StreetLevel: Soula Hoofs Over to 5th Ave

do they sell men's?

Posted by: guest at September 11, 2007 2:26 PM

yes to men's - inc a great selection of Camper shoes.

I'm glad they're doing well, everyone there's is always very nice.

Posted by: guest at September 11, 2007 2:28 PM

Oh nice. I'll stop there tonight.

Those couple blocks of 5th are rockin.

It's such a pleasant place to shop and when you need a break you can have some of that addictive frozen yogurt from Oko across the street.

Yum.

Posted by: guest at September 11, 2007 2:32 PM

Checked out Soula this past weekend since I live around the corner. I was pleased with their small selection and ended up buying a pair of shoes. Yes, they do have mens. Also, A.Cheng (womans clothing line) just opened up shop on 5th Ave and Douglass. I used to frequent their e. village location. Nice to see more clothing/shoe stores opening on 5th.

Posted by: guest at September 11, 2007 2:37 PM

Just read that the owner of Soula is a former buyer for Barney's...

A welcome addition indeed.

Posted by: guest at September 11, 2007 2:39 PM

Is the 5th Ave Something Else store connected to the one that was on 86th Street in Bay Ridge?

Posted by: guest at September 11, 2007 2:59 PM

Wow things have changed Used to be the pill poppers and the scum around, now they are all being washed away, I wish the same could be said for the sidewalk in front of GORILLA COFFEE.

Posted by: guest at September 11, 2007 3:11 PM

I've had great luck shopping at Flirt on 5th. Glad to hear of Soula-- sounds like a great addition to the neighborhood.

Posted by: guest at September 11, 2007 3:12 PM

Um, the sidewalk in front of Gorilla Coffee is packed with paying customers, which, last time I checked, is how a small business stays afloat (therefore keeping the "pill poppers" and "scum" at bay). I will admit that the staff at Gorilla could help keep the line in check by paying better attention to their customers and working toward the same end (i.e. serving people instead of standing around looking generally annoyed), but they do have a sign warning everyone of their "stank" attitude, so I really have no right to complain...

Posted by: guest at September 11, 2007 3:22 PM

Love Soula--yay! Yes, Something Else is the same shop as on 86th, but in Bensonhurst I think.

Posted by: guest at September 11, 2007 3:23 PM

What kind of prices are we talking on the mens' shoes?

Posted by: guest at September 11, 2007 3:38 PM

The continued homogenization of Brookyn. Yeah, I like to shop at these kinds of places, but it depresses me to see Brooklyn Industries on every corner in every affluent Brooklyn neighborhood. It depresses me that Smith Street and 5th Ave have so many of the same stores.

The other thing about this little shopping district is that it IS going to be impacted by AY, and not for the better. And I don't mean that these shops will fail -- far from, it, I'm sure they will thrive (although I suppose they might be at risk for being bought out and replaced by national chains). But the shopping experience is going to be a lot less pleasant. One of the things I really like about shopping in Brooklyn is that it's so much less crowded and so much quieter than Manhattan. Right now, 5th Ave north of Union is such a pleasant street, but I fear that once AY is built it will be absolutely chocked with exhaust-spewing, honking cars.

Posted by: guest at September 11, 2007 3:52 PM

What's wrong with having some of the same stores on Fifth as Smith? I live off Fifth and never feel the need to go to Smith for exactly that reason.

Posted by: guest at September 11, 2007 4:23 PM

doubt 5th avenue is going to have much of an influx of cars, post ay.

people who live near the arena will walk.

those driving cars from other areas of brooklyn will get onto the expressway, not drive down 5th avenue.

and last i checked, broadway in soho, 5th avenue in midtown and 8th avenue in chelsea are all pleasant places to shop along heavily trafficked areas.

i usually walk on the sidewalks when i'm shopping.

Posted by: guest at September 11, 2007 4:40 PM

People who drive to the Arena will drive around and around and around and around and around looking for a place to park. You think they won't drive on 5th Ave? Why not? And if you think everybody driving to the Arena is going to take the BQE, you clearly know very little about Brooklyn street geography.

Last I checked, Broadway in Soho was a rather miserable place to shop, especially on the weekends. But I guess that's because I don't like huffing exhaust and I don't like weaving my way through automobile gridlock when crossing the street and I don't care for the constant blare of honking horns in my ear.

