An intense velvet blue was what made me stop in the middle of the Clear Street of the King of Madrid. There he was, in a-Barrio neighborhood, where small trade abounds and with him the best stories. In the showcase of the “Larranaga Shoes” store, there were several models exposed of different shoes, colors and textures. I couldn’t help it, I entered to ask. Cristian Larrañaga, the fourth generation of shoemakers, attended me with gratitude for the stop and told me that the business has been open for 40 years, that the shoes are made to measure and that the attention to the clientele has been at least 30 minutes. A drip of customers remains constant throughout the conversation, outside it rains, a couple and two friends enter leaving their umbrellas wanting to reach their turn. In the middle of the space there is a table with a Singer machine of the grandmother and samples; In front, a nineteenth -century sideboard with a wedding shoe at a delicate first sight, but dance resistant. Around: Manoletinas, living room shoes, sandals, boots, moccasins for men … The client is fixed in an aesthetic, then decide the height, the number and in the end the color and the finish. Jorge Larrañaga, Cristian’s father, designs by hand, taking new models every year, attends with passion and knows what to recommend to his clients, many from Madrid, “come the granddaughters of my grandmother’s clients,” says Cristian. They also arrive throughout Spain and Europe, have made shoes for super productions of Hollywood, great designers or the royal house. The shoes are around € 160-220, depending on the material … their favorite is the suede, “the most resistant is the python skin,” they tell us, while we see the sample full of fantasy colors. Up on my common boots, I get out of the store with a smile, wanting to have a party to order some “Larrañaga” and dress by my feet. And yes, I realize that there is also slow life in cities.
