Shoe retail specialist DSW (NYSE: DSW) has had an up-and-down 2017. Just when the company seemed to be stuck in the malaise that has overcome the retail industry, DSW was able to produce solid results that pointed toward a potential turnaround. Yet just as quickly, changing fortunes can take away the positive momentum that has taken so long for a company to build.Coming into Tuesday's third-quarter financial report, DSW investors wanted to see some evidence that the company could sustain the progress it had made in recent quarters.