Easter Vacation & Today's Favorites - Alfred Sargent

To all of my readers,


I just wanted to let you know that I will be away on a short holiday trip to Italy from Friday to Monday and will not be around computer access. So I am sorry that until Tuesday the 26th there will not be any new posts, but this is a good time to read through my archives to see if there is any valuable information or some great shoe porn that you have yet read/seen. Until then, I will leave you with a couple of pics of cool shoes from Alfred Sargent. Have a great Easter weekend to all those who celebrate it and to the rest, have a wonderful weekend.


Sincerely,

Justin, "The Shoe Snob"

P.S. To all those who have written me or commented on posts, I have not forgotten about you and I will respond as soon as I get a chance. Sorry for the delay....

Shoes Of The Week

I recently just got my first pair of lace (balmoral, galosh) dress boots -- which I have yet to show all of you -- and I absolutely love them! And loving them has made me somewhat mad for the idea of getting a pair for each of the different colors in the shoe spectrum, yet something that will be difficult achieving, as boots of this nature are always in the upper echelons of the cost scale.

This brings me to the two above that I find stunning to say the least. They are by Septieme Largeur, which you may have noticed on my blog as of recent, who is owned by the same owners of larger label Markowski. The cleanliness of this particular model is precisely what appeals most to me. Something about that blank canvas of stitch free leather, coupled with the upper suede part just resonates in my brain as the definition of handsome and elegant. And to think that this used to be the shoe dominated by society in the early 1900's, during Edwardian and Victorian times. It makes me think, 'if it could be the go-to shoe then, it can become the go-to shoe now,' and while I know that it won't happen, it still gives me hope!

Pictures provided by: Septieme Largeur Blog

P.S. Sorry I have been late on replying to comments in these last days, I have been swamped but will answer all of them this weekend. Thanks to everyone who gave nice things to say about my 6th shoe. I appreciate the feedback!

My Ideal Boot

Last year I wrote about The Perfect Boot and how a nice dress chukka could take you a long way, and frankly, I still agree with that but considering it is 2011, I wanted to switch it up a little and tell you about my ideal boot!! I have always been a big fan of how people around the world dressed in the late 1800's-early 1900's, also known as the Victorian and Edwardian era's. If you are unfamiliar with this way of dressing you can always watch movies such as Dorian Gray or Sherlock Holmes to get an idea. But to briefly tell you verbally, these two periods were a time in which people had the decency to always look sharp and by that, I state that the act of wearing a suit and dress attire was the norm. And part of that dress attire, as you can imagine, was some sort of dress shoe or boot, which brings us to the subject at hand.....

Boots At Top Of Page: Crockett & Jones (Clarence model)
Boots Above (4 Pair): Edward Green (Shannon model)

The balmoral boot, aesthetically, has to be my favorite boot and is obviously the inspiration behind this post, particularly the C&J model at the top of this page along with the black & white version of the Shannon model by Edward Green (above, left). Back in the Victorian/Edwardian days, you would have found that this was a favorite for the smarter dressed men of society. Considering that the streets were not paved as they are today, it was imperative for men to have nice dress boots that could help protect from the sludge that was inevitably everywhere. And because the balmoral boot is the dressiest boot there is, you can see why it was the go-to option for the men of these time periods!

Boots Above Top Row: Left - Edward Green; Right - Foster & Son
Boots Above Bottom Row: Rider Boot Co. (both)

While obviously not exclusive to British shoe companies, you will notice that the majority of my pictures do come from British shoe companies. I feel that because they were such a crucial piece in the sartorial realm of men in those time periods (periods characterized by British ruling, and fashion), British shoe companies seem to always have a model available in their current offerings where as shoe companies from other parts of the world may or may not be offering one at any given time. Nevertheless, the balmoral boot remains (as it did in the Victorian/Edwardian era's) a quintessential piece in the wardrobes of the men who still care to dress with some exuberance!! And this is because, as you would know if you own a pair, it is a boot that can easily go from day wear with jeans, to work wear with suits, and then to evening wear with trousers and a button-up shirt. Now if only I owned a dang pair, I could have taken pictures to model that image for you!!!!!!!!!

Boots Top Row: Left - Cliff Roberts (British Bespoke Shoemaker); Right - Carreducker
Boots Middle Row: Left - Stefano Bemer; Right - Gaziano & Girling
Boots Bottom: Gaziano & Girling

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!!

Today's Favorites - Edward Green's Midnight Colored Shoes

What I love most about Edward Green is that they truly offer and make their shoes in almost every color (with the exceptions of the crazy, bright colors). One of those is what they call 'midnight,' which would be their version of blur or navy. It's an absolutely marvelous color and I can only dream about getting a pair myself. Instead, maybe I can buy a piece of leather off of them and make my own, way cheaper!! Another color that they offer is the burnt olive (green) and it is just as beautiful as the midnight. I will have to show some of those in another post. For now, enjoy!

