Colored Soles

Shoes: Alden; Photo Courtesy Of: Leather Soul

If you are an avid reader of my blog or know me, you can easily tell that when it comes to shoes, the incorporation of color (bold, bright colors) is very intriguing and important to me. And since I have been writing this blog -- not even a year now -- I already feel that the incorporation of non-classic colors (red's, medium blue's, green's, yellow's etc) has become more and more prominent in the collections of up-and-coming shoe designers, particularly and strangely enough in the collections of American designers such as Duckie Brown, Mark McNairy and Rachel Comey. And obviously before this, you always had Berluti, Paul Smith and other French and Italian shoemakers who weren't afraid to add a good bit of color into their shoes. But no one has yet to truly capture the idea of making a full-on dress shoe with a bright colored sole.

 

Shoes Above: Rachel Comey

While I have always been curious about this, it really hit me yesterday when my friend and fellow blogger, Style Sage, said that he would like to see more shoes with colored soles. And while you see plenty of pictures here of shoes with colored soles, you will notice that there is a trend about them: they are all casual shoes that you would wear with jeans, khaki's, cords etc., not anything that you would pair with your suit. I thought about this. I had always been so preoccupied with shoes that have colorful uppers. Yet this is already in existence and quite saturated (in a small sense). Many companies offer shoes in non-traditional colors but after several hours of searching through my pictures as well as the internet, I could not really find one proper dress shoe that had a sole that vibrantly contrasted.

Shoes Above: Mark McNairy

Imagine how cool it would be to see an all black dress brogue with a dress sole the color of the blue that the shoe directly above and to the left has! And while some of you may not be on board with this idea or be able to even imagine it, I bet that if you were to see it, it just might grow on you, that is if you are the adventurous type. The addition of bright colors into footwear is emerging at a rapid pace. You will see this in spring/summer 2011 collections and I bet that by 2012 there will grow a trend of dress shoemakers who will start to color their soles in non-traditional colors. I will kick it off, by finishing my 6th pair with a nude colored sole and start to think about a vibrant color that I can add to my seventh pair which will be a full brogue in an off-white upper. Help me out and think about what bright color goes best with off-white? Cast your votes in the comment section!

Shoes Above Top Row: ts(s)
Shoes Above Bottom Row: Left - Grenson; Right - Gucci

Gucci - Fall/Winter 2010

Out of all of the Italian design houses, Gucci has to be my favorite. I think this is because they manage to stay classic yet are still considered a major designer label, which usually is a title that lends itself to companies that create the latest and greatest fashion statements. And not that they don't, they just do it differently. For instance, Gucci will take one of their classic shoes, like the loafer above, and create 100 different color/pattern/material options for that style, season after season, making you think that they have a new style but really it is just one of their classics with a twist. This idea of taking classic styles and giving them modern twists has always resonated with me as the most intelligent thing to do in fashion considering that everything just reinvents itself and becomes popular again (like the recent surge in Saddle shoes). Of course new ideas are great, but when a company tries to come up with the craziest, most outlandish shoes (like Prada's studded shoe) that no one has ever seen before, it can become a little absurd.















Another thing that I love about Gucci and find quite funny is how they have recently managed to become great knock-off artists. If you look carefully at these pictures you will notice that there is a Gucci version of a Van's shoe, a Creative Recreation shoe and of a Red Wing shoe. They have been doing this for a little over a year now and have been quite successful at it. And, from a business standpoint, I can't be mad at them. If something is big and is selling a lot, it only makes sense to try and ride the wave because if you can do it well and possibly better than the originator, then monetarily speaking you will be in for a good kickback. But if you don't do it well, it can possibly tarnish your image. What's great about Gucci's position in the fashion world is that I don't think they have much to worry about when it comes to tarnishing their image, which allows them to do whatever they want and knock-off whoever they want. Must be nice!!

