I Went To LA’s Sauciest Vintage Shoe Dealer
Welcome to Nou by Lexi Ioannou...aka home of the most delicious designer shoes you've ever seen. There's a video, too!
When I was in Los Angeles a few months ago, I took an impromptu trip to visit the Nou showroom. The treasure trove of shoes is a candyland…all curated by Nou’s Lexi Ioannou. There’s a video here filmed by Phoebe Bennett…photos by her, too!
The most stunning trove of vintage footwear is a showroom in an apartment in West Hollywood,
’s Nou. The small but bountiful space is a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory of vintage footwear, a succulent cornucopia of candied, gem-encrusted vintage heels, mules, thongs, and more. The kaleidoscope of hues ranges from raunchy Jolly Rancher red, innocent bubblegum pink, a sleek shade of Wrigley’s spearmint, and a searing Gatorade blue. There are endless silks, suedes, and fragrant leathers. There’s every footwear designer name you can think of. Here, the world is your shoe oyster.There are plenty of shoe dealers on the Internet, but Ioannou’s success can be credited to her personal touch. Her Instagram reads like a gab with girlfriends about, well, really good shoes. On her feed are “some really hot Choo’s,” which is Nou-speak for a strappy pair of tangerine Jimmy Choo heels with a gem-drizzled medallion thong. There is also a Chanel wedge, or rather “the perfect seasonal transition wedge,” that comes in the House’s classic colors of tan and black.
The trick to the Nou shoe curation is to follow simple silhouettes but with mouth-watering details: one pair has “Chanel” written out in rhinestones on a kitten heel’s thong strap, a pair of mint Prada kitten heels have darling embroidery, and Jimmy Choo fringed brown boots have a double-tier of charms that encircle the shins. “I look for how a shoe makes the foot look,” says Ioannou. “Elongated, slender, sultry yet polite.” Women want these sorts of shoes: uncomplicated but with a slice of oomph, an anchoring beacon that has the power to add a come-hither wink to a traditional look.
Ioannou credits her knack for weeding out stellar pairs to her time as an assistant in the Barneys New York studio services department. “I learned the ins and outs of personal styling and what shoes work. I deeply understood the shoe market, specifically how brands like Chanel will and have always been top sellers due to their ability to keep silhouettes in rotation but make them interesting through new patterns, colors, and textures. Cue the iconic Chanel ballet flat,” she says, adding. “But also how brands like Gianvito Rossi rock and are comfortable. It’s a brand I see too often underappreciated.” Note: Ioannou has several shoe brands that aren’t Chanel-staus but have incredible handiwork. She shops for look, not necessarily name. Ioannou also mentions that “shopping and hoarding is in my DNA as my mom has one of the most iconic shoe collections of all time.” Ioannou’s mother, Dina Cantin, a former star on Real Housewives of New Jersey, recently starred in the inaugural campaign for Ioannou’s newest launch, a curated vintage homewares line, Objects of Affection.
Currently, Nou shoe standouts include a pair of Emilio Pucci wedges with a gem-lined cut-out peephole in the heel. The mammoth shoe has a thong strap with a disco ball of crystals smack dab on the big toe cleavage. There’s also the most angelic pair of metallic gold Miu Miu pumps; its straps are dotted with delicate florals in pink and blue. Call it a little crown for the foot. Finally, up for grabs is a pair of black sling-back Rene Caovillas that boasts a massive rhinestone-encrusted butterfly that splays across the toe bed, its wings sinisterly curved like a bat’s. The footwear collection could only exist in the Nou universe.
Ultimately, Ioannou explains her business best in one of her pinned Instagram posts, which includes a photo of her crowded by a collection of shoes as if she is the mother hen of footwear. She saucily tells her 49.1 thousand followers: “Let’s get it straight: I don’t just sell vintage, I’m a tastemaker. Describing my goods as hand-picked doesn’t quite cut it. I’m sharing my vision with you. It’s hours of sharing my vision with you. It’s hours of research and discovery.” Her latest discovery, or rather re-discovery? The vertiginous YSL Tribtoo. “Strong ass hooves,” she calls the teetering heels. You can’t help but laugh—and also want them.
Here, see the top five Nou picks AND our unedited Room Raiders-style video of the Nou showroom with Lexi…filmed by Phoebe Bennett!
The Rarest Shoe: Chanel Tennis Ball Strappy Heels
The Most Viral Shoe: John Galliano-era Dior Gambler Heels
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