Johnny Sole

If you want to experience the Johnny sole love… Mention something regarding Internet prices when looking at their boots…
Apparently because they’re a «local shop» one is supposed to pay waaay more then you would in the real world… Thank you for the education as to why it’s hard for you to do business… Good thing that a snotty, dramatic attitude and non-​competitive pricing has nothing to do with it…

Funky Fun and Unique! I was looking for a pair of boots and found them at Johnny Sole. Gretchen was really helpful and made my boot buying experiance awesome. Thanks!

Great service, knowledgeable about my boots I wanted (frye brown ankle cut) — knew exactly how to recommend the perfect size bases on how they would change. Pretty decent size stock and selection.

Nice shoes, shame about the snotty service. If they spent less time «knowing it all» and more time helping their customers, they might be onto something. My advice, go to Halo or Imelda’s down the street and don’t waste your money on these people.

I was a little skeptical when I saw the negative Unilocal reviews, but decided to give it a shot. Selection was good, though some of it was a little out there.
Super helpful saleswomen. Accurately gauged my knowledge and helped me purchase a great pair of shoes. I was impressed when they took the initiative to guide me to a slightly smaller size to account for the stretch.

I’ve been shopping at Johnny Sole for nearly 20 years now, and it has always been my number one stop when I need (or just want) new shoes. As a poor college student I used to buy 1 great pair of shoes each year form them, then wear them to death (almost daily), then repeat the next fall. The quality of their merchandise can’t be topped. Over the years I’ve probably bought 50 more pairs from Gretchen, and that’s not even beginning to talk about all the handbags…
Although I don’t live in Portland any longer, I travel back a few times a year and I always stop in the store. I travel a ton, and this place still remains my favorite out of all the places I’ve been. In fact, I tend to «save up» my shoe needs so I can splurge when I get to Johnny Sole.
Great staff, fantastic shoes (and hats and bags and other accessories). I never know what treasures I’m going to find in Johnny Sole, but I rarely walk out empty handed.

Wow. Wish I had read previous reviews about the horrific sales people. I’m visiting Portland for the week on business, and on the market for a few pairs of new boots. A Coworker told me they carried most of the Vintage Shoe Co. line and to check them out. So on my one morning off, I excitedly planned a visit to check out the merch. I had just ordered one black pair of boots from Vintage online, but was happy to see they had lots of the others.
I don’t normally wear brown boots, but they had the pair I just ordered in brown, so I tried them on in my size, then asked if she had the next size down — because they were super cute. The sales associate — didn’t catch her name, but I believe she had a teal streak in her hair — very condescendingly informed me that it «wasn’t her job to size me for online purchases.»
What?
I asked «what if I end up really liking the brown and want to get them?» to which she replied: «But you said you normally don’t like brown. We do have other sizes, but that’s not fair to us as a store.»
…again… WHAT?
To be clear. Just because you don’t think I have potential to buy this one particular boot I’m trying on, you are refusing… yep, refusing… to get me another size? At this point, any chance of me sticking around to look at or purchase another boot from the store was gone.
I called and spoke with the owner, who to her credit at least politely listened to my side of the interaction and apologized, but clearly blew off the feedback in favor of her ‘sales’ rep.
I took my $ 400 down the street and picked up a great pair at Nordstrom. Welcome to the retail game honey, you lost. Get rid of the attitude.

I will NEVER buy shoes from this store.
Walked in, wanted to try on a pair of boots and another pair of heels. A blonde older woman with curly hair proceeded to tell me that «How it works in this store, is that you tell us what shoes you want to try on and what size, you don’t carry them around.» Okay. Whatever.
Found a pair of black boots that I wanted to purchase them but in a larger size. She told me that they didn’t have them in a 10, so I asked her to write down the name of the shoe which she did. While I was sittting there, I tried to google the brand and the name of the shoes and it wasn’t pulling up.
So, I took the box, pulled out my camera, and took a picture of the label. The blonde older curly haired woman rushes over and takes away the box. What!!! She then says «We don’t allow pictures of shoe boxs in our store!».
1) They don’t carry it in in my size
2) When I asked to order in a larger size, she said that they couldn’t.
3) It has been discontinued, so it isn’t possible for her to order it, so why would it matter if I take a picture of the label?
The blonde curly haired woman claimed to be the owner. I hope not, because that is not how you run a business. Especially with a high end product!

Wow, it’s been awhile since I’ve been so deliberately scowled at. I know I don’t dress like a million bucks but geez my hb was wearing $ 230 danners when we walked in so we might’ve considered buying something. I give it 2 stars instead of 1 just because they did have a really beautiful selection of nicely made shoes. However, the clerk looked me up and down and frowned at me not 1, not 2, but 3 times. On the third shot I intentionally stared her down and scowled back at which time she respond by pasting on a fake ass smile. I was in the market for a nice pair of frye boots but will probably be buying them at the shoe store on Alberta instead as they were exceptionally friendly.

I am really disappointed in this place. I came in fully prepared to drop a few hundred bucks on some new shoes, but it was not to be. The particular brand I had wanted to check out, which they are listed as a distributor for, had a single color/​style combo on display, clearanced, and not available in my size. There were a few other options I liked, but they too were completely sold out in any size I could conceivably wear. This left a bunch of cheaper (well, sometimes anyway) imported pairs, which while they look fine, buying them would have defeated the purpose of specifically seeking out a store that seemed at first glance to have a good selection of nice looking shoes made in less exploitative countries of decent materials that can be reworked instead of thrown away. Guess I’ll keep looking elsewhere.

