Today's Favorites - Cole Haan

 

While I can't say that I am the biggest fan of the shape of this shoe, having seen them in person, I am truly pleased that in the past two seasons, Cole Haan has made a big effort to re-introduce the saddle shoe into mainstream footwear. Not only did they provide all of the classic colorways, but they also managed to add some other unique combinations such as the lime green suede with faux croc as well as the canvas options, which I am quite keen on, particularly the navy w/ brown saddle.

While I always felt that Cole Haan did not aim to please my age group of customer, I feel that with the introduction to Spring/Summer 2011, they might have taken another direction, now creating shoes that appeal to the younger, stylish man (late 20's to early 40's). I have noticed that the clothing and shoe industries in general have been doing this lately. Only a few years ago, it seemed to me that every company's target audience was the more affluent matured man (late 30's to early 50's), a little bit more conservative and less flashy. While both have their pluses and minuses, I am happy to see a little bit more color being used and throwback shoe styles, such as the saddle!

My 6th Pair - Completed

 

For those that follow my blog regularly and have been anxiously waiting the completion of my 6th pair of bespoke shoes (that I have made for myself), here you are! (For those new, you can read HERE to see the post prior to this, showing pics during the making process) This shoe has taken me forever to make, and I am so glad that they are finally done. Starting in the beginning of October, last year, and just now getting them finished, was making me incredibly anxious, in the bad way. They unfortunately sat in my flat for many months, waiting to be finished. They collected a lot of dust, adding to the already super dirty top part of the tongue. But now that is all behind me and I am already thinking about my 7th pair, which will either be a full brogue from G&G's range, or a completely new style, designed by myself. I am hoping to start on that new style of mine, which I will be excited to show everyone to get some feedback on. They only thing is that I have to create a new last, learn how to make the pattern for my design, and then actually make the shoe, doing all of this in my spare time, which is far and few between these days.

Being suede, this shoe had it's up's and down's during the making process. The first problem, was the bag that covered the shoe (for the making process) did not cover the entire tongue, so when I pulled the bag off, it was literally brown, from all of the dirt and dust. I had to use sandpaper to clean it, but was not able to get it back to it's original color, but considering that my pants will cover it, it's not really a problem for me. The second issue was not be able to dye the soles, because it is extremely hard to get it perfect and not have the dye seep through the bag. So I had to leave a natural sole, which let me tell you, is hard getting right. As you can see, my left and right heels turned out different colors in respect to each other and I suspect that was because the heat of the heel iron, being hotter while I was applying it to the darker sole (burning the wax) and cooler on the left heel.The upside to the shoe being suede, was that it was damn easy to last (pulling the leather around the last), which always makes for a pleasant experience. 

When I first got the upper, it was a monk but without a buckle or anything else to hold it down, so instead of just doing what everyone else might, I thought that I would be unique and add a fastened button. Not just wanting to using any type of jacket button, I went for that metal, emblem encrusted button. It was not easy finding someone to actually sew it on either. Creating a button hole on leather is not easily done by hand, and I could not find anyone who could do it by machine. But thankfully my good friend, who is an Italian master tailor, braved the tough task and it came out beautifully. So there you are: my 6th pair completed and now on to my seventh, hopefully being from my own design!

Today's Favorites - Scarpe Di Bianco Loafers

While I own a bunch of loafers already, I recently am quite obsessed with the idea of more traditional looking loafers, and owning them. Not that these models are necessarily traditional, but they offer that 'classic with a modern look' feel, as well as offering nice shapes, colors and designs. Having never seen Scarpe Di Bianco in person, due to their newness in the industry, I am quite curious of them. From looking at them, they seem to be your run-of-the-mill high-end Italian makers, offering a black-stitched or goodyear welted sole, with some good quality upper leather. This makes me quite curious of the price though, which I assume will probably be in the $600-$800's. Don't quote me on that, but hearing that they are ex-Sutor Mantellassi gents who started it, I would imagine that they came into the industry at a lower price (to maybe low-ball Sutor which will set you back $900+). Regardless, their look is very Italian, which on some shoes is great, but others is not. For these loafers, I quite like the 'Italianess' of them though, as I believe that Italian gentleman have mastered the art of the loafer.

Shoes Of The Week

Barker Black golf shoes = killin' it! These just might be the coolest golf shoes that I have ever seen, and while I don't even play golf (not because I don't like it, but because I suck at it), you can bet your life that if I did, and was rich, I would be wearing these bad boys on the course. Seeing these makes me realize how much I appreciate one aspect of golf. That is, you can have the most conservative guy ever, in terms of dress attire and beliefs, wearing the craziest, most outrageous outfits on the golf course. Where else do you see old, conservative men wearing pants with 25 colors in them? Nowhere!.........That's great!

I envy the guy, cool enough to be wearing Barker Black golf shoes, hitting hole's in one, drinking Gin & Tonic's and driving the little cart drunk at 3pm. You have to love those rich man sports! I mean, what other sport can you wear dress shoes while playing? None that I can think of. And being able to see a company that makes great looking dress shoes, actually make a pair for a sport to trudge around in wet grass, is pretty cool and makes me wish that I was rich enough to retire and take up golf!

My Shoes #18 - My 2nd Bespoke Pair

These were the second pair of shoes that I ever made for myself and are by far my absolute favorite pair out of every single shoe I own. What I love about them (apart from being saddles) is that they pretty much sum up 1000% my individual style: classic with a modern twist. If you were to get a preview of how the shoes of my future shoe line were going to be, this would be the top model! Not only do I find them incredible stylish, unique and elegant but they are extremely versatile. I can wear them with black suits, gray suits and even though I am against the black shoes/navy suit combo, I would even wear this with a navy suit. And the reason being is because that bit of red helps to separate the black and navy, allowing it to have some contrast between those dark colors and not looking like some bland blend. That being, it only makes me think why more companies don't come up with something of this sort: classic with a modern twist!!

