RENTER'S MARKET; AS AUTHENTIC VINTAGE SHOES BECOME INCREASINGLY HARD TO COME BY, RETAILERS ARE TURNING A LACK OF UNIQUE PRODUCT INTO AN ADD-ON RENTAL BUSINESS.

Footwear News, July, 2006

Byline: Michelle Baran

"When I think of some of the shoes I sold!" lamented Zia Zipprin, owner of New York-based Girls Love Shoes, a vintage footwear store and rental business on the Lower East Side.

Claiming some styles are "just too good to sell," Zipprin has been putting more and more finds aside for her growing rental business, a switch from when she started selling vintage footwear four years ago.

But Zipprin isn't the only one guarding her wares. New York's most notable vintage shoe dealers are all doing the same, as demand from film and television productions and designers for vintage stock outpaces supply.

"I couldn't keep up with specific demands if I were to sell everything," said Cesar Padilla, owner of New York's...