What I Am Wearing

The thing about me, is that I love blue, as you might know from previous posts, or as you might be able to tell by looking at this outfit. I mean, with the exception of the shoes, there is some form of blue in every other piece of my outfit. Some might find this excessive, but as I love it, it doesn't matter. Now what I am getting at, is that I think that a dark brown suede loafer, is just about one of the nicest pairings that you can conjure up with blue attire (just outside of burgundy shoes!). And while I don't wear these loafers as often as I should (maybe due to not wanting to ruin them), I do find myself always drawn to suede loafers when looking into shoe stores. We actually have a pair at G&H, in the Cleverley butterly loafer design, that I absolutely love, but thankfully (as I don't need more shoes or to spend any money) they don't stock my size. Nevertheless, if you are like me and love the color blue in your wardrobe, then a dark brown suede loafer is something that you should also look to own, because it will take you a long way.

Shoes: Ferragamo Tremezza line
Jacket: Burberry
Scarf: Vintage
Waistcoat: Vintage
Shirt: Some Neapolitan brand
Tie: Robert Talbott Best of Class line

My Shoes #11 - Gray Ferragamos

Being a big fan of Salvatore Ferragamo shoes, here is another one of my many. I particularly like this one because of the color, a deep, dark gray. Loving this color, I never understood why gray-colored shoes did not become more popular in society. In reality, it's a very conservative color, much like brown and black and is easily paired with suits that you find most businessmen wearing. Yet, as I have said before, they are hard to come by. Come to think of it, I don't think that I have ever seen a gray whole-cut. How amazing would that be? I guess it's just another thing to add to my checklist of shoes to make/design/dream of.... But seriously, I never understand why things are the way they are. Who decided that brown should be the alternative to black? Not that I don't love brown shoes, but it just makes me curious as to who decided all of these rules and why certain colors are generally nonexistent when they should really be just as readily available as anything else! The shoe industry needs some big changes.......

Today's Favorites - Random Sneakers

 

Top Shoe: Vans
Middle Row Above: Left - Kris Van Assche; Right - Salvatore Ferragamo
Bottom Row Above: Left - Kanye West for Raf Simons; Right: Dior Homme

Top Row Above: Left - Marc Jacobs; Right - Vans
Bottom Row Above: Left - Adidas/Ransom; Right - Lanvin

Shoes Above: Adidas

Needing to remember that my love for shoes ultimately came from my love for sneakers, I feel the need to pay homage every once and awhile to those that I find intriguing. Before my appreciation of fine dress shoes came about, I was always one to have the latest and greatest sneakers and was even known to always keep two pairs of one particular model so that I always had a fresh pair waiting without any hiccups in my daily wear! Call me crazy, but when I say that I am a shoe lover, it is not limited to bespoke dress shoes. The majority of my 100 or so pairs are sneakers (or casual shoes) ranging from Vans, Converse, Sperry's, Adidas, Nike, Superga etc. So to show my appreciation of these types of shoes, I have added some of my favorites from 2010. Enjoy!!

Holiday Parties - What To Wear??

I guess as we grow up, we stop thinking about what Christmas presents we are going to get or what's going to be under the next flap on the advent calendar and we start planning out which holiday parties we are going to grace our presence with. More importantly, we think about what we are going to wear in order to look better than everyone else at the party. Well, if your idea already involves Kenneth Coles, Steve Maddens or anything square-toed or plastic looking, you have already nominated yourself worst dresser at every party you go to! But if you are not committed to these shoe blasphemies that I stated previously, then please, allow me to enlighten on what could leave you taking the most possible compliments.

Top Row: Gaziano & Girling (both)
Bottow Row: Left - Salvatore Ferragamo; Right - Alden

What you will notice (when you get to the party) is that the most common dress shoes, purchased in America, are the standard black cap-toe and black apron-toe. These are also the two most boring shoes.....in the world! That means that if it is a dress "nice" party, most people will be wearing one of these two unless you live in Seattle where everyone still wears square-toed Kenneth Coles shoes. Because this is a simple fact, it will not be hard for you to stand out from the boring crowd. Now what I would personally do, is probably wear some dark gray or maybe navy shoes, but for the sake of simplicity, I am going to recommend that unless you are feeling bold, stick with black (or burgundy) but switch up the style of shoe. So I would say, go for either a plain toe (with or without a perforated medallion), some sort of brogue (although I would stay away from an oxford full-brogue because sometimes they can be a little 'stuffy') or a very nice dress boot (zip or chelsea). And of course, get a shine before going, because those scuff marks are not going to impress anyone!

Shoes Above: Scarpe Di Bianco (All)

Now if the parties that you will be going to are more on the casual side, there are still nice shoes that you can wear to stand out from the sneaker-wearing crowd!! For this I would say wear a dark brown leather shoe. Whether it be a saddle, brogue, boot, apron toe or even cap toe. If you can find some nice shoes that will look good with a slender set of jeans and that you could pair a sport coat, or maybe waistcoat with, you will be the best-dressed man at the party!! Good examples of this being done are HERE and HERE. Stay away from light colors though!! At holiday parties people like to get drunk and that alcohol spilled on your light colored leather, will not easily come off if it creates a stain. Now, if you think that these are all boring (dress and casual) and you would want to go a little more bold, as I might do, then try going for something along the lines of the shoes below.

