Derring Dude

After poking, probing and trying on her clothes and thoroughly scanning her cool and inviting Lost Boys space, I asked owner Kelly Muccio if she also carried shoes. “I will,” she replied. And now she does.

Before we delve into what Muccio inventories in the kicks department at her spot in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., we ask: Should it be an expectation for a clothing joint to offer shoes? I mean, flip it around. Certainly no one expects a shoe store to carry clothes, except for maybe socks (do socks qualify as “clothing”?). But, since the essence of the Lost Boys experience is having Kelly Muccio dress you from head to toe, I would say shoes probably are a must.

So these offerings from SeaVees are a welcomed addition — so much that a bunch of Muccio’s inventory flew out the doors the first day it was offered.

As usual, Muccio contemplated the place of shoes in the Lost Boys universe. She landed on the SeaVees because she “handpicked only the styles that would go from pants to shorts effortlessly.” The self-monickered “purveyors of California casual,” SeaVees fits right into the casual, Left Coast vibe I felt at Lost Boys. Each SeaVees model also carries a number that stands for a date significant in the birth or re-birth of California cool.

This is the “Desert Boot,” or 12/62, which is when Richard Neutra completed the design of the Maslon House in Palm Springs, Calif. Muccio tabbed these in Java and Chino (shown) because “these colors are perfect with raw denim and I am crazy about this shoe with shorts. Adds an edge and I love the edge factor on men. A little bit of bad boy is always a good thing!”

I love the “Slip On,” not just for its sleek, comfy look, but because I’ll be able to kick them off easily at airport security during my extensive spring and summer travel. They are the 05/66, for when the Beach Boys released “Pet Sounds” in Hawthorne, Calif.” Muccio carries them in Navy and says they exude an “obvious cool factor with white shorts and Gilded Age reverse striped pull-over.”

This is a “Tennis Shoe” I’d never think about wearing to play tennis. It would destroy them. But look good off the courts and honor Arthur Ashe (they are the 06/65, for Ashe-led UCLA’s national tennis championship). Muccio has these in Navy and says, “Love the two tone here and the fact that no one will be able to straight up know what cool new shoe you are wearing. This season’s Jack Purcell and a great upgrade to the overplayed Converse.”