From its humble appearance, few would guess that Gia Shoe Design of U.S.A. attracts an occasional movie star or rock 'n' roll singer.
The shop in a small strip shopping center in Garden Grove has none of the polished brass and studio lighting of finer shoe stores.
Instead, patrons are greeted by the smell of cement glue and the sound of workers hammering away on leather soles. Cardboard boxes, scraps of leather and unfinished shoes fill every corner of the store.
Yet people from as far away as Hollywood and San Diego make pilgrimages to the no-frills shoe store because here they can order custom shoes in any size or style.
"When people from Hollywood make a movie and need a 16th-Century-style shoe, I design it," says John Tran, owner of Gia Shoe Design.
If someone wants a blue suede shoe in Size Triple E, Tran will have a pair ready in 24 hours.
Traditionally, finding shoes to fit feet that don't conform to shoe manufacturers' rigid sizing has been as easy as squeezing a square peg in a round hole. Customers with wide feet usually had a narrow selection of styles.
Today people with hard-to-fit feet are finding it easier than ever to be well-shod.
Salomon's in Westminster specializes in wide shoes with a fashion flair.
"Up until a few years ago, women with wide feet had to wear old lady shoes. (Wide shoes) were very conservative-looking," says Hugh Salomon of Pasadena, owner of the store.
Salomon used to operate a family shoe store which his own wife couldn't shop at because the store didn't stock wider shoes. When he opened his first shoe store in Pasadena six years ago, he had to persuade shoe manufacturers to make their current styles in wider sizes.
"Apparently no one went to the manufacturers and told them of the need," he says. Now he has 25 to 30 manufacturers supplying him with wide shoes.
"I can offer high fashion shoes in a variety of colors," he says. "They're shoes for the '90s."
Most stores carry only Size B or C widths. Salomon's offers women's shoes from Size 5 to 11 in wide and extra wide sizes, up to a Triple E.
"A lot of women are squeezing into Bs" who should be wearing wider shoes, Salomon says. "Some are very vain and wouldn't wear a Triple E-width shoe. But these shoes are styled so they don't look wide."
