To view the new fall 2011 styles, go to Fall 2011

I dropped in to this shoe repair shop to have a shine since it is so close to my showroom. If you speak Spanish the banter with the two mainstays of the shop is always interesting but the atmosphere gets stiffer when the owner is around.

If you are wearing quality shoes they recommend using a cream instead of polish for shining. They believe that using polish can sometimes leave too much residue on the shoes that with time can take on an opaque color. They do an ok job and for the $3 cannot be knocked, but I would look elsewhere for a top quality shoe shine.

My rating for Star New York: 2.5 Brushes out of 5

Often overlooked by North Americans, Portugal and in particular Lisbon is a worthy destination. This past May I found a self proclaimed "Celebrity" shining shoes on the street near to the Restauradoes metro stop on Avenida Libertadores.

He has apparently been featured on several TV programs and has played a small part in at least one Portuguese film. With a pipe in the corner of his mouth he delivered a celebrity shoe shoe on the street, stopping only to make sure his umbrella kept the sun out of my eyes.

He used a very soft semi-liquid neutral shoe polish that brought up the color in my pebble grained loafers. Ten minutes and 3 euros later I was a fan.

My rating for Celebrity Shine Lisbon: 4.5 Brushes out of 5