Italian transplant Geox has everything going for it: a delicious name, an innovative product, prime real estate. But above all else, including any PR creation, it has genuine cool.

The staff manning the airy, light-filled Beverly Hills store, clad in black athletic wear, is non-intrusive yet more than willing to help. Twelve flat screen televisions take up wall space broadcasting, along with their own promotional videos, children’s cartoons. The merchandise itself is a healthy mix of function vs. fashion—Geox designs stylish shoes that "breathe" via water-tight holes in the soles that allow moisture and heat out, miraculously without letting it back in. A tad bit expectedly Italian, the men’s selection consists of basic brown or black leather, pointed or rounded toes, and a few black coats (designed with the same functional breathabilty as the shoes) thrown in for good measure. The women’s selection, both shoes and outerwear, continually brought one sentence to our mind over and over again: “cooler than Tod’s.” Unexpectedly, the widest variety came in the children’s sizes. Geox has boy’s shoes in every hue, style and size. It has always been our dream to get men’s shoes with a bit more personality. We're not saying that Geox quite does this, but we'll be damned if shopping here isn’t a hoot. —Philip Harris