If you only stay on the sidewalk when you're shopping, I guess you're just walking around in a circle all the time. Kind of like the way those cars headed for the AY arena are going to be driving around and around and around in circles in Fort Green, Prospect Heights, Park Slope and Gowanus, looking for a place to park...

As for liking it that increasingly the same stores everywhere -- well, to each their own.

Posted by: guest at September 11, 2007 4:59 PM

Drive on the expressway to the Arena??? For most people in Brooklyn, that is far out of their way. Look at a map. Jeez.

Posted by: guest at September 11, 2007 5:01 PM

75% of people coming to the arena will be taking mass transit.

how often have you driven your car (if you have one) to Madison Square?

Try once and then never again.

Posted by: guest at September 11, 2007 5:05 PM

Can we talk more about the shoes? They look so lonely on those big, nearly empty shelves. Won't somebody, please, think of the shoes?

Posted by: guest at September 11, 2007 5:10 PM

I want to go buy some shoes there tonight.

Apparently I'm going to need multiple pairs trying to dodge all of the AY traffic.

Posted by: guest at September 11, 2007 5:12 PM

I find it odd that some of the posters on this board and many of the people I meet from day to day choose to live in the most populous borough in the most heavily populated city in the US. It seems to me that a fair percentage of Brooklyn's population longs for an unchanging hamlet, as quiet as a monastery and free of cars. I mean, it IS a city, no? Aren't noise, chaos and crowds typical of a city? Isn't NYC still the "city that never sleeps"?

I popped into this store over the weekend (Smith St location). Some good sneakers, but the casual shoes were rather typical for Brooklyn: Teva-like mandals and the sort of shoes waiters might choose for comfort over fashion. Not exactly filling a retail void, IMHO.

Posted by: guest at September 11, 2007 5:24 PM

It IS filling a retail void, since 7 years ago 5th avenue and smith street were filled with row upon row of empty storefronts, 99 cent stores and homeless people.

Posted by: guest at September 11, 2007 5:46 PM

5:24 PM

You're not reading the viewpoints of most New Yorkers. Your reading the viewpoints of a priveleged few who have the money for an expensive townhouse and yearn for a pseudo-suburban life. It isn't rational, but it is understandable. The real problem is people aren't able to separate what they personally DESIRE from what is fair and just for society at large.

Posted by: guest at September 11, 2007 6:17 PM

stopped by tonight.

really cute place and a great selection of shoes you don't see everywhere else. there were about 5 or 6 other people in looking around.

they are by no means all over 200 bucks.

the leather dress shoes are, but not the more casual ones.

anyone who wants nice shoes under 200 need to move to argentina.

Posted by: guest at September 11, 2007 7:43 PM

"anyone who wants nice shoes under 200 need to move to argentina"

Or shop at DSW.

Posted by: guest at September 11, 2007 8:23 PM

true enough.

never found a thing i liked at dsw, however. i like shoes that every other person on the street aren't wearing.

century21, yes although.

but still not cheap.

Posted by: guest at September 11, 2007 8:26 PM

I'm thrilled they're here. I am not an eager shopper but every season since they've opened, I've hotfooted it over to Smith St to buy at least a snazzy pair for the new weather. Honestly, I would describe the store as 'curated' the selection is so different from what you see EVERYwhere else. When I wear a pair of Gentle Souls I bought at the Smith Street Soula a couple of years ago, I get comments from strangers (women!) on the street. I didn't move to NYC to wear a Gap-'n-9 West uniform or to shop in stores I can find in malls back home-- hooray for the small business owner with the sense to be different. Support your neighborhood shops.

Posted by: guest at September 11, 2007 9:53 PM

Gimme a break. There's nothing "different" or "unique" about their merchandise if you compare it to random shops in the East Village or someplace other than Nine West. Maybe it's "unique" for Brooklyn.

Posted by: guest at September 11, 2007 10:08 PM

Check out the website and you'll see the store has so nice open space in the middle for the kids.

http://www.soulashoes.com/index.shtml

Posted by: guest at September 11, 2007 10:18 PM

hmm. bought a pair of shoes from soula a year ago for a lot of money. wore them just a few times, and then they started to come apart due to a manufacturing defect. i went in there to see what the owner would do, which was nothing, until i finally dragged out of him the commitment to pay for a repair at a shoe repair shop. if i wanted shoes that fall apart and lousy customer service, i'd go to a cheap shoe store....

