What I Am Wearing

The Astaire by Gaziano & Girling is hands-down my all-time favorite spectator (co-respondent). Every different part of it was designed perfectly, particularly the facing, with all of it's beautiful curves. When I decided that I was going to get it, I was almost a bit nervous in deciding what colorway that I wanted it in. Not that it was frightening or anything, but as I love the shoe so much, I wanted to enhance it as best as I could with my color options. At first I thought a bit crazily, and wanted to do some strong contrasting, but in the end, I decided that having the two different leathers was all the contrast I needed. Therefore, why not pick my favorite color in two different shades? And I am sure glad that I did, because the end result has turned out to be better than I would have imagined and has created a shoe that I absolutely love! And if you are like me, as in you love a beautiful spectator, but have never found one that really did it for you, then look no further than the Astaire. After all, it is named after my all-time favorite style icon, Mr. Fred!

Shoes: Gaziano & Girling
Zip Sweater: Intimissimi
Trousers: H&M
Undershirt: Primark
Tie: Drakes

No Brown In Town = Yeah Right!

In this day and age, most of the strict sartorial rules have been thrown out the window, and rightfully so! Now, don't get me wrong, some rules still apply and should never be broken but those that are so incredibly ridiculous and leave us all looking completely uniform and monotone (like 'no brown in town') are thankfully loosing their strength as the new generation of sartorialists plant their individualism into the minds of society. For too long, were things so boring. Black shoes have ruled the industry since the invention of dress shoes but mark my word, 2011 will truly define the year of color and seeing dress shoes in all shapes, colors and designs. It is no longer cool to 'fit in' and be just like everyone else, to all aspire to be Cary Grant, Steve McQueen or Gianni Agnelli. I would rather admire Andre 3000, Fred Astaire, Paul Smith, or anyone else whose outfit portrays character and thought, rather than just grabbing one of your 10 black suits, 20 white shirts, 7 blue ties, 8 black shoes and piecing those together to make a 'stylish' outfit.

Shoes Top Row: Gaziano & Girling
Shoes Bottom Row: Santoni

While living in the States, you get the feel there still are certain individuals who strictly adhere to this rule (men over 50 or crazy strict conservatives) but all-in-all, American's who are generally known as bad dressers across the world, are actually turning around to become some of the most daring, well-put together individuals around. Granted, I still think that Italians, as a whole, are the best dressed but the risk takers in the States who actually get it right, to me, are a step above the rest. Then again, these are far and few between.

While living in Italy, I noticed that this rule does not even exist. In fact, it is quite the opposite. You hardly ever see anyone wearing black shoes and to me this is how it should be. Black is so morbid and does not convey personality or character, unless of course you are going for a goth look, then you will be hitting the nail on the head. And I feel like the Italians think the same way. Color to them displays creativity and being a country deeply involved in art and romance, I feel that they blend the two together to create and choose the attire that they wear. (I may sound crazy with that last line but you would understand if you went there and saw with your own eyes)

But what truly brought me to write this, is my short time here in England. While British culture has created some of the finest and most stylish pieces a man can find in his wardrobe: tweed suits, Edward Green shoes, brogues etc., there is still a strict mentality in the way that 'it should be.' And while it is no longer forbidden to wear brown shoes for business, I feel like it is still an unwritten rule enforced by the thought police and carried out by society. I have met many men who will only wear black shoes with their suits and brown only on the weekend, because a 'gentleman' does so. What a load of crap. This old-world mentality, be it elegant and dapper, is unnecessary. A gentleman should not be defined by his shoe color or clothing attire that he wears during the week vs. the weekend, but rather how he carries himself in the clothing and shoes that he is wearing!

Just because blue shoes may compliment the color of the sea does not mean that I am going to wear them to the beach!

Food for thought.....

-Justin, "The Shoe Snob"

Today's Favorites - Bontoni

I have never had the actual pleasure of owning a Bontoni shoe, but I have also never heard bad things about them and of all of the times that I have seen or held one in person, they always looked beautiful and felt well constructed. In America, they are quite popular with the higher-end boutiques that carry the $3000-$5000 suits and considering that Bontoni's themselves are never retailing below $900, I guess that it makes sense that you would find them there. What is strange though, is that I have never seen them in Europe, particularly in Italy. Apparently because of all of the other options that you find in Europe, it's hard to be a top contender. But because of their beauty and the fact that they feel like a great shoe (construction and comfort wise), I have always been curious about owning a pair, but never curious enough to make that kind of investment. As I become more affluent though, I just might have to take a dive, especially since they are so intriguing!

Today's Favorites - Edward Green's Midnight Colored Shoes

What I love most about Edward Green is that they truly offer and make their shoes in almost every color (with the exceptions of the crazy, bright colors). One of those is what they call 'midnight,' which would be their version of blur or navy. It's an absolutely marvelous color and I can only dream about getting a pair myself. Instead, maybe I can buy a piece of leather off of them and make my own, way cheaper!! Another color that they offer is the burnt olive (green) and it is just as beautiful as the midnight. I will have to show some of those in another post. For now, enjoy!

The Most Versatile Shoe - The Brown Full-Brogue

In a man's wardrobe, there are no pants (used for day wear) that a pair of brown full-brogues cannot compliment. You can pair them with jeans, khakis, trousers and even your suits. Not only can you wear them with all these different types of pants you can also pair them with literally every color of pant, except black. Think about all of the possibilities you can put together! Talk about a bang for you buck, right!!? It's the one-stop-shop type of shoe. However, the question is: why don't more men own a pair? Probably because in most people's limited minds, they think that black is the most versatile color and maybe that was true back in the 50's when people only wore black, gray and navy suits. But it's the 21st century and it's no longer stylish to be super conservative and only wear black shoes with navy suits, to wear old man tassel loafers and not have a brown shoe in your collection. On the contrary, IT IS ESSENTIAL to own a brown dress shoe or you have no idea of what you are doing when it comes to dressing yourself!!!









Top Pair: Gaziano & Girling
Left Pair: Edward Green, Photo Courtesy Of: Leffot
Right Pair: Edward Green, Photo Courtesy Of: Leather Soul

Like I have stated before, something about the brogueing gives it a very different feeling to the average dress shoe, a much more casual feeling. Not in the sense that it's too casual to be dressed-up with a suit but more the feeling that it's a beautiful dress shoe that can easily compliment the right pair of jeans or casual khaki type pants. The art of wearing a nice pair of dress shoes with your casual attire is not easy and many times people can take it too far and look like they are trying too hard or just wear a pair of pants and dress shoes that would not go well together to save their life. So what's nice about the brown full-brogue is how much more easier it is create that transition from dress to casual.




















I have posted some pictures for you so that you can see what you can pair brown full brogues with and how simple it is. My shoes are by Paul Smith and the model is called 'Starr.' While mine are a style with a slightly thinner sole, I definitely prefer something a little bit thicker, like the two above by Edward Green. A thicker sole still allows you to dress it up but just makes it even easier to dress it down. From the pictures you can see that it is very easy to wear brown shoes, let alone brogues. They compliment most colors as well as offer great contrast when you play with various shades of brown. A good example of that would be the lighter colored Edward Green shoe, above, paired with a navy suit. The contrast between those two colors will definitely spice up your outfit and have you stand out from the crowd.




















I know I always say that if you don't own such and such then you should definitely get it but if you really don't own a brown brogue, preferably full-brogue, then your wardrobe is seriously lacking on a practical scale. It's like dress clothes purchasing 101: 1. Brown brogues; 2. Black shoes; 3. Navy suit; 4. Gray suit and 5. Black suit. Those alone create an infinite amount of outfits and looks!!!