The Payless Megamall experience

Ever since I heard that Payless ShoeSource was opening outlets here in Manila, I was really looking forward to the day that I would be going in the store and coming out of it with a box of shoes in my hand. That came into fruition last weekend when my husband and I dropped by Payless ShoeSource in SM Megamall.

The Payless Megamall facade, taken with hubby's camera phone

I always thought that I had to wait for the Shangri-La branch to open, since they put up their billboard for everyone to see. Was surprised to find out Megamall was the 2nd branch to open (next to Festival Mall -- if I'm not mistaken) because they weren't advertising it. Or so it seems -- the Payless billboard was placed INSIDE the mall, covering the elevator area, which was under construction.

Anyway, we failed to get a picture of the interior because we might be reprimanded for it. But to give you a taste of what to expect, here's a rundown of my own observation:

1. It's not as big as Forever 21, nor near is it half its size. I think the store that occupied this before was Celine, so it's pretty wide but the depth of the store is not that, er, deep.

2. Aisles are arranged by shoe size. And they have half sizes! Wee! Good for people like me who's not really a 5 but not quite a 6. The aisles, though, are a bit narrow, so if you're in the aisle with co-sized people, it'll probably get a bit crampped up.

3. Speaking of shoes, one thing I observed is that bigger sized shoes have more styles compared to the ones with smaller sizes. This observation goes with the women's sizes, though. I saw a pretty pair of yellow ballet flats at size 8 but didn't see the same at the size 5 aisle. There was also a pair of red ballet flats that I kinda liked, but it was in size 6. But not to fret, kindred ones, because even the smaller sizes have really pretty designs. I had a hard time choosing what I actually wanted that day.

4. Probably because it's new, the ventilation wasn't really okay. It was pretty hot inside, with the narrow aisles and the number of people inside (it was a weekend afternoon, so there was an influx of shoppers). The salespeople can feel it, too. I saw some at the inner end of the store fanning himself because it was humid. I guess that's something to improve.

5. Of course, I'd have to somehow touch on the price. Going by the name "Payless" and branding itself as a discount shoe store in the US, you'd probably want to know if it really offers shoes at lower prices. To give you an idea, here's our loot for that afternoon:

State Street leather shoes for him, priced at around Php1,250.

Predictions sling-back peep-toe wedges for her, priced at Php995.

I would say that for an imported brand, it's priced fairly. We also looked at the Airwalk shoes sold in Payless and compared the price of the same brand and similar style sold in department stores. It seems like the one sold in Payless is less expensive, by about a few hundred pesos. So yeah, I would say the store lives up to its name.

All in all, the Payless ShoeSource experience was a great one for me. For "Imeldifics" and fashionistas, here's a new store to go to. They'll be opening more branches soon, so watch out, there may be one near you.