The Last Don
La Brea’s New Custom Shoe Shop

You can accomplish a lot in two hours.

Formally acquire three overseas companies. Watch two-thirds of a Transformers sequel. Go five miles on the 10.

Oh, and conceive the perfect pair of completely custom shoes...

Presenting Don Ville, a shiny new emporium for bespoke footwear that’ll finish off your suit from the ankles down, now open on La Brea.

You’ll start with a two-hour consultation on the couch in what feels like a loft-style living room. Your feet will be measured. Your preferences will be discussed: dress shoe or loafer, everyday use or special occasion, pointy toe or no pointy toe. That kind of thing.

You’ll also put your hands on dozens of leathers—calf and kangaroo, tough and soft, brown and neon yellow—in the factory just behind the window in the back. Yes, your shoes will be made right back there.

Soon you’ll have a trial pair made of scrap leather. Take them home. Wear them when you’re taking out the garbage. Assuming you like them, the shop will go ahead with the real deal. Seven weeks later, you’ll be wearing those one-of-a-kind shoes on your feet. (Well, two-of-a-kind, technically.)

And if you’re wondering about the credentials of your new shoe maestro: he came over from Willie’s, that famed shoe repair shop in Hollywood that’s been around for about 50 years.

In Hollywood years, that’s 32.