Shoes -- Part 2: Style & Terminology -- Loafers/Slip On's

Among the more casual forms of dress shoes within the shoe industry are the lovely non-laced loafer shoes (or slip-on's). Although the origin of loafers most likely trace back to way before the internet might tell me, the popularity of them came about around the 1930's, when Norwegian shoemakers were exporting these moccasin like shoes to the rest of Europe. Apparently American tourists took a liking to them and Esquire magazine did a feature on them, enticing G.H. Bass to come out with their own version, called 'Weejun' (hence the name sounding like Norwegian). From that point on, they seemed to skyrocket in popularity with slit-strapped loafers being made and heavily worn by East Coast school prep's who put pennies into the slit. From this trend, the term Penny Loafer (a version pictured above, by Septieme Largeur) came about, and seems to remain strong to this day. Now days we have all types of loafers and here I will begin to show all of you which ones are which. If I forget any, please feel free to add to the commentary.

Butterfly Loafers

I had never known (or maybe had never thought about) the butterfly loafer before moving to England. Then again, this place has made me more conservative (not in thinking) in the year that I have been here and because of that I might have not even taken a second look at them prior to 2010, even if I had known about them. But nevertheless, I am glad that my views have changed, as I find them to be one of the nicer loafers in circulation. This pair here, a bespoke model by Gaziano & Girling, is slightly different than the way it is usually portrayed, in it's classic sense, and that is without the brogueing on the straps. The butterfly loafer is said to have been created by Mr. George Cleverley himself and I must say that my hat is tipped to him, for I look at this and still see a loafer that is not only unique but elegantly timeless. This is one model of shoe that is surely on my to-get list!

Tassel Loafers

I tell you, there was nothing that I hated more than tassel loafers when I was young, and that is partly because I come from the States. Probably everyone can picture the guy who is wearing a baggy suit with those Cole Haan pinch tassel loafers (as we speak I am desperately trying to find a picture on Google of this, with no luck!), the ones that are super ugly with crappy leather and no shape at all. Anyway, this idea of wearing tassel loafers was ruined for me until I moved to Italy and saw how a man who knew how to dress well could pair his tassel loafers with his outfit and make them look quite nice, so long as they were not those shitty ones loved by American businessman. Surely you know what I am talking about? Anyway, I love them now, so long as they are done well, as the pair above are, by Saint Crispins.

Whole Cut Loafers

Whole cut loafers are among my favorite type of loafers, being that they have that minimalist look to them, which is strange, as I am by no means a minimalist. I don't know. My tastes change everyday anyway. Tomorrow my favorites will be apron toed loafers......Back onto subject. I like them. They are simple, elegant and let's not forget, cool (like these crazy banana yellow ones by Scarpe di Bianco). I believe that it takes a real shoe freak to like these, which is probably why you don't find them often being offered by shoe brands. When on, they look like a boot, which most people don't like to give that impression, especially when dressing in a suit. But when you have your inseam taken up to the point that the bottom of your trousers sit (with no break) on the top of your shoe with an opening of 14 inches, as I do, then you get to see the whole shoe, with no mistakes about it!

Prince Albert Loafers

Popularized -- at least one would think considering the name -- by Prince Albert, who was a great sartorialist, the Prince Albert loafer is now what we think of when using dress slippers for the house to wear in velour and pair with our smoking jackets while drinking Loius XIII (Cognac). At least that's what you see in the Ralph Lauren ads. But I like to think of them differently, like the one that I made, in brown, directly to your left. I hope to see these one day made with thicker soles and being worn on a daily basis as I think that they give the daring man a chance to be fun at throwing a nice, contrasting color of sock with this outfit, you know....to spice things up. (BTW, these are also a version of the whole cut loafer, but having a much larger opening for your foot)