Today's Favorites - Ronnie Fieg Collabo's

There is no doubt that Ronnie Fieg, NYC-bred designer, has made many shoes WAY cooler than there previously were. And he did so simply by slightly modifying the style, color, shape etc. It just goes to show, how the little details can turn one thing from lame to cool. Time and time again, I have stressed those details!! While he has done countless remakes and collabo's, here are just a few that I happen to have floating around, on my computer. Out of all of these, I truly love the top pair of Asics, simply for their coloring, but am most impressed with the fact that he was able to make a Merrell shoe, actually be stylish (second from bottom). That's impressive! Well, I can't think of much more to write, so I won't create some boring gibberish to keep the post the usual length, so......goodnight! 

Permanent Style's Top Five Shoe Posts

As a blogger, you try to absorb everything from everywhere in order to put up great content for your readers. While I never really take anything but pictures, I can tell you that certain blogs have been a source of inspiration and admiration. And for me, the one that deserves the most credit is Simon Crompton's Permanent Style. Writing a blog is harder than you may think. In order to be good and capture people, you have to write about things that interest people, provide intelligent and thought-out information but also need to move them on an emotional level. And on top of all that, you need to have direction. In my opinion, no one has done that better than Permanent Style and through my time as a blogger and even before, I have read and loved some of his posts related to shoes. And since my posts are not nearly as thought out or descriptive as his, I figured that I would share my favorite 5 shoe posts that have come from Permanent Style in hopes to provide some well written pieces on the important aspects of the shoe industry.

(Click on titles to go to blog post, pictures courtesy of Permanent Style)

1. The Diminishing Returns Of Shoes

It's hard to truly understand what you are getting when you buy a pair of shoes, and the salesman helping you may not understand it either, which is a shame but happens more often than not. These days there are so many terms thrown around in the shoe industry that the idea of what you are truly getting, in terms of quality, is jaded. In this post, Simon does a great job explaining why shoe A might cost more than shoe B but be the same in terms of quality. For all of those curious to the costs of shoes, this will help provide some useful information that you may have always been stumped on. A must read!

2. Bespoke Shoes At Cleverley Part 1

For all of the people truly curious in the process of getting a pair of bespoke shoes, this is the holy grail of information. To my knowledge, never before has something been written in such depth. Sure, there are the shoemaking blogs that I have on the side of my blog, but those usually start at the process where the upper is closed and it's time for the making to begin. But to see all of the work that goes into the bespoke process before the making is something that you don't have a whole lot of access to, so the fact that Simon has provided it, it such detail, is truly amazing.

Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8; Part 9; Part 10; Part 11; Part12

3. How Great Things Age: Edward Green Part 1

This article is fantastic! What is great about it, is that it backs up the statement "you get what you pay for," showing that a well-made shoe, can last you a lifetime! Simon had had his Edward Green's for 5 years before needing a resoling. Some may say that this is not a long time but living in London, commuting through the wet and concrete terrain, 5 years on a leather sole is a lifetime, believe me! And even better, after this resoling/refurbishment, they will last another 5-7 years before needing another re-sole. The upper will maintain and the shoe will age beautifully, as they have already started to. The beauty of buying well made shoes!

Part 2; Part 3

4. Shoes Being Repainted At Berluti + The After Shots

This service is truly an art! While I do more deep cleanse polishing myself, with the ability to add a patina, I have yet to capture the art of re-painting the shoe, which is essentially what many French shoemakers and patina artists have mastered. Here Simon, shows how the Berluti shop in London, was able to rejuvenate the leather and color of his 6 month-old Berluti's. Not sure how much this cost, but in my opinion, it is a service that is unmeasurable in terms of cost and value. It truly transforms your shoe from being old to new again. The feeling of walking out of the store with brand new shoes is priceless and that service allows you to feel this way over and over.

5. The Rules And How To Break Them

Last, but certainly not least, is the article that more reminds me of my style of writing and thinking. Being from a society (and culture) that is built on rules and adhering to them, Simon is able to say, 'Hey, this is outdated!!' This is the classic, 'no brown in town' article yet with an actual description of where it comes from and why. I love that about this article, because since I have been here in England, I have met MANY people (young and old) who still stick to this and to see that Simon is trying to educate, helps me know that I am not the only one who cares about breaking down unnecessary rules that deter society from moving on to the more stylish individuals that we could be!


Well, I hope that all of you are able to get a chance to read these articles, because they are truly an invaluable source of information that you may not find anywhere else.

Until next time,

Justin, "The Shoe Snob"

Shoes Of The Week - Septieme Largeur

I have really gotten into penny loafers lately, and have been desperately wanting to get a 'classic' pair. But the only problem is that I am extremely picky when it comes to the right penny loafer and having a shape that is dead-on to what I like. I am definitely not a fan of the old-school models of penny loafers, such as the classic Bass Weejun or Cole Haan Pinch Penny, those to me should be abolished or strictly used as part of the uniform dressing at preppy ivy-league schools in the States. They are just so outdated to me. This pair, on the other hand, is exactly what I like and want! It has all of the perfect qualities: it's classic looking, elongated in just the right amount, tapered, and has not only a unique tongue but a different shaped 'penny' slit. For those that have not caught on from prior posts, Septieme Largeur, is a sub-brand of Markowski, specialized in shoes that have a hand-finished patina. And what is great about there model here, is that it would look good with the right suit, but also go great with a nice pair of jeans. It's elongated, tapered look gives it an elegance that allows you to dress it up, but also dress it down, assuming that you pair it with the proper pieces! Versatility is key!