Shoes GALORE!

CEBU, PHILIPPINES-Shoemaking is part of  the art world, be it simple or fancy. Given that the city of Marikina in Metro Manila is famous for its shoe-making industry, here you will find the Museo Ng Sapatos (Shoe Museum), a one-of-a-kind attraction that houses 800 pairs of Imelda Marcos’ 3,000 shoe collection on display.

The madness started as soon as I stepped inside. I learned that there are quarterly inventories and, take note, all the shoes on display are bar-coded. The shoes in the collection range from Christian Dior, Kurt Geiger, Charles Jourdan, Givenchy, Chanel, and locally made ones, including Mrs. Marcos’ personalised brand, all of which are sized 8 ½.

I stayed at the museum longer than expected, to view some photographs and paintings of Mrs. Marcos, wearing her shoes of course! If my calculations are right, in her reign of 20 years, that would be around one pair of shoes every two to three days!

With infinite ways of expressing herself through shoes, what I thought was remarkable was the slipper collection from many different countries all over the globe – countries such as Saudi Arabia, Japan, Maldives, Brazil, Malaysia and more! This attractive collection features the different slipper styles worldwide and how comfortable (or maybe the opposite) each of these pairs are.

Can’t get enough of this craziness? Other contributions include some pairs of shoes from a few Philippine politicians, as well as our famous prima ballerina, Lisa Macuja-Elizalde. Another addition is a collection of shoe figures by Marikina’s current mayor, an assortment including some lighters, bottles of cologne, keyrings and other shoe figures. The place is definitely shoe land!

Across the museum, you will find Café Kapitan where the first ever shoe in Marikina was made. Quite a catch for shoe lovers and collectors, isn’t it?

Go and see it for yourself. The Museo Ng Sapatos is located at J.P. Rizal Street, Barangay San Roque in Marikina City, Manila and is open from 8AM to 5PM Mondays to Sundays. The admission cost is P50 per person. For special tours, group visits and other inquiries, you may contact (63-2) 646-2360 local 207/208 or (63-2) 430-9735.