Shoe By: Del Toro

Pumps

Pumps, you will find, are generally a shoe that you wear for formal occasions and will find them in some sort of patent leather form, as is the one at the top by Dimitri Bottier. But when one wants to be fun, you can find them in all sorts of arrangements, like these ostrich pumps by Barker Black. They are a fun shoe, but can really one be worn in certain environments, at least for most. I wouldn't mind wearing them regularly, but then again, traveling to the SE of London most days, I might find myself in some predicaments...that was a joke, just in case you are traumatized. Moving swiftly on...pumps, I believe, got their name from their construction, which if the shoe is bespoke or high end, should be a pump stitch. Now, I know what this word is, but I have no idea what it means. I am pretty sure that it is some way of stitching the sole directly to the insole -- by hand. But if you read the Carreducker's blog and type in pump-stitch to their search bar, you will find a much better explanation, I am sure. 

Kilty Loafers

It should be easy to see where this name derives, as it is so clearly evident. Kilty loafers are usually something that you will see paired with tassels, but have been recently popularized by the likes of Italian shoemakers to make in other versions, such as this one here, by Riccardo Bestetti. I don't really have much to say on these. Some I like, some I hate. To me they are strictly a shoe that is for fun, as I don't see them as professional. I would rather wear them with jeans...

Side Gusset Shoes (AKA lazy man's oxford - which is a loafer)

Aaawww, the side gusset shoe. Not sure that I could ever like this, as to me, it represents something that is fake, like a pre-made bow-tie. I just have never been the person for illusions in clothing, something trying to pass off as something that it is not. I mean, don't get me wrong, the George Cleverley shoe above is beautiful, no doubt, but the side gusset with laces is just not my style. Now, on the other hand, if it did not have laces, then it would be okay, but you tend to find that the majority do, as this seems to be a new trend right now in the shoe industry, probably because many men are super lazy and can't be fussed to lace their shoes but still want the professional look of an oxford.

Anyway, there are probably variations of many other loafers, but as usual, I am tired and think that the 2+ hours that I have spent on this post is good enough. So if I have missed anything, please feel free to comment. If not, enjoy the new week into September...

-Justin, "The Shoe Snob"

(oh yea, I have a picture of a side gusset shoe without laces, below by Koji Suzuki --- beautiful!!)

Shoes Of The Week - George Cleverley

I love to see shoes made in skins that I have never seen before, so when I saw these bespoke George Cleverley loafers, I was stupefied. Not only had I not seen this skin before, I had never even heard of the animal, carpincho that is. If you have never heard of it too, I will let you know that carpinchos just might be the scariest things ever, being that they look like a mix between a giant rat & dog. But nonetheless, they make an exquisite skin for a lovely shoe. The texture is so unique (it's incredibly soft and supple) and the hair follicles (or what look like it) give off such a beautiful contrast to the skin, giving it that overcrowded polka-dot look, which to me makes the shoe as cool as it is. I mean, these same shoes in just a calfskin would be nice, no doubt, but not nearly as eye-catching as this. And even though I like to see new skins being used on shoes, I am not really the biggest fan of most 'exotics.' I appreciate seeing them to know what they would look like, but I would not wear a lot of them. But I must say, giant rat-dog shoes, I would wear, especially these!

Pictures Courtesy Of: Leather Soul

Customer Finds - Old Cleverley Bespoke

One of my colleagues recently brought me two pairs of shoes that his grandfather had passed down to him. Now when this happens, it may be a really old pair of Church's, Allen Edmonds or an older label like Poulsen & Skone or Nunn Bush, but these puppies just happen to be George Cleverley bespoke shoes, from the early 1960's, and while that may not seem that old, 50 years is still a good amount of time. I asked my friend to figure out how much they cost at the time and after a little bit of questioning to his grandfather, he told me that they cost 21 Guineas. That does not sound like a lot, but when you think about the time difference and the inflation rate, I will have you know that this amount is now equivalent to about 3000 GBP. It's always amazing to see how much the value of money has changed and how much more it will change, maybe one day being worth virtually nothing at the rate that it is going. Nevertheless, I found it to be quite interesting to see a shoe that was made when Mr. George Cleverley was actually around and overseeing production. And while the shoes were relatively similar to the standard we have today, there were some small details in the stitching of the upper that seemed to stand out, as a mark of the era.