Shoes Top Row: Left - Altan; Right - Markowski
Shoes Bottom Row: Left - Saion; Right - Altan

Now if you just read this, yet the type of holiday parties that you go to involve keg-stands and puking, then disregard everything I said because you are either too young or too ghetto to think twice about wearing nice stuff!

My Shoes #8 - Ferragamo Tassel Loafers

I used to hate tasseled loafers when I was younger and mainly because the only one's that I knew about were those classic American looking one's that are worn by super prepsters and men over 50 (think Cole Haan pinch tassel) . But a nice European version of a tasseled loafer is quite a great option when one wants to dress up his jean-inspired outfit. My pair here, by Ferragamo's Tramezza line, is a classic example of traditional tasseled loafer with a little bit of European flair. I love to pair these with my dark denim jeans (as shown here) and I especially start incorporating them more into my weekly rotations once the fall/winter seasons begin to creep up as the dark suede fits the general feel of gloomy weather. I know that tasseled loafers aren't for everyone, considering that they are a bit of an acquired taste, but if you find yourself eye-balling a pair that are not those horrible classic American looking one's, take a chance and most likely you won't regret it after you see just how many things they are able to go with in your wardrobe.

 

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!

Shoes Of The Week

Men's Shoes:

One can always count on Ferragamo to make a beautiful red shoe. I wonder if red was Salvatore's favorite color because the company never seems to shy away from adding a pair to their men's collection if not once a year then a minimum of once ever two years. And while that may not seem like a lot, some shoe companies never add a pair of red shoes to any of their collections. The funny thing about getting this picture was the fact that one of my friends took it for me and then sent it to me, knowing that I would appreciate it. When he was taking the picture, one of the workers of the shop tried to scold him, saying that they don't let people take pictures for the fear that someone might copy their models. PLEASE!!! I wish that I would have been there to witness that. First off, this would not be such a hard idea for anybody to come up with and second, anybody who actually wanted to rip them off would have no problem doing it since their shoes are so readily available, whether it be in person or on the net. I just found it hilarious that one would act in such a way. Regardless, this pair defines the essence of elegance and appeal and I am grateful to my friend who thought of me, knowing that I would appreciate such a fine piece of art.

Women's Shoes:

I have to say, that when it comes to women's shoes, Christian Louboutin just seems to always nail it on the head. His designs are hardly ever shy of spectacular, the shapes are always very sleek and sexy and the look always appeals to the eye! Apart of their fall/winter 2010 collection, this knee high flannel boot is a delight that I am sure that many women of all ages are dying to get their hands on, if not for their $1600 price tag. One can only imagine how long it would take to put these on considering the 25 buttons they have per boot, totaling 50 per pair. Patience would indeed be a virtue for enduring the pleasure of owning these! A sacrifice I am sure that 90% of women would gladly adhere to.

Blue Suede Shoes

Shoes: Salvatore Ferragamo "Fausto"

There is something about a blue suede shoe that just speaks to me. Maybe it's because my favorite color is blue, maybe it's because they are rarely found or maybe it's because in suede, blue looks better on a shoe? While I am not sure why I am so gravitated towards them, I do know that there is nothing quite like them. It would seem that I am obviously not the only person that has had such an infatuation with them considering that this style of shoe not only influenced the title and lyrics of a song, but one in fact that is still known around the world today and is in the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame. And yet while the idea of a blue suede shoe is so famously known they are still so hard to come by, the good one's at least. Considering that dark blue is not a loud nor gaudy color, I would think that such a shoe would be in the seasonal collections of shoe companies, year after year. But of course, that would be asking too much!!

Top Row (L to R): Alden (Picture Courtesy of Leather Soul), Oliver Sweeney
Bottom Row (Both): Opening Ceremony

The best thing about blue suede shoes is that they look absolutely amazing when worn casually, even if it is a suit, I would more wear it with either a nice slim-fit pair of dark denim jeans or a casual, non-creased khaki-colored pair of pants. Because of this, you are more likely to see shoe companies making blue suede shoes in either a 'buck' style or a laced boot (like a chukka or something similar the the Alden above), styles that you tend to wear more casually. While these options are nice, I much prefer to see a blue suede shoe in a dress form like that Ferragamo or the Corthay below. The aesthetic pleasure of pairing a blue suede (that is usually seen as casual) and a elegant dress model of shoe, creates a liking that for me is indescribable. The same shoe by Corthay, if made in calfskin, would still be extremely beautiful yet would not capture in the same way that it's suede counterpart seems to.

Top Row (L to R): Pierre Corthay (Picture Courtesy of Leffot), Stefano Bemer
Bottom Row (Both): Paul Smith

As I just noticed myself from writing this post, there seems to be a common trend in the styles of shoe that a company will make blue suede shoes: 1. Plain-toe derby buck's or chukka's 2. Wingtip oxfords (closed lacing) and 3. Penny loafers. Obviously you have your risk takers, like Ferragamo, who will make it in another completely different style but yet you see that they still used the wingtip influence. Come to think of it, I am not sure if I have every seen a blue suede apron or cap toe. Have you?? If so, send me a picture!! Either way, this now gives me incentive to create one and make a pair for myself and possibly even add a crepe sole to see how that looks. But anyway, if you are an avid lover of shoes and find yourself without a pair of blue suede shoes, then you know what I am going to say next: GO BUY A PAIR! 

Left: John Lobb
Right: Alberto Fasciani