One of my favourite shoes stores in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area is Balisi, owned and operated by Cory Kierstead and Rehlee Balisi. They have amazing staff and stock footwear brands that no other retailers carry in the city; the stores are guaranteed to tempt and most likely make you spend your hard earned money.

“The Cinderella sale is back at Balisi! All regular priced footwear is now on sale. Take 15% off your first pair, 20% off your second and 25% off your third. All sale merchandise is now 40% off, spot the dot on the merchandise to save!”

Store hours:

Monday to Thursday, 10:00 am - 8:00 pm

Friday and Saturday, 10:00 am - 9:00 pm

Sunday, 11:00 am - 6:00 pm

Locations:

668 College Street, Toronto, Ontario

711 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario

439 Danforth Avenue, Toronto, Ontario

2507 Yonge Street, Toronto Ontario

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Top: Hoss Istocia from Magnolia

Skirt: Arthur Mendonça, spring/summer 2008 from Magnolia

Shoes: Josita by Sacha London from Balisi

Book: Danielle Meder’s fall 2010 paper doll book

Every now and again I’ll come across clothing finds which seem to be preordained by a higher power – sounds cheesy, but you can’t help wonder when certain things/events just aren’t coincidences anymore.

Recently I was at Magnolia, a boutique owned and operated by my friend Juan Carlos. I was looking for a few pieces of clothing to add to my work wardrobe and knew I could trust and rely on his sense of style to help me out.

Juan Carlos pulled many pieces for me such as black dress pants, dresses and blouses. Going through the pile of clothing everything came to a standstill when I laid my eyes on the most stunning skirt; high waisted, pencil style, draped and slightly gathered in the front with a metal zipper closure in the back. The fabric used for this piece reminds me of liquid metal and when the light hits it, it creates a hypnotizing effect.

I immediately looked at the label and was stupefied to find out it was by Canadian designer, Arthur Mendonça. Mendonça was a highly sought after designer who shot to success in early 2000s and developed a strong following; his creations were frequently worn by celebrities such as singer, Nelly Furtado.

However, due to economic reasons he was forced to close eight years later much to everyone’s surprise and chagrin. Mendonça is a designer I highly admire and upon hearing he was no longer in operation I thought there went my chances to own a piece of his clothing. I never shared these thoughts with anyone, so you can image when Juan Carlos pulled this skirt for me I had to have it.

The skirt was a size bigger than what I normally wear, but having a really good seamstress helped solve that problem. It now fits perfectly and hangs in a special place in my closet – right by my shoes.

On a cold winter’s night Balisi rolled out the red carpet treatment with sparkling wine and hors d’oeuvres for their loyal family, friends and customers at the grand opening of their fourth store in the bustling hub of Yonge and Eglinton.

Four seems to be a magical number for owners, Cory Kierstead and Rehlee Balisi who were also celebrating their four year anniversary in the fashion/retail business on the same night. To add to this happy occasion, they recently launched an e-commerce site and a mineral cosmetics line called Sinful, comprising of foundation, lipsticks and eye shadows.

Throughout the evening, over 100 guests flowed in and out of the store eyeing the latest wears by Lindsay Perry, Melissa Plastics and Hush Puppies while staff members cheerfully helped customers shop encouraging them to take advantage of the grand opening sale – I escaped with a dress by Alythea.

Balisi's newest store is a great addition to the Yonge and Eglinton area injecting substance and style with their fashion forward shoe picks. Happy anniversary to the Balisi team!

Images taken by Kimberly

I’m very excited to announce Balisi, one of my favourite shoe stores in Toronto, will be opening its fourth location in the Yonge and Eglinton area. They are extending their fashion footwear reach from downtown to uptown Toronto in a new flagship store. Yeah!

The date of this grand opening also coincides with their four year anniversary in the business. Congrats to the Balisi team, here’s too many more years of fashion and successes. See you on February 10^th.

Please RSVP to info@balisi.com by February 5, 2010. More details can also be found on the Balisi Facebook page.

Date: Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Time: 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

Location: 2507 Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario

Would you just look at that heel!

Shoe specifications:

• Black leather
• Heel composed of steel
• Heel height, 9 centimetres

Why I chose this shoe: the architectural design of the heel was enough to convince me that I needed to share this shoe from United Nude with you. Don’t judge footwear before you try it on. The United Nude Eamz shoe is very comfortable and sturdy despite initial appearances.