So as you can see for their Fall/Winter 2010 selection, they have a little bit of everything, as they should. Some of these products have been out for a little while now and some are much more recent. And while Gucci never really seems to disappoint me, I am particularly pleased with what they have to offer this season. I feel like the selection is quite balanced and the styles have a little bit more of a practical feel to them, like the two boots that are just above this paragraph. There seems to be less full-on Gucci print shoes and a dedication to use actual leather on more of their styles, giving them more of a serious feel. Not that I don't like their Gucci print stuff because I would be lying if I said that I did not own a pair, but I do prefer the sleeker, nonchalant looks that they seem to be thriving on right now. All-in-all they remain the kings of Italian designer fashion, at least in my book!!

When Great Companies Go Terribly Wrong!

It almost makes me sad to write this post and share the pictures that I have with you but I feel it is necessary to show what can and will happen if you try too hard to please every single customer. I was inspired to write this post the day that I saw Salvatore Ferragamo create, what in my mind, is the ultimate sin in the shoe world. Now I have seen so many ugly shoes in my time, especially when I worked on a very high-volume sales floor, that sold men's shoes, and nothing could have prepared me for what I saw by Ferragamo that day. I almost collapsed thinking that a company, like Ferragamo, who usually makes such great shoes could go so low to appeal to one, lonely, boring, small-minded customer. Now I had seen before, atrocious shoes made by other brands who like to 'stay on top' of the fashion world (which you will also see in this post) but never had I thought that a company so timeless and elegant would even think to create such an idea. Sadly, I was wrong........










 Shoes by: Ferragamo

The thing is, I love Ferragamo and that's why I was so shocked. What's weird about this though is the fact that the square-toe phenomenon is dead now and this came out way after it's boom. This probably frightened me even worse because it made me think to myself, 'Is this the direction they are heading?' All I can do is pray there this was some sort of mistake for which they made it. What did not surprise me is that the buyers (of the establishment) bought it. And that's why I hate them, the buyers of America who continue to think that they are going forward by buying this old, outdated crap. I can't blame them though because in their minds, there are still customers who want this horrible look and as sad as it is, as long as customers keep purchasing this, buyers will keep buying it. If only I could just permanently end the desire to want a square-toed shoe, I would have to brainwash 1/3 of the American male population.

Top Two: Prada
Bottom Two: Gucci

It makes you wonder if companies will make shoes exclusively for certain countries just to appeal to their needs. This obviously does occur but to what scale is my question? If they happen to make a shoe that does not seem to respond well in it's original intended point of distribution, do you think they might create some sort of recall and then send it to some 3rd world country to try it's luck there? It wouldn't surprise me. What did surprise me though is that I saw that horrible studded shoe by Prada (upper left) in it's own boutique in Midtown Manhattan. I thought to myself, 'What normal, Prada wearing man would wear this?' I sure hope that sales were not satisfactory on that one. And Gucci!! Out of all the designers, they are my favorite and yet to think that they would make a corner-kicker sneaker that looks like those frighteningly cheap shoes that you find all over England that are trying to imitate Italian shoes. I guess Gucci is giving them headway to continue doing so, when in fact no one in Italy wears shoes like those. It just makes you wonder, will every company make crap to just appease certain people even though it's not stuff that they would want to produce?? I could understand making this atrocious stuff, if it is what you have always been making or if it is what you like, but to switch it up like Ferragamo did, just doesn't make sense. Don't have integrity for so many years and then all of the sudden just stop so that you can make a few extra bucks during a recession or to appeal to a minority of people that are not your actual target market.

Shoes by: Church's

Even a classic company like Church's will make some very ugly stuff, like that boot on the left that looks like it belongs in some Goth shop. Who are they trying to appeal to with this boot. The average Englishman?? I don't think so. Now Dolce & Gabbana are known for just making shoes that are outlandish and that look like they just arrived from space. But what was funny is when I found a picture of them and instead of wearing the racy stuff they usually make they are just wearing some very classic shoes. Domenico is wearing some basic black oxfords and Stefano is wearing some very elegant burgundy velour loafers, nothing like the stuff that they usually make. The point of this post: Stick to what you know and who you would really like to sell to. Don't try and appease everyone, or your company will begin to lack in direction. Integrity is the most important thing in branding!! Don't loose it!