Shoe Stores
Red Top
About Red Top
Buying shoes is one of the few purchases that still rewards standing in a shop with the box open in front of you. Red Top keeps an address at 3303 43 Ave in Vernon, within reach of the core where most of the North Okanagan does its comparison shopping.
Sizing is the reason to go in person. A nine from one maker runs long, a nine from another runs narrow, and width matters more than length for most people who end up with sore feet. Bring the socks you actually intend to wear, shop later in the day once your feet have spread, and walk the length of the room rather than standing still on carpet. If you need something specific, say so at the door. Work boots with a safety toe, something with real traction for ice, a sandal that will survive a summer at the lake, or a shoe that will take a custom orthotic are all different conversations. Ask what can be ordered in when a size is not on the shelf, and how long that usually takes.
Four real seasons make footwear a bigger question here than in milder places. Winter at the north end of the valley brings frozen pavement and the slopes of East Hill, where the walk back to the car is a genuine hazard in smooth soles. Spring turns the surrounding farmland and the trails to mud. Summer runs hot enough that closed shoes get abandoned by the door. Anyone working the orchards, the farms or the trades out in the townships around the city needs boots that will hold up to all of it.
Visiting Red Top
Getting there
In the Downtown Vernon neighbourhood of Vernon.
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More places near Downtown Vernon
Other shoe stores and nearby businesses in the Vernon directory.
From the blog
Vernon guides and stories
Longer reads from the editor, with the places worth a detour linked inside them.
Halloween Ideas and Events in Vernon
O'Keefe Ranch's Field of Screams and Davison Orchards' haunted mazes and pumpkin patch, plus Vernon Fire Rescue's annual safety tips.
Read the guide
Vernon's Labour Day weekend has knights, aerialists and one very quiet lake
The Renfaire runs both weekend days at Polson Park, Kalamalka stays swimmable, Armstrong's Musical Ride stop was cancelled, and SilverStar needs a phone call first.
Read the guide
Where to shop in Vernon: gear city, plus the avenue
Vernon's shopping has a split personality: one of the deepest outdoor gear concentrations in BC and a walkable downtown avenue of independents, with the mall quietly covering everything else.
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