AGL

Good shoes are so expensive. Actually, so are crappy shoes. Unless you go the Payless route, it's likely that you're going to spend a big chunk of cash on your next pair of boots, ballerina flats or oxfords, whether they're from Steve Madden or Charlotte Olympia. That's why Italian shoe brand Attilio Giusti Leombruni, sold at Nordstrom and other stores across the US, is so refreshing. The company might be 55-years-old, but the shoes have only been available in the US for the past four. The made-in-Italy styles are contemporary with a menswear edge—lots of oxfords, easy ballet flats—and they don't cost a small fortune. I know that I'd rather spend $300 on a pair of well-made, long-lasting shoes than $150 on something that's going fall apart in a season. The coolest thing about AGL, though, is not the actual shoes, but the women making them. Founder Piero Giusti's three granddaughters—Sara, Vera, and Marianna—run the company. I recently emailed with them about the shoes, the business, and their family bond.