Croatian Bespoke Shoes -- Strugar

In the past, one may have never known all of the possibilities he/she may have had when it came to the world of bespoke shoemaking, but thanks to the internet, this all over. Even me, I must admit, would have never thought about going to learn bespoke shoemaking in Croatia, Poland, Hungary or any other country outside of England, France, Italy and Japan, before my entrance into the world bespoke shoes. I guess being in America (especially in the NW far corner), where sometimes knowledge can be limited by naivety, due to it's vastness and detachment from the rest of the world, this is the perception that you get. But having started this blog, learning how to makes shoes, and simply being in Europe, you begin to understand, that the world of bespoke shoemaking is a lot bigger than you may think. And that brings us to Croatian bespoke shoemaker, Neno Strugar from Strugar. From what I gather, it seems to be that Strugar is a family run operation, where Nino might be the son of the founder. But nonetheless, he is making lovely shoes out of Croatia, doing bespoke, as well as made-to-order. And while I can't say that I am a fan of every toe shape, I believe that the combination of leathers, coloring and patinas are simply wonderful!

Stay tuned tomorrow for a long post about my trip to Paris.

-Justin, "The Shoe Snob"

Shoes Of The Week - Alden Collaborations

While I have lots to write about for my trip to Paris, it needs to be organized and the posts are going to be longer ones, so bear with me on these things. For the meantime, I wanted to talk about Alden and how they seem to be such busy bees with their collaborations with other brands. As I have stated in many earlier posts, I believe that this idea of collaborating is the way of the future in the shoe industry. While it has always been about, it seems that it has really taken off, since 2010. Obviously, as most of the world went into recession a few years back, companies had to start thinking about alternative channels of distribution, and it seemed that collaboration gave the best of both worlds, for all parties involved. It gave the designers/shoe brands something new to create and an alternative way of making money, it gave the collaborating brand something different from their usual, and maybe stale collection and all-in-all the collaboration gave the customer another option, in case they were not liking anything at that present moment. That being, I have thoroughly enjoyed all of the new saddle shoe models that Alden has been producing for the likes of Unionmade (pictured above & below) as well as Blackbird (very bottom), which is a very popular boutique located in the neighborhood where I grew up, Ballard, Wa. And while I feel that Alden has done a good job of going relatively outside of the box with the likes of these color combo's, I am hoping that the next time I see this shoe, it might be in green or red or some other non-traditional color. We shall see...

Enjoy your Friday and check back soon for my trip to Paris posts....

-Justin, "The Shoe Snob"

Today's Favorites - Customer's Shoes

While I feel like it has been forever since I have written, really it has only been almost exactly 48 hours, which is not that long, in fact, to go without a post, especially considering that I am currently in Paris....yup, Paris! Taking a short trip, seeing the sights and doing a couple of things here and there, that you will see and hear about in the not-so-distant future. But as always, I have to keep up my wonderful blog and give to all of you the shoe porn that you so desperately yearn for. And for today, I have decided to honor my comment of putting up the shoes of my readers who send me pics of their collections. So, to lead the pack, I have added a most beautiful spat boot, that would put most boots to shame, and was made by none other than French shoe house, Aubercy. And while I appreciate putting up my reader's shoes, I find myself a little jealous at some of them, especially since I don't own a spat boot, and may have to wait awhile, as no one really makes them, especially not for a ready-to-wear collections. Anyway, you can see the interesting shoes that were given to me via picture and think about the one's that you want to send me to show for future posts!

Wait until you see the shoes that I had commissioned a patina for....simply amazing!!!!

Enjoy.......  -Justin, "The Shoe Snob"
 

 Custom-made green cracked leather balmoral boot -- unique!

Custom-made scorpion medallion toes -- very interesting..












John Lobb (2), Corthay & G&G -- Not as unique, but nice nonetheless.. (clockwise from top left -- below)

Shoe closets....

High Toe Shine -- Good job!

Shoes -- Part 2: Style Names & Terminology -- Derby's, Monk Straps & Others

With the second installment of 'Style Names & Terminology,' I will finish off laced shoes and monkstraps, before getting onto loafers and boots. As I mentioned the majority of oxford styles (or closed-lacing shoes) in Part 1, it is now time to introduce their counterparts and show the open-lacing models, as well as some of the other styles that I forgot. Enjoy!