Shoes Of The Week - George Cleverley

These just might be one of the prettiest brogues that I have ever seen. They simply look immaculate and have a very clean-looking feel about them and that is always what drives me towards a shoe. The gimping (shark teeth like design around hole perforations) is very small and does not detract from the design as some brogues do when their gimping is large and overbearing on the eye. And the color -- it's quite unique. They call it beige antique, but to me it brings the memory of those candy square caramel's that I used to love when I was a kid. Whatever it is, it is lovely.... I was also quite shocked when I learned of the price being as low as $850 (you might be thinking that I am crazy calling that low), especially since most British makers of that caliber, retail in the States for no less than $1000. So, to all of the British shoe lovers out there, now is your chance to pick up some handgrade's for under the 1k mark! To all others (including myself), let us admire as it is most likely WAY out of the average man's budget!

Pictures Courtesy Of: Leather Soul

Shoes Of The Week - Mark Guyot

I must admit, before coming to England, I had never even heard of the butterfly loafer. I am not familiar with any American makers that produce one (unless Allen Edmonds has recently caught on) nor did I have a run-in during my short but sweet time in Italy. But now that I am here, in the heart of Mayfair, where there are all of the arcade's that host space to the likes of New & Lingwood and George Cleverley, I cannot seem to get away from the butterfly loafer. But I like it, it's unique, it's produces a nice medium between plain, boring loafer and over the top. Said to be originally designed by the likes of Mr. George Cleverley himself, it has since evolved as seen here, by French maker Marc Guyot.

One thing that I particularly like about this version of the butterfly loafer, is the fact that French makers tend to design the vamp so that it extends much higher up the foot, towards the ankle. For me, it is much more elegant looking although it does have the downfall of not showing as much sock, which can be a shame when you are trying to pull of out fancy, dandy outfit! We are rumored to be getting a burgundy pair of the classic, George Cleverley designed butterfly loafer sometime in May, here at Gieves & Hawkes. So, since I do not have one nor a burgundy loafer (something that I have been longing for) I am holding out for those! If only the French makers were more readily available here in England, things would be different. But I cannot afford to fly to Paris just to get a pair of shoes, not yet at least!

George Glasgow Jr. for Cleverley, Interview

As I promised, I will be providing interviews once a month (consider this the one for February) from people in the shoe industry, both known and unknown, who make a considerable impact on what comes out as well as shape the trends, ideas, and styles we see today. For this month, as you may have noticed from the title, I have George Glasgow Jr., who is the son of the owner (and heir to throne) of historical shoe firm, George Cleverley. Enjoy!

1. What is your role with Cleverley?

I am the Creative Director at George Cleverley but I have several roles. When I am in London I spend time with our last maker and am leaning the last-making process. I also measure clients. I have been traveling with my father on U.S.A. visits since I was 13 years old, so most of the clients have become friends. I also design new styles, which I speak with clients about and get their feedback on.

Unfortunately, most of my time is spent traveling, so it is a slow process.  I design our new styles and cover the U.S.A. & Asia markets by holding trunk shows.  I'm off to Asia in 3 weeks for about 3 weeks to visit Tokyo, Singapore, Seoul & Beijing to hold Cleverley trunk shows.  Additionally, I visit customers who are unable to meet with us on our regular trunk shows.

2. What's the most exciting thing about being at the top of a niche, bespoke/RTW shoe company?

I'm very lucky to meet some wonderful gentlemen and some very interesting characters in this business.  You just never know who is going to walk into our London shop or worldwide trunk shows. We could start the day off with a university professor followed by a movie star, but both have the same appreciation of fine footwear.

3. Being that you are the son of Mr. Glasgow Sr., you were relatively pre-destined  to be in the shoe trade but did you ever want to do/to be something else? 