Today's Favorites - Helm Boots

Considering that, where I live, it has snowed seven inches (18cm) in the last day and I am trapped in my flat, I figured that I would post some more boots to correlate with this cold winter season! These boots are by Helm, a company based out of Austin, Texas, USA who recently launched this boot line back in 2009. I like the idea this company seems to have adopted of just sticking to one thing, boots, so that they are able to focus on making the best product possible. And what I also like about them is that their designs are different than the norm, creating boots (like the one directly above) in styles that I have never seen before or really even imagined. I like this because sometimes, I really do feel that most boots look the same, mainly because what sets them apart from each other is usually covered by your pants. So to see contrasted soles and unique top stitches is a treat!

Shoes Of The Week

 Men's Shoes:

As you can see, I am on this boot fixation at the moment. But when you see something good, you just have to show it. This boot by Carreducker, called "The Special," is another great example of using little details to enhance your product. As some of you may know already, I am a super fan of mixing leathers and fabrics, such as tweed or like in this case, Prince of Wales check. And the fact that they paired laces that match one of the lines in the check, is just the type of small thing that enhances a shoe by 10 fold. For those that may not know, Carreducker is a duo of bespoke shoemakers located in London, England that offer courses twice a year in either London or New York. So if you are in the market to learn a little custom shoemaking, you may be interested in researching their site and contacting them to find out more about their offerings.

Women's Shoes:

For all of the ladies out there with a love for men's shoe design, now is your chance to find some great pairs offered in women's lasts. This pair called 'Byron', by Edward Green, is one of what I believe to be many up-and-coming styles offered for lady customers at New York shoe boutique, Leffot. It's great to see that someone is getting this option available to the masses. Obviously you can find women's shoes out there that emulate men's styles but there is nothing like having a shoe made for a lady by a company that is known famously for their men's shoes. And what a great job they did. I love this boot and really appreciate the color of it. And I can't lie, if they had my size and I had a bunch of money, I would get a pair myself!

Today's Favorites - Edward Green 'Galway' boot

Like I keep saying, this season's big thing is lace-up boots and the Edward Green 'Galway' is one of the nicer options that I have seen thus far. You can't help but enjoy the fact that it comes in so many color options, especially for those that already have a black or brown boot. This gives you the option to spice it up a bit with a gray or maybe even green pair!!

My Shoes #5 - Sebago

Like I stated in my post, 4 Shoe Essentials For Autumn, everyone needs a solid boot for the fall/winter seasons. Considering that this whole Red Wing phenomenon is taking place and almost everything that is coming out was somehow inspired by it, I decided to go with the sleekest option. What's great about the Fairhaven boot (pictured above) by Sebago is the fact that it has that workman's boot appeal but it's sole is not so clunky looking like most of the Red Wing styles. Considering that I am a skinny guy and tend to wear slim-fitting clothes, the Fairhaven poses as a much more intelligent option for pairing with my wardrobe. If you have yet to find yourself a good boot for this season and also like the idea of the sleeker look, check out my Sebago post because right now, they are killing it!

Shoes Of The Day

Men's Shoes

2010 has been the year of great collections, companies I normally don't like actually putting out good product and also the year of more color. And that's great!! One of those brands that I never really liked was J.Shoes. Yet, their new fall/winter season consists of a range of wingtip boots (pictured above and below), style called 'Andrew,' that I am particularly fond of. Hailing from Britain, J.Shoes used to be a brand know for their comfort slip-on, called 'Tumble,' that looked much like some sort of Native American moccasin which had a very unique hand stitch around one side of the shoe and ended on the opposite side of the toe box, but was just plain ugly. But now that the world of style is changing and you can no longer just be a brand known for one thing, companies like J Shoes need to get inventive to stay fresh. And this they did!! This new boot is very cool and unique and I imagine will be a huge success for the company.

Women's Shoes

I swear, this season has marked the popularity of "the lace boot" for both men and women. This pair, owned by my friend and fellow blogger, LadyPeach, is the epitome of this season's 'new look.' They appear strikingly similar to the famed pair, by Chloe', that Garance Dore' - the wife/partner/girlfriend or whatever of Scott Schuman from The Sartorialist - has made popular in her picture (shown below) from The Sartorialist's blog. I quite enjoy this new trend of boot. Not only do they (lace boots) look good on a man and fit the general style of jean-wearing individuals but they also look darn sexy on a woman. For example, Ms. or Mrs. Dore' below has taken something that I tend to hate (leather or leather-looking pants) and paired them so well with these boots - that have almost identical colored leather on the toe - and a great jacket thus creating a very chic look! I have to say, without those boots, this outfit would have been hard to make look great.