exactly what I was looking for. I believe that the store has been there for about 50 years. The service is fantastic. I ended up buying two pairs, and I have to say that they are the most comfortable shoes I have bought in a long time.
It is on First Street, right across from the Cambridgeside Galleria. I highly recommend it!