I grew up around the Cleverley workrooms and used to make regular family trips to our workshop which we have in Cornwall, so I guess I was in the business by default. However, I went to the University of London where I studied Economics & Politics. After graduating I moved to Los Angeles to work in finance as an investment analyst, which I did for 3 years. I would use my holidays to work with my father on his U.S.A. trunk shows, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Eventually I moved into the business full-time. During the trunk shows I could see that most of the clients that would come by had developed good friendships with my father, many of which he has known for many years. It was delightful to see how much my father & our whole team enjoyed the business and working with such great people seemed fun, so I had to pursue my father to hire me.

4. Can you describe the most unique shoe that a client has ever ordered for bespoke? 

It's very tough to say the most unique shoe that a bespoke customer has ordered, because even now I see many one-of-a-kinds going through our workshop. I would say the most unique for me would be an old Edwardian button boot, which we made for David Beckham. When he visited our London shop, he chose a boot that was on display which was over 60 years old and had all working buttons (sewn on by hand) which you needed a special tool to open. We designed the boot to have a zip on the other side which was covered in leather, so he could get in & out of them without opening the buttons and spending 15 minutes putting them on & off. This was pretty unique as the style of boot was Edwardian but we added a modern feature to it.

Me (The Shoe Snob): that sounds amazing, I am so jealous!!!! I have yet to learn how to make a boot, let alone design one from the Edwardian era.

5. What's you favorite model out of all of the shoes that Cleverley makes? 

My personal favorite is the "Churchill" (pictured above). It is a classic shoe with covered elastic sided features and imitation lacing. This was really a George Cleverley invention and he made it for Sir Winston Churchill. His farther & him used to make this style 60+ years ago at Tuczuc on Clifford Street. I loved this shoe so much that I designed a boot version which has imitation lacing as well, which has been well received. It's great because with the boot version it's a nice travel option as you can wear it with jeans or a nice suit. Our friends at Leather Soul (Tom & Bryan) both have some very cool bespoke boots in the works.  I think the changes they made to my boot will look very cool.

6. Can you describe the creative process for RTW (Ready-To-Wear)? 

Firstly, all of our RTW styles are derived from our bespoke shoes. By this I mean if we feel a particular bespoke styles has become popular or very admired, we will make it in our RTW range. I guess you could say our clients help us design our new RTW styles. John & Teemu are very involved in cutting / designing new styles for the RTW range. We also pride ourself on being very selective on the calf hides we buy for our RTW shoes. It is important for us that a RTW customer still gets an excellent quality shoe while incorporating some of our bespoke features like the Cleverley toe or the covered elastic sided feature. We try to make approx 10/15 new bespoke styles a year, which we take from our achieves and make a slight alteration. The ones that we feel turn out the best then get patterns made up and we do a small run in our RTW range. We also have a small workshop in Kent, which we finish shoes in that Dominic works in a few days a week.

7. Assuming that you are heir to the throne, where would you like to see the company in 15-20 years? 

In a similar place to now. My father has always run the company like a "club".  He generally loves what he does, as did the original George Cleverley. We are not interested in having our shoes in every store around the world because it takes away what is special about Cleverley.  Take Japan for example, my father started working with BEAMS (which stock our RTW & Semi-Bespoke shoes) when they only had a few stores 25+ years ago. Today they have over 100 stores and we are still as close to them as before but it has just grown organically. We get approached often from stores wanting to carry our shoes but we only like to work with other retailers that have a love and passion for shoes, as this is very important.

8. Other shoemakers/companies that you admire?

Unfortunately, I don't get to see many other shoes but the last few JLP (John Lobb Paris) that I saw were nice so it is tough to say. I like John Lobb Paris, Dimitris Gomez and Fosters & Son. Although they are not around anymore I admire Anthony & George Cleverley a great deal. We still have some of their original shoes in our London shop which are beautiful and extremely well made and keeps us on our toes in terms of quality.

