Then these Argentine shoes would make fine shoes for any elegant woman, whether she danced or not?

Ms. Bowles is unequivocal in her response.

"I think a woman at an important party will want to be seen in these because they're so beautiful. She'll also have a smile on her face because she isn't being besieged by inflamed metatarsals, as she would be in other shoes."

Ms. Muniz adds that "no woman needs more than one pair of shoes. But in the question of women and of shoes, the phrase 'to need' lacks a certain ... feeling! I myself have more than three hundred pairs of shoes. I display them for myself on glass shelves in my home, with mirrors behind them. I love shoes, and I especially love that we make them!"

She surveys the showroom, still cluttered with shoes all akimbo everywhere and more than a few women who want to buy.

"And that we're making them here in Argentina."