There are only a handful of shoes that have rendered me speechless and the Eamz shoe is one of them. I could barely squeak out a word to the BALISI staff when I tried on this shoe – I fell in love. It is so unique, eye catching and fabulous!

Product description: “the United Nude Eamz is conceptually inspired by a furniture design classic - the Charles and Ray Eames chair. The Eamz shoes are not designed by the Eames duo, but are an ode to them and their vision. The heel lifts the wearer 9 centimetres off the ground and is constructed from very light-weight steel. On the foot the Eamz feels sturdy creating a walk that is comfortable, sexy and eye-catching.”

P.S.: the Eamz also comes in a boot. Good lord help me resist!

Pictures from United Nude and by Kimberly Lyn

“Would you like some champagne or a bottle or Perrier?” This was the greeting I received when I stepped into BALISI Thursday evening. Happily, I decided to sip on a bottle of Perrier and then proceeded to begin my Halloween shopping experience.

Rehlee Balisi and Cory Kierstead (the owners of BALISI), Toronto’s hottest shoe store to appear on the scene within the last few years, held a private VIP event at their Queen Street West location to celebrate Halloween and say thank you to their loyal customers – yours truly was invited to attend.

BALISI has three locations strategically placed throughout Toronto’s trendiest neighbourhoods; Queen Street West, College Street and Danforth Ave. Having shopped at all three stores I can tell you there are two things setting them apart from other retailers.

The first is product. I’ve discovered many new brands while perusing the shelves of BALISI, such as United Nude or Eject. I’m always impressed at the variety of footwear, clothing and accessories they carry for both men and women. Balisi and Kierstead address important questions when choosing products for their store. Do other retailers in the Toronto area carry these brands and will they stand out on the shelves and get our customers’ attention?

It’s always a treat to enter the store and discover something new and exciting upon each visit. From experience, seeing footwear that makes my eyes light up and heart rate increase is always a good sign, and BALISI has a knack for making me feel this way every time indicating that pieces are chosen with great care and consideration.

Secondly, BALISI has great customer service. Having worked in retail and being a shopaholic (shopping is a competitive sport by the way), I know what consists of good and bad customer service. The staff at BALISI is very personable, knowledgeable and passionate about their love of fashion and sharing it with their customers.

The Halloween party on Thursday proved to me that it’s a family affair at BALISI. Everyone is treated warmly bringing the theme song from the television show Cheers to mind, it’s a place where everyone knows your name and they’re always glad you came.

P.S.: check The Souls of My Shoes this Friday to see my newest find for this week’s Shoe of the Moment from BALISI.

Pictures taken by Kimberly Lyn

I spontaneously ended up at Pilaros’s Taste of the Danforth this past Friday to have dinner with my good friend Corrinne, who writes a great blog which you should check out called Changing My Tune. 

While waiting for a 45 minute dinner reservation to kick in, we decided to pass the time by checking out a new shoe store across the street called BALISI that instantly blew our minds. Corrinne and I hadn’t even taken five steps into the store when our eyes lit up and a shoe fest for the feet cometh before us.

The footwear on display were carefully chosen to appeal to hip and young crowd the Danforth is increasingly attracting to the neighbourhood. What really caught my eyes were a pair of red, peep toe, sling back Vivienne Westwood heels named Lady Dragon made out of PVC. Yes, you heard me. The shoes are made of PVC which is now becoming the latest trend taking over the world of footwear, breaking the traditional norms of shoe construction. Surprisingly the Lady Dragons were comfortable and when I inquired about breathability of the material the sales associate showed me the insoles were lined, apparently with some kind of substance (don’t ask because I have no idea what it was).

Don’t know how Corrinne and I made it out of BALISI without purchasing a pair of shoes, especially when their summer stock was discounted up to 50 per cent – I tell you it took the strength of steel. However, to satisfy your curiosity about our little adventure into the various stores on the Danforth I’ve included a few pictures with this post… PVC shoes included.

N.B.: to read more about the emergence of plastic shoes Toronto Star Stylist, Derick Chetty wrote a recent article called Pretty in Plastic.