Luxury footwear truck stops in Montecito
Allison Angeles, leader of the Tamara Mellon truck, holds the truck’s most popular shoe in Montecito thus far, a pair of fuzzy sandals.
Not a taco truck, not an ice cream truck, but a shoe truck has pulled up in Montecito, and boasts a luxurious, high-end selection of women’s footwear.
The sleek white truck holds Tamara Mellon, a women’s luxury footwear brand from the co-founder of Jimmy Choo.
The brand is mostly online, but customers expressed they wanted an in-person experience, so Tamara Mellon hit the road and drove coast to coast to meet its clients face to face.
From boots to pumps to flats to sneakers to sandals, the high-end collection’s cheapest pair of shoes is $450, and can reach up to $995.
The Tamara Mellon truck sat at the Montecito Country Mart, at 1016 Coast Village Road, from Oct. 14 through Oct. 20, and is now located in the valet circle of the Miramar Hotel at 1759 S. Jameson Lane. It’s open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
“Montecito was one of the stops we wanted to make because we have a lot of clients here that shop online with us, so we thought it’d be a great experience for our existing customers and new customers to come on board and have this try-on experience which we’re cultivating,” said Allison Angeles, the leader of the shoe truck.
Tamara Mellon has two retail locations, one in Los Angeles and the other in New York City. The truck allows the brand the flexibility to travel and meet its clients where they are. The retail concept is designed to look and feel as though the client is in her own personal shoe closet.
The selection is a curation of new arrivals and best sellers, and sizes range from 35 to 42, (five to 12). Ms. Angeles said this wide range is unusual for a luxury retailer.
“They (customers) come on and try on the products, and if they fall in love with something, we order it from them and it gets shipped directly to their home,” she said.
Booking an appointment is encouraged, but the truck accepts walk-ins when there aren’t any other clients inside. Only two appointments are allowed per hour because of COVID-19, and staff modified the truck, giving it open air panels instead of glass walls to allow for air flow.
In addition, social distancing, face coverings and try-on socks are required for all customers.
According to Ms. Angeles, the most popular pair of shoes to Montecito residents so far has been a $595 pair of sandals called “Roam,” slip-ons with a fuzzy interior.
Prior to stopping in Montecito, the Tamara Mellon truck stopped in The Hamptons, Aspen and Malibu. Next, the truck will head to Orange County and San Diego.
To make an appointment to browse the extravagant collection, visit https://www.tamaramellon.com/pages/mobilecloset?origin=banner.
email: gmccormick@newspress.com
