Near Central Africa Imports, The Blind Owl was another shop on the what in the sixties and seventies was the hippie strip of West Fourth, between Arbutus and Vine. According to this post, Julie Christie once visited it.
The narrow shopfront was dim and smelled of leather. The long-haired shoemaker made sandals to order by drawing around the client's feet. Having unusually wide feet, I was delighted to get comfortable sandals that fit.
The two shoes were not identical but they fit my feet perfectly. The design was ingenious. A single long strip of leather wound around the foot in a snug fitting pattern, then threaded below the topsole and back up to tie at the side. The sole was all leather, a thick tough layer on the bottom and a soft one on top.
When the shoes became too loose as the leather stretched with wear, this thong could be pulled tighter and retied, and the end cut off to form a snug fit once again.
Twenty dollars seemed like a fortune, but it turned out to be a good investment. I wore those sandals for over ten years, until the thong, tightened one too many times, finally broke through. I was truly sorry when I had to throw them away.
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