Diavolina to Reopen on Robertson in March
Shoe mavens across Los Angeles mourned when specialty store Diavolina closed in March 2004. The boutique was known for selling some of the most fashion-forward women’s footwear, from high stilettos by Chloe and Diego Dolcini to the Olivia Morris label’s paintby- number boots and shoes.
Diavolina will be back in the shoe business, said store founder Evelyn Ungvari. The shop will open in late March on 156 S. Robertson Blvd. in Los Angeles, across the street from high-profile boutiques Madison, Kitson and Lisa Kline Men. The new store is a partnership with Mark Goldstein, who owns five Madison boutiques in Los Angeles.
Ungvari promised the new Diavolina, Italian for “little devil,” will feature the same hard-to-find shoes and accessories that made her original store popular between 1998 and 2004. The Robertson store’s larger size, 2,100 square feet, will also allow her to devote more floor space, an estimated 30 percent to 40 percent, to apparel.
Price points will be $30 to $1,800 for clothing brands such as Mayle, Costume National, Sonia Rykiel and Habitual.
The store’s footwear labels will include Chloe, Marc Jacobs, Bruno Frisoni, Costume National and Veronique Branquinho. Price points will range from $15 for flip-flops to $1,400 for boots.
Ungvari designed Diavolina’s interior with Goldstein to be a 21st century update on her old store’s antique “jewelry box” look. The Robertson boutique will feature leopard-skin carpets, white couches and a ceiling with raspberry-color lacquer.
After Ungvari lost the lease for Diavolina in early 2004, she started a wholesaling business and shared a showroom with EM Productions in the Cooper Design Space in downtown Los Angeles. She said she frequently met her former customers and missed retailing.
In June 2004, a friend suggested she call Goldstein and ask if he needed a shoe buyer. Goldstein remembered answering this cold call by saying he already had a footwear buyer but was interested in reopening Diavolina.
“The store had a strong image and did good volume,” Goldstein said. “But it needed to be in the right location with the right team.”
Goldstein said Diavolina will have a good niche on Robertson because there is little competition for footwear, except from his store. Goldstein and Ungvari agreed to avoid crossover by carrying different labels.
Ungvari said she thinks she can bring a new customer to Robertson.
“When I moved to La Brea, a lot of my Westside girls said it was too far to go,” Ungvari said of the last location for her store. “But a lot of the Eastside girls will go anywhere for a good pair of shoes.” —Andrew Asch
