While there may no leather in sight, Rubi shoes makes a decent range of cut-price footwear. Sure there are more synthetics inside their flagship store than there should be, but so what, you get what you pay for here. The pleathers, canvases and PVCs may not have the cachet of designer shoe stores but they do the job alright. The shoes come in all colours of the rainbow and in a copious amount of styles and colours. You can choose between flats, heels, sandals, boots and sand shoes all below $ 40. While they may not last you long, they are so cheap and cheerful that you may not be able to resist. Rubi shoes is the epitome of fast fashion, perfect for a quick pick me up.
Arabella G.
Place rating: 4 Melbourne, Australia
I like to think that Rubi Shoes was named after Dorothy’s much vaunted slippers. If only because it would make the shoe corollary of Australian über chain Cotton On a hell of a lot more whimsical. So it’s not the most boutique little shop in town. So what! This particular outpost of Rubi Shoes — which I think is the label’s flagship store — sells a massive array of womens flats, heels, sandals, boots and trainers alongside jewellery and accessories like hats, belts, bags and more. Prices hover at around the $ 20 — $ 30 mark for a pair of shoes, and although Rubi’s footwear is largely synthetic it fills an important gap in the market for the kind of shoes you have to buy to wear to work but really, really don’t want to spend any money on. I particularly like Rubi’s hats and scarves, which can be surprisingly fashion forward and are unfailingly well priced without always being attendantly poorly made. A must visit for accessories addicts.