Willing and Abel

What's in a name? Well, a lot. Right or wrong, fair or unfair, we tend to associate different names with different appearances: wouldn't you be at least a little surprised to meet a gorgeous supermodel named Bertha, or a lab-coat-wearing nuclear physicist named Bambi? So when you hear the women's names given to three high-heeled sandals from the spring line of shoe designer Abel Muñoz, you'll have a pretty good idea what to expect before you even arrive at Leokadia (667 Tremont Street, Boston, 617.247.7463), the only store in the States - and one of only four in the world - where you can find Muñoz's handcrafted collection. For example, there's the Jakie ($460), an elegant pink number adorned with a girlish black bow that, slight spelling variation aside, would have fit perfectly beside a pillbox hat and pearl necklace in the closet of Mrs. Onassis. The sexy black snakeskin of the Elvira ($500) should, as its name implies, unleash your inner gothic-glam goddess. And while you may not be familiar with the root of a rare name like Talitha ($430), when you learn that it's Aramaic for "little girl," the pink suede and cute Eastern-evoking tassels make perfect sense. As for Muñoz, he's studied at Milan's renowned Ars Arpel Institute of Shoe and Accessory Design, and he serves as beauty editor for two Canadian fashion magazines. But of course, with a name like Abel, it's no wonder he puts his most capable foot forward.