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!

Shoes Of The Week

Being from Seattle and America for that matter, I have never really needed to own any protect-your-feet-from-snow type of shoes. I have always liked the idea of these types of shoes but was always put off by the chunkiness of them, not really being a big fan of the clunky looking soles that they tend to have. But now I live in England and with the way the weather has been changing, I fear that I am in great need of a pair of this type of shoe. What you may not know about Europe if you have never been there, is the fact that you spend way more time outside than the average American, at least for travel. It's much to small to always get in your car and drive to where you need to go. Most of the time you find yourself walking there or taking public transportation. And that means that you are much more exposed to the nasty weather that comes about.

This year has shown a big trend in the popularity of these types of shoe and while Red Wing, in my mind, is the catalyst behind this look, my favorite model that I have seen thus far is the one above and below by Cole Haan. While it has all of the same aesthetics as all of the other models, I feel that it looks much more sleek. Maybe that's just me or the fact that the picture is doing the shoe great justice but when I saw this pair, I wanted it bad!!

It ended up being like 8 inches of snow fall (20 centimeters) and I was shit out of luck without any proper shoes!!

My Shoes #9 - Cole Haan

Over the years while working in retail, I was able to acquire a ton of free shoes. While I hoped to get Ferragamo's, Santoni's and all of the other shoes that I could not afford to just buy whenever I pleased, I usually wound up getting more casual, not-so-glorified shoes such as these Cole Haan's. But it was fine, because for one thing, they were free, but also good for the simple fact that I needed casual shoes for doing casual things. It's not always about dressing up and wearing brogues everyday. Sometimes the day calls for some Vans, Converse or anything that is easy and comfortable. For going to the Arundel Castle in the UK, the Cole Haan's were the perfect option for a day of walking. And just because I am a snob, doesn't make me a prude! For those who live in the UK, or plan on going, the Arundel Castle is a beautiful site to see!