Derby (Darby in England) AKA Blucher AKA Gibson (far less known): 

As you can see above, I started with what I believe is the most iconic derby in shoe history. And even though the model is not that old, once you see it, you know instantly who it is made by, as it was the first to start this two-eyed trend in derby history. This model that I am referring to, above, is made by Pierre Corthay and is called 'Arca.' Now derbies come in all shapes and designs, most of which, at least in my mind, take form within the more casual side of the footwear industry, as they are not as dressy as their counterpart, the oxford. This could be why I am so drawn to the model above, as it's cleanliness gave it a dress feel that most derbies just don't seem to possess. 

Top Left: Edward Green; Top Right: Gaziano & Girling
Bottom Left: Berluti; Bottom Right: Corthay

It is my general belief that the more eyelets (the holes punched for the laces) that a derby has, the more casual that it becomes. Something about the extended facing part of the quarter, just makes it look so much more cluttered and therefore less elegant, as opposed to the single eyelet plain-toe by Berluti, above left. To me, that is just as elegant, if not more, than a whole-cut oxford. The extension of the vamp leading almost up to the ankle, just gives off such a beautiful look. As you can see here, I went on the extreme of both ends, showing a 5 eye and a 1 eye derby, where I believe that you will find the majority of dress derbies will have 3 eyelets. And speaking of eyelets, I know that many people have a hard time knowing what shoe lace length to get for their shoes. So here is your model:

27-30 inch laces (67.5-75 cm) = 3-4 eyelets in shoe;    36 inches (90 cm) = 5-6 eyelets in shoe

Monk Straps:

Monk straps are the shoe style that I have not taken fully advantage of, and of which I desperately need to. I don't know why I don't own more because I really really like them, all of them, even the triple monk straps (see below). I particularly like this model, above, one that I believe was popularized by John Lobb. Having that galosh-like quality about it, it poses as a elegant alternative to the oxford. Many people will disagree, believing that the metal buckles take away from it's elegance, but in my opinion, it's quite the contrary, where I see laces as posing a bigger threat to elegance. That's not to say that I believe that loafers are the most elegant, as they have no laces, but between this side buckle monk strap and it's galosh-like counterpart oxford, I believe that this takes the cookie for being dressier. However, it is generally regarded (by most) that monk straps sit in middle of oxfords and derbies when it comes to the scale of dress appeal.

Single Monk At Very Top: Aubercy
Top Left & Middle Two: Bestetti
Top Right: Gaziano & Girling
Bottom Picture: Imai Hiroki

Spectators (Co-Respondents in England) AKA Two Tone's:

This style of shoe fits many different looks, color combinations and designs. Most likely, when you think about a spectator you probably picture the Barker Black golf shoe below, as this is something that I feel like is driven into the minds of people in the States. But for me, a spectator or co-respondent is a shoe that has two contrasting colors and/or even contrasting materials, say for instance leather and suede, such as the Gaziano & Girling below. This is a style that I am definitely no stranger to, as I love the mixture of colors, hence my infatuation with saddle shoes and galosh styles with opposing colors.

The spectator, according to Wikipedia, was claimed to be invented as a cricket shoe, by none other than John Lobb. The height of it's popularity grew until about the 20's & 30's, where it was a mainstream shoe, even worn by the likes of my sartorial role model, Fred Astaire. To this day, it's a model that remains in the seasonal line up, whether Church's, Crockett & Jones, Allen Edmonds or some other classic shoe brand is releasing it's latest model. And while I do own one of the classic full-brogue spectators, I prefer two-toned shoes in different manners, such as saddles, galosh styles and anything with multiple materials. Well that is it for this week. Stay tuned next week for all of the different types of loafers, there are many!


-Justin, "The Shoe Snob"

1st Row (Both): Gaziano & Girling
2nd Row (Left to Right): Edward Green; Barker Black
3rd Row (Both): Jan Kielman
4th Row (L to R): Stefano Bemer; Imai Hiroki