Mar-Lou Shoes
Large size women's shoes in up to US size 12.
WIDE WIDTHS, NARROW WIDTHS, LARGE SIZES, FASHIONABLE SHOES, COMFORT SHOES, WARM BOOTS, SANDALS AND MORE ARE WHAT MAR-LOU SHOES IS ALL ABOUT.
Back in 1955 Henry "Bud" & Marcia Ungar were married in Toledo, Ohio. After Dad cut his teeth with Wohl Shoe Co. of St Louis, MO Marcia decided it was time to move to Cleveland to be near her sister, Sue. So it was that my parents, Bud & Marcia, ended up in Cleveland in 1957with a dilemma. Where was Marcia to buy shoes for her size 10 ½ narrow feet?
Rather than searching far and wide they decided to open their own shoe store in the beautiful Old Arcade in the heart of downtown Cleveland. In February of 1958 – on a shoestring budget (pun intended) - Mar-Lou Shoes (named after my mom, Marcia Lou!) was born. What a sigh of relief for Marcia's poor, aching feet! Specializing solely in women's size 10 and up, by 1972 the company grew into a two store operation with an east side location in Richmond Heights. By 1984 a third store, Revelations, was added in Cleveland Heights and by 1994 a fourth store was in the mix in North Randall. Through the course of the ensuing decade all four stores were folded into one large store in Lyndhurst – where we continue today.
For the first 20 years of business we carried exclusively larger sizes for women. Dad was a master at designing shoes for the taller woman. He quite literally dreamt up designs; heels, fabrics, treatments, soles, colors and textures, put them on paper and manufactured them using the finest of American, Spanish and Italian shoemakers. He owned brands such as Balenciaga, Tall Girl Custom Originals, Piccolinos and more. To this day customers strut to our store with these labels emblazoned on old pairs of quality shoes. We have many customers who have literally shopped with us since 1958 and tens of thousands who have shopped with us since the 1960's. Every week we add hundreds of satisfied customers to the roll!