A few weeks ago, I stopped into Davis-Kidd to pick up some new notebooks. When I was done, I took a quick walk around Laurelwood. At the corner of the block of shops that Davis-Kidd occupies, there's a shop with huge, frosted glass windows.  They were closed, but I managed to peek into one of the non-frosted squares and saw a room full of colorful high-end sneakers.

The shop is R. Sole, and they carry hard-to-find, high-end and designer sneakers, clothing, sunglasses and watches. The space has the vibe of a fine art museum for footwear. A shoeseum, if you will. Colorful shoes pop against the dark walls and limited edition kicks given holy glows in light boxes around the store.

Store manager Delisha showed me around the store, pointing out some of her favorite shoes. She was quick to point out these Supras, which are a favorite of rapper Lil' Wayne. She also showed off some Nike Jordans and AirMax in unconventional colors.

R. Sole's clientele is diverse. They get players from the Grizzlies and Tigers, out-of-towners, college students, middle-aged shoe nerds (one came in while I was there, looking for a pair of vintage Nike Waffles), and ladies. The shop has a fairly extensive ladies section that's got shoes from Lacoste, Nike, and Converse.

Like their customers, R. Sole is big on exclusivity - they don't carry many of each shoe, but they're totally willing to search for whatever you're looking for. Delisha told me she would keep an eye out for the perfect green Chuck Taylors that I've been looking for in my size.

Go There:

R. Sole