Shannon Bunnett
I don’t know about you but I have a hard time with November. It’s in between seasons and sometimes we don’t see the sun for days. I can’t just jet off to the sunny Caribbean and escape the dreary weather. So I did the next best thing and took a mini vacation to Toronto and decided to visit the Bata Shoe Museum and a fabulous shoe store focused on fashion.
The Bata Shoe Museum, founded by the late Sonja Bata, is located in the Bloor Street Culture Corridor district in downtown Toronto and is currently exhibiting the traveling Manolo Blahnik exhibit. If you want to check out the museum this November, there is free admission on weekends with a sock donation to the Warm the Sole Sock Drive.
Today I learnt about ancestral Puebloans and how they used not only veggie fibres but also human hair to make socks in the 13th century. I learnt how historically gold has been used for centuries in many ways to make and embellish shoes. I also checked out different types of footwear from the Arctic and other northern countries and learnt about fur inlays to add fashion to the boots made and worn by Inuit women.
The Manolo Blahnik exhibit was beautiful – he really is a visionary regarding shoe fashion, but he also learnt the trade by visiting shoe factories and was taught how to carve the wooden shoe lasts by hand, which is becoming a lost skill. The sketches of his creations that are shown at the exhibit are just as beautiful as the shoes and it is amazing to see how he accentuates the curves of the foot and captures such lovely, fluid lines of the shoe and its embellishments.
After visiting the shoe museum I popped into Nespresso for a limited edition Macaron coffee and then had a hearty bowl of minestrone soup and a glass of Pinot Grigio to warm me up at Cibo Wine Bar. Then it was off to Davids Footwear to check out their selection of shoes.
The sales associate, Narina, was so helpful and knowledgeable and I found a great pair of Manolo Blahnik wider fitting patent sling backs for those dressy occasions coming up this holiday season. And then a pair of fun, colourful, shoes by P448, an Italian luxury street style brand with a focus on quality and craftsmanship, caught my eye.
The insole is removable and I am able to fit my custom orthotics in these sporty catchy shoes. Davids has a new loyalty program and Narina helped set me up to earn points for discounts on future purchases.
Altogether, my trip to Toronto was a great escape from the November blues and I enjoyed every stop during the visit. I would highly recommend you explore these spots in Toronto if you, too, are looking for a mid-season getaway but aren’t able to go very far.
