Shoes Of The Week - Laszlo Vass MTO Spectators

I absolutely love a nice spectator (co-respondent), and this my friends, is among the nicest that I have seen to this day. It doesn't surprise me either, as most of what I see coming out of the workshops of legendary Laszlo Vass, is nothing shy of spectacular. Having inspired a reader with another model presented on the blog, he went out and found someone who could produce exactly what he was looking for, and the outcome was these, something I am sure that the reader was very pleased with....as I sure know that I would be!! Black and gray, as paired colors, is such a lovely mix to me. Not only does it keep the elegance of the black (being dressy), but it also separates it from being too muted (as I feel black shoes generally are). For me, this shoe would be something that I would love to see at a black-tie event. Call me crazy, but this to me is elegance. Sure, you may find it flashy, but how lovely would these be with a nice black-tie suit, with some gray accents in the tie/shirt region? Maybe I am just strange....but this to me is the way the world should be....not so stuffy as it is now!

 

Today's Favorites - Alfred Sargent

It's always mind-boggling to know how many cool shoes are sold each day, around the world, yet how few people I see actually wearing something that is worthy of being considered 'cool.' Take these MTO Alfred Sargent's, for example. They are wonderful! And what's even better is that the customer, had these made with his own design requests, almost a little bit like going bespoke. But even though I know that this is not the only guy in the world with a pair of gray suede dress shoes, I have NEVER seen one gracing a well-dressed man's feet. And as sick as I am for shoes, I am the guy looking at everyone's shoes as they walk passed me. So, as I write this blog, and see all of these cool shoes on the internet and on the shoe shelves, it makes me think about where they go when they get purchased? Maybe they just get put on a pedestal and become an object of admiration for the customer? Who knows? But if you are reading this and wear unique shoes and don't mind sharing a picture, please feel free to send me one, so that I can have some proof and even put you up on the blog, if you so desire....

Today's Favorites - Ronnie Fieg + Sebago = Nexus Project

If you don't know, Ronnie Fieg is the man behind many of the best shoe collaborations created in 2010. Yet, this is not his first year on the scene. He has been making waves with Asics for awhile now, creating some of the coolest colorways they have ever had to offer. Hailing from New York, Mr. Fieg, has persevered and worked hard at what's known as the 'American Dream.' Having aspirations to become a sneaker designer at a young age, he made his start as a stock boy at New York store, David Z. He eventually made his way up to buyer while at the same time thinking about his jump into the designing side which eventually broke through with his first collaboration with Asics. Fast forward some years and we have him doing collaborations left and right and designing some of the best shoes we have seen in 2010. With the way that the shoe industry is going, thanks to designers like Mr. Fieg and the introduction of non-orthodox colors, I am quite excited to see what he brings 2011!!

Pictures Courtesy Of: Ronnie Fieg's Blog

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.......

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!

Today's Favorites - Corthay 'Vendome'

 

There is really nothing to say. Corthay's 'Vendome' model is beauty at it's finest.....

Pictures provided by either:
-Leffot shoe boutique in Manhattan, NY
-L'atelier du Chausseur in Bordeaux, France

Today's Favorites - Random's

Here are a couple of random shoes for you. The top shoes (spectators) are by Rider Boot Co, the gray sneakers are by Bally and the bottom two pictures are shoes by Neil Barrett. The others I am not completely sure about. Enjoy nonetheless!!

Shoe Of The Day

I finally found a company that did exactly what I think every company should do: make a great model and offer it in 6 different colors, because really, who just wants black or brown? Thank you Oliver Sweeney!! This model called, "Orate," is a great example of a classic style touched by a modern twist. A beautiful whole-cut, decorated with perforations and a good amount of burnishing. Simple yet sweet! Why don't more companies think like this?? In reality, I know why!! They don't want to take the risk of not selling the other colors. How lame.....get some better salesman!! That's one thing I love about British companies, they have the balls to produce some crazy, bold and unique stuff. And if only the money tree in my backyard had not had all of it's bills blown off by these strong Brighton winds, I would buy all six of these color options!! Guess, I will just have to save up. On another note, for those curious, I heard that these were available at select Saks Fifth Ave around the States but if not you can find them online or all around England, for whenever you get a chance to pop over!

Shoes Of The Day

An impressive gray shoe is not to be trifled with!! When done properly, it's altitude on the scale of versatility is darn hard to beat. This pair, by Gaziano & Girling, called the Rothschild just might be the most magnificent one that I have seen yet! It's patina is amazing, it's color variation is perfect and the fact that it is a full-brogue just puts the cherry on top!! I tip my hat to Mr. Gaziano & Mr. Girling for creating such a fine model. What's great about this particular shade is that there is not one suit color that it cannot compliment!! Talk about versatility, that's further than black or brown could ever go. Yet why don't we see more gray? It's not a loud color, therefore the business world need not be afraid of it. It's quite conservative when it boils down to it so why don't we see it on the shelves??? If you agree, then let's do something about it!! Ask more for gray shoes and if the salesmen tells you that they never buy it, then suggest that the buyer should look into it. The more people that do this, the more awareness will be created and the more likely we will see more gray shoe options! The power of one is greater than you think!

The tough thing about women's shoes for me is knowing whether or not I will still like it on the woman as opposed to just being there legless in the picture. Again, you can see that I pick a shoe with a bow tie on it, I guess that I am truly just a sucker for them. What I also like about these Manolo Blahniks is the fact that they have a cap toe, giving them the air of a style influenced by men's shoes. So in reality, I must like these because they remind me of a man's shoe. I think that Freud would agree! But anyway, I find this shoe incredibly sexy, whatever the reason!! I feel jealous of women's shoes though, simply for the fact that their design spectrum is almost limitless where as men's shoes have only a few very basic styles (when it comes to dress) and the only thing that we can really play around with are the color and the materials.Yet there are so many variations in the women's world. Lucky YOU!!!!!