Featured Member Profiles

Featured Member Profile – Teddy Shoes

Hello, wonderland. Sparkles, spandex, fishnet, satin, patent, and alligator are all common motifs here. The floors and walls are cluttered, the middle stacked high with milk crates of supplies, yet there is a peculiar and colorful order easily navigated by Mr. Adelson and his team. Hand written signage abounds for those of us who don’t know the difference between tango and character shoes.

Teddy Shoes was founded by Teddy Adelson in 1957, specializing in close-outs and seconds from Boston’s Lincoln Street, the old heart of America’s shoe manufacturing. With the takeover of foreign manufacturers, that incarnation of Lincoln Street is no more. However, under Teddy’s son Steve Adelson’s leadership, Teddy Shoes has managed to retain a strong physical relevance in today’s online world.

Today, Teddy Shoes specializes in dance shoes and dance supplies. The store’s motto has changed over time, but today’s “For All the Dance in You,” is evocative of the diversity and inclusiveness of Teddy’s product. Diversity of dance styles from ballet to tap to exotic, and inclusiveness of sizes: from size 5 to 16 ladies’ shoes, as well as great in-stock selection of wide sizes.

While the store does not have a large footprint, there are over 20,000 pairs of shoes, in addition to the large quantity and variety of accessories personally scouted out by Mr. Adelson on quarterly trips to New York City. The number of employees on the floor in comparison to the actual square footage of the store means the customer service is on the crowded, intimate side. However, with many dancers on staff, there is good assurance that a customer will receive exemplary, crucial advice on fit for their dance shoes. Mr. Adelson will manually stretch out the shoes in-store to better fit those of us with more unique feet. You simply can’t get that online.

The clientele is as diverse as the dance styles. There are the serious dancers who don’t bother to look for what they want, just ask Mr. Adelson directly for a half-sole nude ballet shoe in leather and he digs it out of a box stashed under the counter. There are the newbies- sent by their ballroom dance instructor- who need the signs to help them point out what they are looking for. The plain nude t-strap mary-janes belong to the actresses of the stage, the lucite platforms with the cherry on top for our performers of more dimly lit stages. There are the spectators, the tourists, and the dreamers who don’t buy anything at all on their first visit, but remember vividly the possibilities inherent in the saucy confidence of a red and black men’s dress shoe or the shimmering belly-dancing hip scarf. This is the land of the alter-ego, won’t you come by and find yours?

Teddy Shoes is located at 548 Massachusetts Ave., easily accessible by T (Central Square), and open 7 days a week:

• Monday-Thursday 10 AM-7 PM
• Friday 10 AM-8 PM
• Saturday 12 PM-6 PM
• Sunday 12 PM-5 PM

Teddy Shoes Rewards cards can be picked up at the register. After 12 purchases, you receive a gift certificate for the dollar amount of your average purchase.  Learn more at www.teddyshoes.com