Cool apparel and a steaming turd on my head.

Bosom friends!

Ready for the weekend?

Personally I have no idea where this week has gone...Between taking care of the hubby and driving him crazy I barely had the time to run to my Puerto Rican beautician lady to get my jungle-like eyebrows fixed.
Emergency averted thought. I no longer look like Frida Kahlo (the Mexican painter).

Yesterday on my first afternoon off I did reward myself with a little trip to the ShoeGallery at 244 NE 1st Avenue in Downtown Miami.

At the entrance door.

They only have a shop sign inside. Too cool for school...

They also have their personal Walk of Fame.

I have been there for a quick browse while waiting for hubby (we were going to view an apartment near by) but I didn't manage to do some damage due to time restrictions.
I usually only need 15 minutes to hunt down a good deal inside any shop but that time I was in a real rush. God forbid I showed up late for a date with the hubby while carrying a fresh shopping bag.

This shop has a really cool assortment of lifestyle footwear, apparel, and accessory labels. It's a one-stop shop powerhouse and its story is quite charming too:
Once upon a time,
there was Abram Waserstein.
One day he decided to flee Cuba's dictator Fidel Castro, leaving his shoe business behind to start a new life in Miami. In 1979 Abram succeeded in planting a seed in Downtown Miami called ShoeGallery. In 1985, his son, Jaime Waserstein, came into the business and elevated the brand assortment. In 2000, Jaime’s son, Danny Waserstein decides to get into the family business as well and the result is a bigger and better assorted retail concept that is both urban and swanky.
Take a look bosom friends...

When I got to the cash register to pay and be on my merry way, I manged to make a faux pass as usual.
While still inebriated by their wonderful selection of coolness, I asked the lady who was checking me out How long have you guys been open? She looked at me as if I had a steaming turd on top of my head and condescendingly answered We have been open since 1979. OOPSIES! My fault I suppose. I jumped the gun as I was already feeling kind of a local. Lesson learned. I only wished she could have been more graceful about it.
Being from Italy I am used to shop assistants and shop owners with the same attitude of a 15 years old girl on her period, but that was a first in the USA (I speak for myself bosom friends...).
Well I did have a bit of a repartee when I told her that with such lovely emporium they sure didn't have a dressing room to match. I had to try a pair of pants inside the shoe storage locker in the back of the shop. Behind a skimpy black curtain with no place to put my own stuff on. I was not gonna put my Gucci bag on the floor so I had to improvise a Cirque du Soleil balancing act (I shall send them my demo).

Anyway the stuff that I got is super cool and I will for sure become one of their aficionados clients.
I secretly enjoy a bit of bitchiness with my shopping anyway, it adds a bit of zing to my retail expeditions.

Tomorrow we are going car shopping, but this time I am prepared. I have already researched the whole family tree of the owners of the Auto Mall in Miami Lakes. Their story is not as charming as the one of the ShoeGallery's people but hopefully it will keep me from saying something silly.
Considering we are viewing cars (I know about cars as much as Patty LaBelle know about Britney Spears) I am pretty sure some ridiculousness will fall out of my mouth anyway.

May the Ford be with me.

Ciao for now.