Peter Nappi Shoes
If I lived in Nashville, I’d want to hang out at Phillip Nappi’s Adams Street shoe store, which was named after Phillip’s Italian grandfather, a shoemaker. Housed in an old brick warehouse building, it’s warm and relaxing and fascinating, like the magical workroom of a beloved uncle. (There’s another location now, on 12th Avenue South, that I haven’t been to yet.) I’d also be likely to spend a lot of money on the shoes that Phillip Nappi sells there. Handmade in Italy, they are sturdy but elegant and distinctive. Peter Nappi shoes are stylish, but they also feel casual and timeless and unpretentious. And they are beautifully made, with a craftsman’s attention to detail. I have the Julius Basso boot in cuoio, and whenever I wear them, I feel like I should be writing the great American novel, or striding the floor, flinging paint, in Jackson Pollock’s studio, or designing the app that’s going to bring Google to its knees. Odds are I won’t—but like any great pair of shoes, they make you feel like, while you’re wearing them, you can do amazing things.
The Julius Basso boot costs $495 at peternappi.com.
