Colored/Contrasting Laces

Shoes By: Markowski

When it comes to French shoemakers and French men, in general, I have to say: THEY ARE THE MOST DARING!!!! Even more so than the stylish and bold Italians, the French will do things that no one else does or even tries. A close second may be the Japanese. But where else can you find bright blue shoes paired with pink laces and actually see someone wearing these on the streets? Some of you may find these shoes and this idea ostentatious and even just plain ugly but I think that it is absolutely fantastic that there are so many people in that country who are not afraid to actually admit that they like color and will put that out there by wearing some of the wildest shoes you could ever imagine. And better yet, they are not afraid to throw some imagination into their shoe creations by adding colored laces that are completely contrasting to the rest of the shoe. The only other maker who I know that will commonly add this feature to his shoes is Paul Smith, another gentlemen not afraid to show his love of color!

Shoes Above Top Row: Corthay (both pairs)
Shoes Above Bottom Row: Left - Corthay; Right - Paul Smith

As I always preach, the smallest of details can turn something relatively boring into something exciting and unique. For instance, the Corthay shoe (above, left) would have been just another version of a black brogued-wingtip, common as any other with just a different last shape. But adding the yellow/golden ribbon laces to it just put it into a whole other category of shoe. It is no longer just some common brogue, it is now force to be reckoned with. It is unique, eye-catching and ultimately, immaculate! While it was always a handsome shoe, it became that much more handsome by the simple addition of colored ribbon laces! And as you start to pay attention you will start to notice that this idea is almost exclusive to French makers and I appreciate them that much more for their ability to step of out the box and add a dash of color into their products.

Top Shoes: Left - Rider Boot Co.; Right - Saion
Middle Shoes: Left - Markowski; Right - Stefano Bemer
Bottom Shoes: Markowski

If you are a person who appreciates coordinating colorful outfits, this feature in the shoe will add a million more possibilities to the sartorial outcomes produced from your wardrobe. How great is that!! Obviously, if you have never done this before, it might be hard the first few times because, no doubt about it, people will stare at you. The thing that you need to do is just tell yourself that they are admiring you and that you are damn stylish. And guaranteed, as long as you put two colors that go well together, you will be damn stylish and better dressed than many people out there! For those of you reading and thinking that this is emasculating and that no real macho man would do this, you are wrong! A real man, secure and confident, doesn't give a shit if others judge them negatively (for their sartorial decisions) and wears what he wants because he wants to! So don't be afraid to put your pride aside and try something daring!

Today's Favorites - More Saddle Shoes

Shoe Above: Lodger

 

2 Pairs Above: Tricker's

3 Pairs Above: Opening Ceremony

Considering that saddle shoes are probably my all-time favorite style, there will be numerous times where I post them. If they are not your thing, sorry, deal with it! I love seeing saddle shoes that come in combination's that are different from the typical golf-shoe looking saddle that has a white-base with a red, blue, or black saddle. To me, while I would gladly wear and own one those 'standard' saddles, they are just so boring compared to the unique and unconventional options that are sprouting up everywhere for this fall/winter season as well as the upcoming spring/summer 2011 season.

Today's Favorites - Black Cap Toe's

Shoe Above: a.Testoni

Shoe Above: Anthony Delos

Shoes Above: Gaziano & Girling

Shoes Above: John Lobb

Shoes Above: Stefano Bemer

Considering that black cap toe's are not my favorite style of shoe, I figured that I might display these now before they get lost forever in my collection of endless photos. While I would much rather own a million other styles, there is nothing that says "let's get down to business," better than a black cap toe and because of that, it is the style most purchased (at least in United States) by business professionals. It is the workhorse shoe that will take you through your career without ever letting you down.....

Sole Options - To Bevel Or Not To Bevel???

As technology grows and becomes more readily available, you find that your options in obtaining things become endless. One of these things is the ability to have a goodyear-welted shoe that has a beveled waist and is ready-to-wear. This feature has only recently (several years) been available to the mass public as the machine that is able to do this was created not so long ago. Before that you could get a waist that was cut pretty close to the leather but a true beveled waist was only obtainable in bespoke/custom footwear. Now it is commonly used in British footwear companies (e.g. Gaziano & Girling, Alfred Sargent, George Cleverley etc.) and I feel like soon it will exponentially start becoming more commonly seen on the shoes of other companies from around the world. For those that may not be familiar with the term waist, it is the part of your foot where your inner and outer arch's lay, from the heel to the metatarsals of the foot.

