Inside Jrue Holiday' astonishing 'shoe library' - Don’t just call it a closet

Don’t merely refer to it as a closet. No, Jrue Holiday of the New Orleans Pelicans and his wife, USWNT player Lauren Holiday, came up with something a little more theatrical. Instead of a closet, they decided to create a “shoe library.”

“Before, I just had a room full of shoes, just in boxes, and, obviously, our house is pretty big, so we had an extra room of just shoes,” Holiday says of his California Closets Design to SI.com. “We had to get our master closet redone and thought why not make a shoe library.”

Lauren’s mother then set to work, identifying styles she liked, which lead Jrue and Lauren to design an entire home—complete with glass, lead lighting, and size-13-measured shelves—for well over the 250 pairs of shoes Holiday owns.

Holiday’s idea—”it is supposed to be like a library since I have so many different pairs, a lot of different variety, like a library”—and his desire to put his favorite pairs under glass inspired the design.

“At first, I wanted it all to be under glass, but my wife thought that was a little gaudy,” Holiday laughs. “My favorite pairs are all illuminated by glass. The colors can be changed. That was actually thought up by the designers of California Closets, so that was pretty nice.”

The bulk of the shelves are illuminated, with some having colored glass shelves and a programmable remote control. Every shelf in the roughly 20-by-13-foot area has support, and it’s all been measured to match Holiday’s exact shoe-size criteria.

Holiday’s library includes a “big variety, I’m into anything you put on your feet.” He categorizes them according to brand and style. He separated his retro sneakers from his collectible shoes—he has shoes signed by players he grew up watching and others signed by teammates—game-worn keepsakes like his All-Star sneakers, his rotation of game sneakers and training shoes, current-style models, and even dress shoes, which he refers to as “expensive sneakers.”

His favorites—the greatest of the best from all genres—take center stage and are placed behind glass. And the majority of them will never leave the Holiday shoe library.

“There are a select few where I have to wear these, where I say, ‘One day I’m going to wear these, but not today,'” he said. “My favorite shoes, my under-glass shoes, I don’t think I’ll ever wear them.”

Holiday anticipates some trades, as with any good library. He has plenty of room to add to his collection—he spaced the sneakers out to make the shelves appear full—and Lauren is always urging him to give shoes away. “It’s difficult for me, but I do it,” Holiday adds. “I can interchange that way.”

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