LABEL HUNGRY; BY CATERING TO PHILADELPHIANS' DESIRES FOR EXCLUSIVE DESIGNER STYLES, MAINLY SHOES HAS CREATED AN UPSCALE IMAGE FOR ITSELF.

Footwear News, August, 1999 by Cardwell, Thom

Maybe it was an interest in all things Italian -- the language, art, history, literature, architecture and, of course, the fashion -- that unknowingly led Matt Neducsin to his passion for shoes.

A few years after college, Neducsin assumed the management and, last month, the ownership of Mainly Shoes on Main Street in Manayunk, a trend-setting area of Philadelphia that attracts urbanites and suburbanites to its popular restaurants and upscale shops. "I enjoy working with people," he said, "and I've always been interested in fashion and clothing."

Although the retailer had never formally wedded the two interests, the 27-year-old waxes poetic about the artistry and craftsmanship of a pair of Bruno Maglis similar to the way he used to talk about...