(Click on pictures to enlarge)

Top Two: Koji Suzuki (beveled waist)
MiddleTwo: Saion (regular waist)
Bottom Picture: Koronya, courtesy of his blog HERE

There are several ways to tell if a waist is beveled or not. From the pictures above, you will notice that the top two pictures as well as the bottom picture have a waist that is not only a different width but also a different shape than the sole area below the toe box. When creating a beveled waist, a shoemaker will usually shave down the sole at the waist area as to signify this trait and to accentuate the beveled waist by differentiating it from the rest of the sole. Marcel, the maker behind Koronya, provides an illustration that shows this feature. Another way to tell is is the fact that the tool that a maker uses to 'finish' the beveled waist produces a convex shape as opposed to the squared shape that is produced by the tool that 'finishes' the sole area around the toe box. If you enlarge the top pictures, you will be able to see this example better. However, you will notice that the shoes in the middle pictures have one long sole that is the same width and shape all the way around, signifying a normal waist.

Here you can see the preparations needed for a beveled waist and ultimately for the fiddleback (v-shape) that many makers love to put on their beveled waists in order to bring out the elegance of the feature. In the left picture you will see that the lines in the arch area are drawn more inward in-respect to the lines of the toe box area (hence the tighter look of it). These lines signify where you are going to cut the wall (or feather) that you are going to sew the welt into. In the right picture you will notice that the shape of the line that I drew in the left picture is always kept tight. After applying the welt, you need to cut it down to the stitches in order to give it that narrow look.

In these pictures you can see the different options that one has when getting a beveled waist. The top left picture is just to compare and is a shoe by Silvano Sassetti that is just a regular waist. The picture to the right of that would be a beveled waist but without any extra features put on, just a flat sole. The bottom left picture has what is called a fiddleback on it's waist. This is that v-shaped curve that accentuates the look of the beveled waist and is the most commonly used feature added onto a shoe that has a beveled waist. The bottom right picture also has a beveled waist but instead of the fiddleback, I put a hump in the middle and made it a convex shape.

Before studying the art of shoemaking, I was clueless as to what a beveled waist was but now I absolutely love the look of it, especially since I have narrow feet and it only helps to convey that. In my snobbish mind, I feel that narrow is more on par with elegant, therefore I try to make the shoe as narrow looking as possible. Because of this, I hope to see more companies around the world adopting this look. Obviously, there are shoes that are better off without it, but when you need a shoe to make an impression, the one with the beveled waist is going to do the trick before it's clunkier rival!

Shoes Of The Week

Men's Shoes:  J.M. Weston

 

Picture Courtesy Of: Leffot

Lately, I have been quite stuck on boots and colorful shoes with multiple materials and I figured that it was time to go back to the other spectrum of the shoe industry that I love: the classics. Some days you have this urge to wear something bright, different or just something that you know that no one else will own, but other days provide for simplicity and elegance and nothing can quite display such characteristics finer then the classic pieces that belong in every man and woman's wardrobe. This shoe here, by J.M. Weston, is one my favorite examples of a handsomely elegant loafer. I don't think that there is one detail on this shoe that is out of place, doesn't belong or is anything less than being perfect.

Another Blogroll Addition

Dear Readers,

As you may know, sharing is caring and in the this day and age where blogging is the mainstream media outlet for almost everything, it is nice to be able to share with others might not be so easily found, especially when it is content from another country. I recently met a fellow blogger who has a site of his own that caters to not only men but also the ladies. The site is called Style Sage and the authors are a British duo who share their tastes on fashion and art. It is not often that you meet young gentlemen who actually know how to dress elegantly and stylish, but I must say that Christian's sartorial knowledge leaves the site nothing short of visually and intellectually stimulating. For a great perspective on the minds of two young, stylish and British individuals, venture to the site and I promise that you won't be disappointed.

Sincerely,

The Shoe Snob

 http://www.stylesage.co.uk/

My Shoes #7 - Stefano Bemer Suede Chukka's

 

 

When it comes to boots there is nothing better than a brown suede chukka boot. It's versatility is unparalleled, it's look is timeless and it's range, for time-of-year wear-ability, is the longest within the boot realm. This pair here, by Stefano Bemer, is my pride and joy. It has been through many different seasons, seen many different terrains and even been worn with outfits as casual as jeans and a polo all the way to pairing with suits. It is the perfect boot. Out of all my shoes, I can probably say that I have worn this more than any. While I always tell you that you need this and you need that, in all honesty, if you were to get yourself one shoe for it's practicality and versatility, I would have to give the brown suede chukka boot the highest vote, no joke!! I truly enjoy mine and can't wait to get another pair sometime down the road.

