Joseph LaRose: Jacksonville's Legendary Shoe Guru
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Joseph LaRose loved and lived for shoes. He began his business in Jacksonville but soon his creations were sought after by women everywhere. Though LaRose Shoes skyrocketed to fame, the man behind the works of art never forgot his Florida roots. Up until his death, he dedicated much of his time to his downtown Jacksonville shoe warehouse even after he closed the rest of his stores in other cities. His shoes are still very influential and desired by women today.
Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2012-jun-joseph-larose-jacksonvilles-legendary-shoe-guru
I know it has been mentioned on this site before that Jacksonville would do well to better recognize Mr. LaRose's legacy, e.g. selling ornaments of some of the famous shoes through Historical Society, MOCA, MOSH, et al. Still sounds like a good idea to me.
^I agree.
Fellow Metrojacksonville.com reader Paul W. was kind enough to share his wife's collection of Joe LaRose originals. Check them out!
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I think these are my faves. They're such a modern style oxford and I love the pink added in.
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Thanks again, Paul! What do you guys think of the shoes shown above? Got a favorite design, or a pair you'd like to feature yourself? Share it here!
MelMel I'm absolutely fascinated by Joseph LaRose's designs. Being creative with the oxford by experimenting with color and form is quite imaginative. I really like oxfords :)
Awesome! This guy had undying passion for making footwear. Beautiful.
Indeed, Seraphs. It's awesome to see someone who is able to pursue something they believe in whole-heartedly. It's humbling to know such a success was once dealing with customers in our very own downtown.
I love LaRose shoes. So much that I bought 1200 pair from a collector who had them in storage. I'm working on a website for display and purchase. He was a true artist.
Quote from: sharon on June 29, 2012, 12:33:00 PM
I love LaRose shoes. So much that I bought 1200 pair from a collector who had them in storage. I'm working on a website for display and purchase. He was a true artist.
That is awesome sharon. You should put the website up on the forum when it's finished. What do the shoes look like?
Quote from: sharon on June 29, 2012, 12:33:00 PM
I love LaRose shoes. So much that I bought 1200 pair from a collector who had them in storage. I'm working on a website for display and purchase. He was a true artist.
I'm jealous. :-)
The Jacksonville Museum of Modern Art currently occupies the building where Shoe Icon Joseph LaRose's original store was located from 1949 through 1980. The Joseph LaRose Foundation donated 1000 pairs of the very best Joseph LaRose shoes, matching purses and a substantial portion of the archive (including original drawings, correspondence with celebrity clients and meticulous records), to JMOMA in 2000. The museum assured The LaRose Foundation they would be kept as part of the museums permenant collection and would be proudly displayed in the part of the building exactly where the original Joseph LaRose store was located. In April of 2004 the entire collection of 1000 pairs of the very best LaRose shoes, matching bags and substantial archive were auctioned off by JMOMA. This was an unfortunate loss of Artistic, Cultural and Historic value to the city and community. The very place Joseph Larose and his wife Trudy made their home and business for so many years. This historic collection and legacy by one of The Worlds Foremost Shoe Icons left in the care of The Jacksonville Museum of Modern Art is forever gone, "scattered to the four winds". The Jacksonville Museum of Modern Art had the chance to have a Premier exhibit of one of the Twentieth Centuries great Shoe Icons. The Jacksonville Museum of Modern Art betrayed The Joseph LaRose Foundation, Mr & Mrs LaRose and the city of Jacksonville. Such a great disappointment and cultural loss. The Jacksonville Museum of Modern Art was handed an opportunity to represent the Great Man like no other Art Institution or City in the world. JMOMA greedily auctioned off this Great Legacy and Treasure to our city. Now it is forever lost.
I recently became the owner of about 50 pairs of LaRose shoes in fairly good condition. Does any one know of a group or person who would like to purchase them?
Thanks.
@Ormonde - I had no idea about JMOMA receiving and then auctioning off this collection. I am absolutely disgusted. There are so many cool little things about Jacksonville we could celebrate and have museums, etc., for...birthplace of the blues and Southern Rock, the silent film industry, other movie history, LaRose. It makes me so sad.
@durstin - I don't know of a group or person (although you might start with this place in NYC: http://mrbellersneighborhood.com/2004/06/the-joseph-larose-shoe-collection) to buy your collection, but as an advanced hobbyist photographer I would love the opportunity to photograph the collection.
Please take pictures! That would be incredible.
You might also want to try Decades in LA; i know they do a lot of vintage couture. www.decadesinc.com
sent private message
My mother was very proud of her shoes from LaRose and her hats by Archie, the ones with the green sequin.
Not having those shoes here in Jacksonville is a pure "miss" when it comes to the iconic and fashion forward influence of this well known shoe store. Thumbs down to MOCA for selling off the shoes gifted them. I hope someone or group of someones can acquire the remaining shoes and have them installed in a public display.
In the early 1980's UNF had a downtown campus in what is now the MOCA building. I'd park on the street at a meter and walk by LaRose shoes before and after class....whistlfully dreaming of those shoes. Such art. Wearable art.
I've always been a shoe freak, I drove my parents crazy as a child with my terribly picky taste in shoes. As an adult I still am. When married my wife had very small feet, Joseph LaRose being one of my favorites also made small sizes. In the time I was married I bought my wife well over 100 pairs of shoes, a significant number Joseph LaRose. Before we divorced 8 years ago she handed me a bag of shoes she wanted to give away. I went through the bag to find 8 pairs of LaRose shoes. I could not force myself to give them away, I still have them today.
Very sad they sold his collection. Clothing and shoes are art, more visible than commonly accepted forms, overlooked as such by many. Joseph LaRose was truely one of the great artists of our time.