Shoes Of The Week - Crockett & Jones Boot

It's funny because the last time I was in Spain, working out my prototypes, I was thinking of the different combinations of colors/materials to use on my balmoral boots and a medium brown paired with a snuff suede was precisely what I had in mind, until I saw these boots by Crockett & Jones..... While my boot is quite different, aesthetically in shape and pattern, and using similar colors is by no means copying, being the weird individual that I am, I am now having second thoughts about using these colors as I do not want have something that is too similar to someone else's shoe/boot. At least not for my first collection....but then again, I have a couple of months to think about it and when my prototypes are all finalized, I am planning on giving all of you a chance to influence the different color options that my shoes will come in.

But anyway, back to the subject at hand. When I saw these, I was pleased nonetheless, not only because I like them and enjoy shining shoes that I like, but also because these shoes come from an individual that appreciates nice shoes and it always makes me happy to meet people like this. This is already the second pair of his that I have put on the blog and am sure that there will be more to come...

I won't be posting until at least Sunday, so I wanted to wish all of you not only a fantastic weekend but a wonderful New Years!! Enjoy the festivities......and until 2012!

Best,

Justin, "The Shoe Snob"

It's All In The Detail

Picture Courtesy Of: Moda Image

One of my dear blog readers, who frequents London as business calls, just happen to pop in today for an updated chat on life, shoes and the future of my career. Because he happened to visit me in the flesh, I showed him the pictures (via my camera phone) that I have of my upcoming collection. The pictures show what is current with my prototype production, but we still have a month or so before they are complete. Nevertheless, he was able to get an idea of my collection to come and a feeling of how it differs from others while at the same time provides a feeling of familiarity: 'classics with a twist.'

We discussed that in a saturated market, where everything under the sun has already been done, the one thing that differentiates one another, is the minute detailing. That being, when I saw these loafers (above), by Aubercy, they immediately stood out to me. Granted, some people would not appreciate this. But for someone like me who has seen 10 million different pairs of shoes is his life and purposefully looks at them, this would have just been another loafer (of a trillion) in calf and suede, had it not that the red stitching. But because it does have this contrasted stitching, it no longer is one of a trillion, it becomes one of one (or maybe 2 or 3 etc). It stands out and makes me stop and say, "now there is something different, something worth pausing to give a double-take."

And this is what I hope to do for all of you. To give you something that stands out, not in an loud or ostentatious way, but in a way that is discreet yet noticeable. A way that says that you, the wearer, appreciate your shoes and the small details in life, the little ones that make us stand out from the crowd....

What I Am Wearing

It's been quite a lovely Fall/Winter season here in London, weather-wise, which has allowed me to wear things that would be otherwise saved for the Spring/Summer, such as this light gray Prince of Wales (POW) suit. While I think that I have only been able to wear it once (as it was just recently completed), I am eagerly awaiting the warmer weather to be able to flaunt it's beauty. I had always wanted a POW suit and now that I finally have one, I am excited to see all of the wonderful combinations that I can create with it. Here, unfortunately, I went the boring route with my black loafers, as even though the weather might have been relatively nice, you just never know when it might start raining. And to take a chance with my shoes, for me, is just a no-no. But as soon as Spring comes, you can bet that the browns, blues, suedes and tans will be the only shoes that I will be pairing with this suit....

Shoes: Miro by Septieme Largeur
Suit: Old bespoke, altered for me by Chittleborough & Morgan
Shirt: Can't remember, but not Primark this time...from TK Maxx (in US = TJ Maxx)
Tie: Either XMI or Ike Behar

A Return To Italy (and Stefano Bemer)

Over my quick holiday visit to the in-laws in Perugia, Italy, I managed to pop over to my old town of Firenze (where I once lived for circa 1 year). I had the intention of going back to Stefano Bemer's shop (where I learned to make bespoke shoes) and saying hi to all of my old colleagues, as well as hopefully snapping some pictures of any new models made. Being that plans don't always happen they way that you want them to (and that fact that my wife was waiting for me at a nearby cafe) I was unable to take any pictures, as my time was rushed having to explain to my friends what I am currently up to while trying my best to speak in rusty, broken Italian. It was quite unfortunate, though, as Stefano was not around and I was unable to tell him of my progress, of which I hope that he would have been proud to say that it all started at his shop, my entrance into the bespoke shoe realm.... Nevertheless, I remembered that while living there, I had taken many pictures of the shop that I don't believe I ever posted on the blog, and thought that now would be the perfect time to do so.

If you look at the picture at the very top, you can see that two of the bespoke shoes that I made (#2 & #5) came from the patterns of the shoes second from the left and third from the right, only that I slightly altered minute details such as coloring, piping thickness and last shape. Looking back at these pictures (which only make up a small amount of the entire collection), I must say that Stefano Bemer, while relatively unknown by the majority of people, makes some of the most beautiful shoes that I have ever seen! He is excellent, in my opinion, at pairing certain patterns (designs) with certain last shapes as well as putting together wonderful color combinations. With that in mind, I still wonder why you don't find his shoes selling at more outlets around the world....