Today's Favorites - Shoes With Multiple Colors/Materials/Leather Types

Shoe Above: Carreducker

Shoe Above: Lodger

Shoe Above: St. Crispins

Shoes Above: Koji Suzuki

Shoe Above: Salvatore Ferragamo

Feast your eyes on these puppies!! Shoes with multiple materials, leather types, and colors are always just a touch more exciting than something so plain Jane!

How To Put A Patina On Your Shoes

While I am no French master when it comes to putting a patina on a pair of shoes, I am quite proud of my first attempt at actually doing so. During my apprenticeship, in Italy, my good friend Matteo (who learned how to make shoes in France), put a reverse patina on a pair of brown slip on's. You might be thinking what is a 'reverse patina?' Well, a patina is when your shoe's coloring starts to change with time. This can be done naturally, over many years of wearing, or can be done manually as I will explain here. Done manually, a patina is usually done with a nude-colored leather where the person will apply multiple layers of polish, of different shades, in order to get this aged/brushed look. This is very common in Berluti shoes. A reverse patina, as my friend Matteo had done and what I attempted here, is when the shoe already has it's leather dyed some color and you then remove that dye and either blend it together to give a nice fade look or add another color to the mix. I decided to add another color since the shoes were relatively boring before my patina.























So I found these brown cap-toe derby's (which I am pretty sure had never been worn) at a second-hand store in Brighton for only 40 British Pounds and I am pretty sure that they were a bespoke made pair of shoes due to some of the details left. If you look at the picture showing the heels, you will notice a small nail hole. When a shoemaker is lasting a shoe, he needs to place a nail in the heel side of the upper in order to keep the leather of the heel part in position. This is usually done in an area where stitching takes place, as not to leave a nasty hole like the one here. Apparently they did not care about subtly whenever this shoe was made, which I am sure was quite a long time ago. You can also notice on that same picture that on the left shoe, the sole part is not a flat line across the heel area. You can see that it curves upward from left to right, again indicating hand work, where a machine made shoe should leave this perfectly flat looking. Anyway, they were about a half size too big but were a narrow cut which is great considering I have narrow feet and their bland look gave me the opportunity to play around with them.













As you can see, the first thing I did was try and strip some of the leather dye off of the shoes. I did this with nail polish remover at first but got quickly tired of that option after I noticed that it did not remove the dye very easily. I then went on to the hardcore stuff and decided to use bleach. When you do this option, you want to make sure and just get a plain bleach and mix it with water or else you could easily ruin your shoes and your skin as well. I recommend wearing gloves. So I got the bleach, mixed it with water and took an old t-shirt, dabbed it in the mixture and applied evenly. Remember, with bleach, a little goes a long way!

As you can see, I have added pictures of the necessary products needed in order to produce the patina. Wearing gloves is not necessary for applying the polish/wax but I just didn't feel like getting the cream all in my fingernails, so I left them on. The first thing to do is to apply the first coat of polish/cream/wax. As you can see, I had two types of applicants in two different colors. (always use the lighter colored one first) Take the ripped up t-shirt and make it so that you have it wrapped around your first two fingers (index and middle fingers) and then wrapped around your hand to give it a tight hold. When applying the first coat, the point is to get the polish/wax set into the leather by applying the polish/wax evenly around the shoe in a small circular motion. When you are applying the polish/wax, always focus on one small area at a time. Do not apply polish/wax to the toe box and two seconds later start touching up the heel. Do this around the shoe evenly until you have a nice base coat. Use the dauber brush to get into the welt area, where the stitching is.

Now, the next stage is actually pretty difficult to explain without seeing but I will do my best. At this point, we want to seal in that polish that we applied on the first coat and also bring out the best shine that we can. You do this by applying wax (which seals better than polish/creams) mixed with water. So what you want to do is take the lid of your wax can and put some water into it so that you can daub from it. Then you put some wax onto your fingers and just gently dip it into the water and start applying this combination evenly around the shoe just like in the first stage, in small, circular motions. The tricky part is knowing when to start using less and less wax and eventually just use a little bit of water to seal the two coats and bring out the shine. This is more easily taught in person, and even then it can be difficult. The key is to have patience, using only a little amount of water at a time, because if you put too much you will dampen the leather excessively and you will have to wait until it dries. Now I am not the most patient person so I did not create a patina that reflects like a mirror. Once I get that shine going, I usually call it a day there. But if one has time and patience, he/she can make their leather look like a whole other glossy-like material.

This is not easy stuff, so if you attempt this and are not satisfied with your outcome, don't be too hard on yourself. It takes time and patience and lots of practice. I know that this was not the greatest outcome, I had envisioned something much different. But they sure are way better than the original pictures above, and I will definitely take that!! Best of luck!