9. Being apart of the trade since you were 13, how many pairs of shoes have you made/acquired for yourself? 

I have worked with Teemu learning some last making over the years but given that I am always on the road it has been difficult to devote enough time to master it. I have approx 10 pairs of bespoke shoes, 5 AC's (Anthony Cleverley) and over 25 RTW in my collection.  I can never make up my mind on my next pair because with bespoke the options are endless.

10. What's the scariest shoe trend that you see today? 

The scariest trend is how pointy / narrow some shoes are becoming. It just does not look like a comfortable fit and people are buying shoes that are too long for them to accommodate this. The other is I am seeing the words "Hand Made" on alot of products that are not but the general public think they are buying a hand made product.

Me (The Shoe Snob): I also hate seeing "Hand Made" written on the insole or sole of a shoe that was obviously made by machine. It is unfortunate how this word has been slandered over recent years. 
 
11. What advice can you offer to aspiring shoemakers/shoe designers?

I would say focus on one part of the shoe and become an expert at that. It takes on average 3-5 years to learn one part of the shoemaking process with Cleverley. For example, Adam joined Cleverley from Rolls Royce and it has taken him 4 years to become a last maker. He has also been working with John Carnera learning clicking, which he is becoming very good at. Have a house style that separates you from others. Make sure your heart is in the business more than your pocket.


---Thank you George for that wonderful interview. To all my readers: I hope that you thoroughly enjoyed the interview and learned something during it.

All the best,

Justin, "The Shoe Snob"

Today's Favorites - George Cleverley

Cleverley's favorite pastime: hidden side-gore slip on's! And why not? They look good and not many other makers actually make them. I quite like the top model and even though it is listed as being espresso in color, with the camera trickery going on, I prefer to see it as some shade of gray.

Being that the shoes at hand are both suede models, let's switch the subject onto that. With my conquest of shoe purchasing, I feel that I have neglected suede as 'something to buy.' Not saying that I don't have suede shoes, because now that I think about it I have plenty of them but not nearly as many as my calfskin alternatives. I think that I have acquired a calfskin shoe for every color there is with the exception of pink and orange, which I am afraid I will most likely never get. But now I feel the need to do the same in the suede market. I have always appreciated them but have always lived in super rainy places and even though I still live in a very rainy place, I can no longer let that be an excuse. Here's to suede, Cheers!!!

Pictures Courtesy Of: Leather Soul

Today's Favorites - George Cleverley

 

Let's get back to some classics here. Pictured above are two George Cleverley shoes, one (the black) being a limited edition model called 'The Churchill,' as you can assume, named after Winston Churchill and the second (the burgundy) being what seems to be a bespoke rendition of 'The Churchill,' with some slight modifications to it. As you can easily notice, the bespoke version is much nicer, as it should be! This model is one of many George Cleverley models that uses this idea of elastic siding hidden by leather flaps, only in this instance it is meant to look like an oxford but in reality is just a slip-on. Quite the eye-trickery huh! While you can easily see the beauty in both of these I have heard through the grapevine that, in person, they leave you in awe. Must be nice! Well, until tomorrow or the next day, enjoy the scenery!

Photos Courtesy Of: Leather Soul

Shoes Of The Week

It's always interesting to see what another animal's hide would look like on a pair of shoes. Never seen or even heard of being used before, this pair here, bespoke by George Cleverley, offers the skin of a mountain ram. It looks surprisingly similar to elephant hide (which I had the opportunity to handle while with Stefano Bemer, shoes here), yet only less coarse. It clearly makes the shoes more casual but the contrasting effect that is produced when pairing the mountain ram hide with a calfskin creates quite a pleasing look, at least in my mind. Given it's casual qualities I would think that this pair would look quite sharp with a nice pair of jeans, but at the same time look nice also when paired with a more casual suit. While these shoes no doubt cost a pretty penny, the fact that they are so elegant and can be worn with the majority of pieces in your wardrobe, is priceless!!