Posted by: guest at September 11, 2007 11:51 PM

I am the person previously posting about the impact of AY on what is right now a very pleasant shopping district on northern 5th ave. To those who responded above:

Does every urban environment have to be as unpleasant as Broadway in Soho? Is it really inconceivable to the rah-rah development posters on this thread that some people prefer an urban environment that ISN'T JUST LIKE MANHATTAN? Why is this longing for surbubia? What an idiotic thing to say.

Re: the traffic impact of AY on the surrounding streets. Look at the State's environmental impact statement, which predicts 20,000 additional car trips to the immediate area, with "significant queing" at lights. Know what that means? It means waiting through more than one change of the light because there's no room for another car on the other side of the intersection.

If you think the arena isn't going to have a very negative impact on the livability of the streets of north 5th Avenue, you really haven't been paying attention.

Posted by: guest at September 12, 2007 11:33 AM

Know what that means? It means waiting through more than one change of the light because there's no room for another car on the other side of the intersection.

OH NO!!!! THE HORROR!!!!!!

Brooklyn will always be different from Manhattan and a few more tall buildings are not going to change that.

Posted by: guest at September 12, 2007 11:50 AM

"A few more tall buildings".

I wasn't talking about tall buildings. I was talking about a sports arena which is going to generate 20,000 additional car trips to the immediate vicinity and is going to cause really unpleasant traffic congestion on many surrounding streets about 270 days out of the year (I believe that's the estimate for the number of days the arena will be in use).

How is that not a radical change for a low-key shopping district like north 5th Ave.?

And yes, it is a horror when gridlock conditions prevail. Drivers become very frustrated when the traffic doesn't move when the light turns green and start leaning on their horns.

I don't know why I'm bothering to trade posts with idiots like guest at 11:50. But sometimes the idiocy of the posters on this blog provokes me.

Posted by: guest at September 12, 2007 3:40 PM

no ones cares.

more people support AY than oppose it.

get over it. majority rules in this country.

usually.

Posted by: guest at September 12, 2007 3:52 PM

"more people support AY than oppose it."

Evidence, please?

Posted by: guest at September 12, 2007 4:25 PM

Keep hope alive, eh, 4:25? 10 years from now, you'll be standing outside the Barclays Arena with a cardboard sign that says "Repent - The World Is Ending!"

Posted by: guest at September 12, 2007 5:55 PM

LOL. love you, 5:55.

wasn't this about a shoe store, anyway...?

Posted by: guest at September 12, 2007 6:08 PM

5:55/6:08: Evidence, please?

Posted by: guest at September 12, 2007 6:17 PM

So what is the story? The shoes are comfortable and practical? There are some really great shoes at Bird, Jelly and Diane T. I can always find great things at Century 21. Which brands/designers does this new place carry?

Posted by: guest at September 14, 2007 2:03 PM

You're not reading the viewpoints of most New Yorkers. Your reading the viewpoints of a priveleged few who have the money for an expensive townhouse and yearn for a pseudo-suburban life. It isn't rational, but it is understandable. The real problem is people aren't able to separate what they personally DESIRE from what is fair and just for society at large.

Priveleged people buy shoes that cost much more than $200 and even if the shoes were $600 or $1000 I am guessing that the store owner and the employees and all the other people that benefit from that money being spent are not wealthy. Oh, and let's not forget tax.

I really isn't as though people with money just selfishly spend all their money on themselves- they give money to charity, support the arts, build hospital wings, etc... You wouldn't be able to afford to go to a play if it wasn't for these people. Can you imagine if the ticket price had to cover all the overhead of operating a theater?

So- if they didn't donate money and we all just split the bill of these things that enrich our lives- that would be fair, right? Nice and equal.

Posted by: guest at September 14, 2007 2:23 PM

amazing shoe selection for men. camper, converse, tsubo some others i wasn't familiar with.

most are between 75 and 150.

great stuff you don't see everywhere.

Posted by: guest at September 15, 2007 4:14 PM