If you’re looking for some legitimate footwear, include this in your search. I was looking for some understated natural hide boots, and looked around a bunch of places. A year ago, I picked some up here, and have since worn them nearly every day. They were $ 200, but well worth it – exactly what I wanted, extremely well made and durable. Little signs of wear a year later. Next time I’m in the market for shoes, this will be one of my stops.

Just bought a pair of shoes today and couldn’t be happier with the shopping experience and the selection!
The sales person (who I think was also the owner) was pleasant, brought sizes out and offered help while kindly helping other shoppers around me at the same time.
This was refreshing to experience considering the occasional lack of polite customer service in some higher end shops I’ve been to; e.g. grumpy sales staff that appear annoyed when asking for different shoe size or asking a specific question about the shoe.
Johnny Sole has a quality range of styles that are tastefully selected — definitely check the place out when it’s time for some new shoes!

Shoes, Shoes, and yes… more Shoes! A woman can never have too many shoes!
What brought me in here was my search for Fluevogs (before they opened up their own store in Ptown)… but was dissapointed when they had said they stopped carrying the Vogs… what’s a girl to do?! She found another pair of shoes to satisfy the shoe craving!
The store smells of leather, it’s small, but cute. Their window display rocks! Staff is helpful, not over the top pushy, but are there when you need to try a few pairs (or 10) on.

Yummy– I love the smell of this store! No, I don’t have a foot fetish, it’s just that Johnny Sole carries some of the highest quality Italian leather shoesies for your tootsies.
They have a great selection of Frye boots, and if you’re willing to shell out for a good pair of shoes, this is the place to go.
They don’t the biggest sale section, but I can understand that since their shoes aren’t really the kind that can be continually marked down. They also carry earrings and some other accessories, so it’s at least worth checking out!

i LOVE these guys! On my hunt for the perfect frye boots I had trouble finding a place where I could try on multiple styles in one store — until i realized Johnny Sole had a ton of them.
Gretchen is fantastic! She’s like the girlfriend who tells you when a shoe maybe isn’t the best fit for you + the sales person that has the knowledge & background to help highlight ones that are. This = great helpful feedback on everything from fit & feeling to comfort, style & quality. not once did i feel like I was being pushed into something I maybe didn’t want.
She ran back & forth while I tried on boot after boot with a smile. not only was she fantastically helpful — i was on a lunch break power shopping trip, she totally rolled with my speedy shoe shopping & helped me out. I didn’t buy that day, but when i came back she was just as nice & just as helpful while I tried to make a decision over which ones I loved the most.
Once I decided on the boots John helped me with size — they run big & he knows they stretch so he got me into a smaller size that would fit me better in the long run. About a week later — he came into the store where I work & asked how they were fitting. Not only did he remember me & my boots, he then offered to help me stretch them to fit a little better after I said I was having trouble breaking them in.
Now I have one pair of dream boots, which I love so much that today I went back & bought another pair of shoes!
Thanks guys! Fantastic store, glad you’re out there for us!

Gotta love me some Johnny Sole! I was looking for a sexy pair of boots for my lady and this was just the place for it! She loves them! Everywhere we go people ask «where did you get those!» Johnny Sole! They had lots of options for men and women. If you are looking for a place that has stylish footwear for a good price then this is the place. I will definitely be returning here for future purchases!

This shop definitely has some stylin’ shoes, but the selection is very small. I also found that the staff were not exactly customer-​service focused. I had to basically stare down one of the clerks (the owner, maybe?) to even get his attention, and he was just standing there waiting anyway.
From what I can tell, they don’t keep much stock on hand, and if you’re a size 9 or bigger, if you’re not shopping at the beginning of the season, you’re probably going to be out of luck. I found only one boot that was marked as being in stock in size 10, and when I mentioned this, the guy said that when they get orders, they only get one, maybe 2 size 10s, and they sell out fast.
He went on to say that this happens since women in Portland tend to be taller, they skew to the larger sizes. If they know this, why on earth wouldn’t they order more of the larger sizes? Gee, they might make more sales that way…

Johnny Sole is a shoe store with morals. I’m not saying their shoes aren’t sexy; they are. I’m saying they’ve got morals, morals like your grandparents talk about; you know, back when a handshake meant something?
In November I purchased a pair of Bass shoes (a hybrid between golf and saddle shoes). The soles started to break in January. I came in without a receipt in February and showed the manager my shoes. She called Bass and got them to send me a new pair. I got the shoes within a week. Awesome.

I used to buy shoes here a lot but I hadn’t in a couple of years. I needed a new pair and stopped in to see what they had.
The guy who was working there looked at me as if I had walked in to his closet and started going through his stuff. I got the hint and took off. Oh well its back to the internet. Where the pop ups always welcome me with open arms, and the banner ads always there to tell me what I need.

Pretty cool place. Interesting selection of shoes — if you want something different, you need to come check this place out. It was weekday afternoon so the place was a bit quiet.
The owner, I believe, asked if we were «dogs» people as we were makng our way upstairs. I was immediately alarmed and she must have noticed as she asked us to wait while she put her dogs away. She had 3 dogs running free upstairs! So glad she asked or I would be screaming my head off.
I think their men clothing selection is better than women. I struck out here but hubby did find a nice coat. The guy was nice enough to steamed out the wrinkles so he can wear it right away.