Pictures Courtesy Of: Leather Soul

Today's Favorites - Plain Toe Derby's

Above: George Cleverley - Photo Courtesy Of: Leather Soul

3 Above: Stefano Bemer

Above: J.A. Ramis by MEERMIN

2Above: Corthay -  Picture Courtesy Of: Leffot

A nice plain toe derby can go a long way: from jeans all the way to being worn with a suit depending on the cut and elegance of the particular model. It's simplicity can be a refreshing treat when one is used to always wearing brogues, heavily stitched or intricately designed shoes. While I tend to go for unique, colorful shoes, I forget that sometimes a simple and plain shoe can be the most elegant option of all!

Why Are A Pair Of Nice Shoes So Important?

Look, I know that not everyone is rich or may not care about fashion nor dressing up etc. but having a nice pair of shoes is a must in being a respectable man in this world. Luckily for most, times have changed because many years ago, you were nothing if you did not dress up properly and look and act like a well spoken, clean and respectable individual. These days you have people wearing tennis shoes with their suits, flip flops with their jeans and shoes that were once white and clean, now brown and having holes in them. What have we come to? Do we no longer care? Is everybody trying to make their own statement: I am free to be who I want to be, do what I want to do? Great!! So am I, but at least I can clean up, maintain my property and look like I have some decency to care about my appearance, not in an egotistical way but in a manner that exudes respect to others.

Top Shoes: Gaziano & Girling

Left Shoe: Stefano Bemer

Right Shoe: a.Testoni

Unfortunately we live in a judgmental world where every second of everyday people are judging others by their appearances before they are even able to meet them. I can’t lie, I also do it and I am sure that you do too!! They say that an interview is greatly affected within the first ten seconds of you entering the room. That means that your outfit has a huge part of that decision as I am sure your smile, handshake and greeting do too. The appearance of who you are is decided in how you look. And I can guarantee that a crappy pair of shoes will be noticed instantly, which in turn will speak wonders about you!! “This kid did not wear nice shoes to the interview, must not care much about the job nor be very responsible.” I would be willing to bet an infinite amount of money that this statement has crossed the mind of many interviewers. Yet why do so many people choose to buy terrible shoes? Are you cheap? Do you not care? What is it? Maybe you just have not been educated? Well then welcome to the classroom!!

Left Shoes: Unknown (I think Kenneth Cole Reaction)

Right Shoes: Edward Green

It is easy to tell the difference between what is nice and what is not! I understand that many people in society are lacking in common sense but come on, you can easily understand the difference in what has quality and is elegant versus what is crap as well as plain ugly by looking at the two shoes above. If you can’t then you need help. Let’s put it this way, the majority of people know and respect Italians for their excellent abilities to look like a million bucks even when they are going to the grocery store and I can tell you from experience that not one Italian in all of Italy would ever even think about wearing that sad thing posing as a shoe on the left. While I can go on and on with the bashing, let me get back to the educating. We need a nice pair of shoes just like we need to all own a suit, because it serves!!! There are many brands that offer very decent shoes in the $300 range. But that is just the bottom of the barrel. If you are spending anything less on your dress shoes, you are cheating yourself. Cheap shoes don’t look good nor do they last long. You end up spending more in the long run and looking like a bum in the meantime. If you truly can’t afford to spend that much then learn about good brands and go scour Nordstrom Rack or wait until shoes go down to 50% off during the half-yearly sale at Nordstrom.

Left Shoes: George Cleverley

Right Shoes: Foster & Son

Shoes command the most respect in an outfit, they are the easiest thing to spot if the quality is low. Take it from me; I get compliments all the time on my cheap ass, low quality H&M suits. Nobody ever believes me when they ask where I got my suit from and I tell them H&M. I fool them all!!! But in a shoe, you can tell right away between some piece of crap shoe with shitty ass leather versus something that is well made with high quality leather. It is so evident. So just realize that when you are buying that crappy pair of shoes because it is cheaper, you are fooling yourself because everybody and their momma can see that if you are not poor, then you must be cheap, have no style or are just plain uneducated. Do yourself a favor and next time you go to get new shoes, make it a nice pair. Trust me, when you get more compliments, you will feel better about your decision!!