The Comme il faut Episode

The Visit

My first visit to THE Comme il faut is sooooo pleasant and uplifting! Not only that their tango shoes are all so pretty, unique, elegant, stylish, modern, fancy and make your legs look so sexy with the maximum 9cm heels, nor is it compared to Manolo Blahnik of Tango footwear....it's the shopping experience that's simply unforgettable.


Walking into the elegant corridor of Arenales 1239, passing all designer's footwear, chic boutiques and galleries, then go up one level of Puerta 3, I pressed the doorbell with adrenaline rushing.


There was baby crying, am I at the wrong door!?


The door opened.


With uplifting jazz music, in English, creating an relaxing ambience, the place is spacious, and well lit, with 2 grandeur, almost 10 feet tall mirrors in fancy baroque golden frame on the wall and some sparsely scattered velvet lounge and armchairs place around the side, very minimal display of shoes and a bulletin board with pictures and graphic of shoes on the wall. Other than that, there was a wooden table, which is the cashier, one door leading to the baño and 2 others doors to the storeroom, with rows and rows of boxes in white.


There were few other women seated on each sofa, and one spare lounge at the far end. I was told to be seated. Adley followed.


A pathetic father was standing expressionlessly, with his back on the wall looking at a crawling baby (who screamed and cried occasionally or performed yoga to attract everyone attention), while his lovely wife happily trying the stacked boxes of beautiful dance shoes.


All ladies have an amazing pile of shoes in front of them.


I asked the sales lady, 'How should we begin? Should I read a catalogue?' She said, 'tell me your size and I'll bring it to you.'


I said siete, she then brought me a pair for trial. It's a bit lose, then she brought a 36.


Next, she asked, 'what color you prefer?'


'Something colorful.'


Then boxes after boxes of beautiful tango shoes were displayed in front of me, all lying on the floor saying 'Hola.'. Adley can't help saying, 'I'm jealous! How come ladies have all these fancy shoes!'


The sales lady looked at us smilingly and said 'Enjoy!'


This is definitely so enjoyable! I feel like a queen.


The CIF mode of shopping is 100 times pleasurable than spending 10 times or more money on Louis Vuitton even in Avenue des Champs-Élysées, where you are treated like trash - being asked to show your passport for checking previous shopping record to begin with, then you are screened and may be banned to shop, or you would be told that you are only allowed to buy a maximum of 2 items, or else our items will go out of stock because of you!

actually no photography is allowed

If I were flying back HK right after Buenos Aires, I would be buying pairs after pairs for different tango occasion, however, I still need to travel and a pair of pretty comfortable dance shoes for any occasion is all I need. Well, I told the sales lady she could take them away after a happy round of trial. While she close the cover of the boxes one by one, I felt butterflies in my stomach, seeing them out of my sight.


The amazing thing about their shoes is that they displayed completely different style for different customers at different visits ! Nothing is the same in that room! The sales lady told me because of different sizes, the style and stock varied. And they have new ones every week!


I will be coming again!


P.S.
Meeting the CIF queen - Prelude
Niño Bien got comme il faut shoes display and even a desert named after the brand. Then, I was dancing with an American guy at Niño Bien the other day and he told me that the lady there is the designer of Comme Il Faut, Alicia Muniz. All I can see is her beautiful golden heels. That was reminding me, I need to make a pilgrimage to CIF the very next day!