Liliw’s OTOP or One Town One Product are handmade sandals and slippers (tsinelas). At one point in time, I own a store in Cebu selling just those products. The store’s name was Cille’s The Original Liliw Slippers. 🙂
Check out the collage of the best selling designs back then (later on this post). Abaca espadrilles were also the rage a couple of years ago. 🙂
I’ve since moved-on from selling footwear, now I just buy sandals and tsinelas for family in Cebu. These sturdy and quality-made footwear are usually among our pasalubong whenever my husband and I visit there.
Liliw sandals are affordable especially if you compare it to similar footwear in malls and department stores. And if you go to a store which produce their own products, the prices tend to be even cheaper.
If you are fond of online shopping, take note that the prices of sandals and slippers online are a bit on the higher side; factor in effort and time in coming here plus profit margin. The town of Liliw is about 4 hours from Manila on normal traffic. That’s far, dadayuhin talaga if gustong maka-mura.
I really do shop a lot of Liliw sandals for pasalubongs, and I have regularly check almost all the stores in the Tsinelas Lane, from top to the bottom of the Gat Tayaw street, halos every 3 to 4 months since we go home to Cebu several times a year.
These frequent pasalubong shopping gave birth to a select favorite stores. Will you like the Liliw stores that I like? Maybe. Maybe no, after all each one has different taste. But even so, if you are visiting Liliw, I urge you to check out these stores, price-wise, design-wise, quality-wise, these footwear stores are good. These are Penfires recommendations:
MEGANSCO FOOTWEAR – This Liliw store is my go to place if I am shopping wedge sandals for my mom. They are also one of the stores with the most available designs, I think.
These 4 pairs are Cebu-bound next week. Bought these today at naiblog agad haha 😊
The wedges are P260 each (the size 7 and 8 on the image). The slip-on sandal with half inch heel is P160 (size 6 on the pic); I think they refer to this color as ‘nude’. It isn’t white.
The shiny slip-on, ‘coppertone color’ I think I overheard one of the staff refer to this, is P200.
These 4 pairs of sandals only cost me 900 pesos! Good deal!!!
AISHE FOOTWEAR – Aishe is my go-to-store if I am looking for native, abaca made shoes and sandals. This store is a frequent participant in DTI organized trade expos and bazaar, especially during Christmas season and popular festivals. We usually see them selling their products in SM OTOP showcase in Cebu for the Sinulog Festival, as well as in World Christmas Bazaar.
A few years back, a friend commissioned a made to order customized Wataru design shoes from Aishe, 3 pairs of it in requested colors and color combination. Plus, 2 pairs of abaca espadrilles for kids. When the abaca shoes got to him in New York and he wore it, several of his friends noticed and asked where he got it, ‘In Liliw!’. 🙂
UZZO – Uzzo is my number one source of men’s slippers that my dad and brother like. Also, when I am looking for a flat sandal, I checked Uzzo first. Last month, I got all my mom’s sisters and sister in laws, a sandal each, all bought from this store. Too bad I didn’t take a picture of the hoard. :/
BADONGS – I usually go to Badongs if I want to buy sandals with price tag not greater than P150. They have this small section, right side as you enter the store, dedicated to flat slip-ons and those with half-inch heel.
*This store also offers lots of designs, from flat slippers and sandals, to wedges, to sandals with heels, and shoes, plus bags on the side. However, I think not all footwear for sale in Badongs are made in Liliw.
ENTRADA – This store is perhaps the most expensive seller in Liliw Tsinelas Lane. But the good thing about Entrada is that their designs are normally not found on other stores*.
*You’d notice that there are many instances when the design you find in one store, you will most likely find in another. The hunt becomes which seller sells the sandal design you want at the cheapest price.
My friends, when they come visit me in Liliw and decides to shop, they often bought a pair from this store. I just bought one myself today from Entrada, this gold-accented black sandal with heel, the price is P429.
Those 5 listed above are the Liliw footwear stores I regularly bought from. There are still lots of stores to check-out like Chandaline Footwear (all the way down the Gat Tayaw street, near the Brgy Pag-asa welcome arch), Progressive just across Badong, Corcega Footwear (last February we bought a P150 white sandal for my Lola), and more.
Trivia: A friend, a senior merchandiser and store interior decorator for a big local fashion brand mentioned to me that they sourced their slip-on sandals and slippers from a Liliw supplier, Jhazz Footwear (their store is located beside the Aishe building).
By the way, if you explore the town especially in the Poblacion area, you will find small factories or pagawaan of Liliw made footwear at the first floor or at the back areas of homes. Yung mga sandals and slippers are mano-mano ginagawa.
There are also some manufacturers who outsourced a phase or two of the process to the neighbors. Example: pagbuburda ng tela, sewing of sandal straps, wove abaca for wrap around styles, etc.
Liliw Made Sandals and Slippers
Liliw enjoys a robust cottage industry. These manufacturers and sellers are giving livelihood opportunities to the Liliwenos plus earnings opportunities for all those online sellers of Liliw made footwear. And of course, opportunity for all of us to have quality made, affordable flats, heels, wedges, lace up sandals at significantly less the mall prices!!!
Go for stylish, fashionable, and comfortable footwear without breaking the bank!
That’s my list of the best of the best Liliw sandals and slippers manufacturers and suppliers. Find a good deal when you come here shopping for footwear. 🙂
I’ll try my best to update my recommendations on where to eat in Liliw. New restaurants are popping-up like 2nd Street Café (my husband like their marinara pasta which sells at P125, I like their BBQ spareribs at P175), some old favorites like Arabela (price for premium pasta dish usually starts at P320, I usually order seafood puttanesca, my husband go for seafood marinara) and Tita Beth’s (tapsilog choices usually at P80, binalot sa dahon around the same price) are going strong.
Halina kayo sa Bayan ng Liliw! Baleng Ganda, Baleng Saya! 🙂
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