| shoes are added to the stock shoes and sold in Freed’s retail stores, which is why students can be found wearing Natalia Makarova’s or Gelsey Kirkland’s rejects. |
| The dancer’s complaint us usually something miniscule – a vamp that appears too short or too long, an uneven shank or a heel cut too low – eighth-inch discrepancies, but enough to drive a fussy ballerina wild. We have varying degrees of tolerance – some dancers simply wear all their shoes despite slight problems, others sort out 20 pairs into “un wearable,” “for rehearsal only” and “best” – for the performance. More often than not, returned shoes arrive with the statement that they “are just not right.” Kohler shrugged and smiled: “You ladies are a funny bunch. Miss Fracci, bless her heart, is a lovely lady, but Oh, how she fusses over her shoes! Miss Parkis the same.” Freed’s has an illustrious clientele, including Carla Fracci, Merle Park, Antoinette Sibley, Suzanne Farrell, Patricia McBride and Natalia Makarova. |
| Suzanne Farrell has worn only white shoes for the past few months. Doesn’t she have any peach? “Yes, she does, lots of them, but she says she can’t wear them,” replied Kohler. |
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| Many of us, myself included, find the size and shape of white toe shoes invariably different from the peach. Kohler is again bewildered by this common complaint: “They are the same shoes, made by the same men, but I know you girls don’t think so.” He’s right. And we’re right. It’s simply one more elusive idiosyncrasy inherent in the toe shoe. |
| On the subject of pay and price, Kohler was discreet. The makers work without contracts or company pensions and are paid per pair of shoes. A maker who assembles 42 pairs each day will take home twice the pay of one who assembles 21. At Freed’s London store, a pair of stock shoes costs £8.90 ($12.63 at the current exchange rate). At the New York store they cost $29. Special orders – for professional dancers – cost about $5 extra. The NYCB bill is close to $400,000 a year. |
| The surprising part of Freed’s business is that for an enterprise of its scale, work is carried out with such individuality. Each maker is selected by each dancer according to her own needs and expectations. This is good old-fashioned country-store service. As dancers, we are each known by name, just as our makers are known by their signature symbols imprinted on the bottom of each shoe. |
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