While I had a great time in Italy (living there and learning) and would not have traded that experience for anything in the world, I realized that during my short and nostalgic visit back, that I have truly found myself in probably the absolute best place that I could be for making my goals come into fruition (that being London). It makes one realize how funny and coincidental life can be. And if you would have asked me 6-7 years ago, whether I could see myself being and living in London, I would have said, "no way!"  But now I am here, and I feel like I have found my second home, a place that I enjoy and can feel comfortable and secure in. It's a great a feeling and am glad to have had this trip back to Italy to be able to experience it......Anyway enough of the sentimental babble, I hope that all of you had a wonderful holiday season and are getting ready for a great New Year's celebration. 2012 is going to be a great one!!

Best,

Justin, "The Shoe Snob"

Happy Holidays!

Dear All,

As we wind down another year, I just want to thank all of you that have been loyal readers, commentators and advocates of the blog and my aspirations. Without all of you, it would be hard to continue writing.

Alas, I am finally off to have some much needed 'away' time in the beautiful country of Italy. And while I can't wait to go stuff myself with pasta and wine, I regretfully admit that I will out of touch with the computer world while there, not being accessible to the blog or my email. That being, enjoy these pictures of 3 new models by Riccardo Bestetti, which are simply breathtaking....

I will return on the 27th for more blogging and until then I wish everyone a happy holiday season!

All the best,

-Justin, "The Shoe Snob"

Exotics - Your cow leather alternatives

Shoes Above: Crocodile by Riccardo Bestetti

Up until I moved to Italy to learn bespoke shoemaking, I never really was a fan of exotics. This was partly due to the fact that in America, certain exotic leathers are made in a way that they are insanely gaudy i.e. blue and green 'pythons', yellow 'gators,' pink stingray etc. And the other reason being that many of them are made, in my opinion, on the ugliest lasts and in terrible styles. So, needless to say, living in the States gave me a very skewed perspective on how I felt about exotic leathers. It wasn't until I went to Stefano Bemer's RTW shop and saw these two crocodile derbies (one pictured below in red) that I began to understand that exotic leather shoes can be made beautifully...

Sea Creatures - Shark, Stingray, Fish etc.

This category is probably (no, definitely) my least favorite of the exotic leather kingdom. With the exception of shark, I really don't care for anything made from a creature that comes from under the water. I see, admire and appreciate beautiful stingray shoes made by Riccardo Bestetti, but I just don't seem to ever really desire them, especially when they have the white bit on them that looks like an eye or something. Fish too, simply awful in my opinion. While it can give a cool-looking effect, it just seems so limiting to me. What if the scales flake off? And you can't shine them, not well at least. But hey, to each his own right?

Shoes Above: Stingray by Riccardo Bestetti
Shoes Below: (L) Sharkskin by Stefano Bemer; (R) Morse Fish skin

Reptiles - Snake, Crocodile, Alligator, Lizard etc.  

Another category that I cannot say that I am ecstatic about, but I can say that I do like a nice wholecut made in crocodile or alligator. The key here is about choosing the leather properly, making sure that it's symmetry is as tidy as can be and the the scales are not too differentiating. But this is difficult (and extremely costly) to do. That's the reason why, you see that few people can do it. And they are usually the people whose shoes cost $1000+ just for their calf skin shoes, let alone the price of a crocodile shoe. Snake skin I am just not a fan of period and lizard I can only do in small amounts, like the facing of a shoe or some sort of accent on it. Now just because I know that this might come up, I will preemptively say, without embarrassment, that I have no clue how to tell the difference between crocodile and alligator. I do know that there is (according to experts) a difference between their scales but cannot say with confidence what that difference is. So, if you are one of those experts reading, then please feel free to leave a comment, in order to enlighten us all.

Shoes Above: Crocodile by Stefano Bemer
Shoes Below: (First Row) L - Croc by Dimitri Gomez; R - Snakeskin by Sperry (I believe)
                      (Second Row) L - Anthony Delos; R - Alligator by Gaziano & Girling
                      (Thrid Row) Lizard by Carreducker

Others - Carpincho, Pig, Elephant, Russian Reindeer, Mountain Ram, Pony, Ostrich etc.

Now this jumbled category does contain many of the exotic leathers that I find to be much more appealing. That being, it would appear that I tend to appreciate things that seem to have legs, with the exception of pony and ostrich that is done awfully. But the rest of these can produce a shoe that is not only intriguing but very cool too. Funny thing is, since delving myself head first into the shoe industry, I had never seen many of these leathers let alone heard of them being used to make shoes. But after having seen the likes of carpincho and mountain ram, I will definitely be on the hunt to acquire a pair or two in the --most likely distant-- future.

Shoes Above: Carpincho by George Cleverley
Shoes Below: (First Row) L - Elephant by Koronya; R - Pony by Jan Kielman
                      (Second Row) L - Russian Reindeer by George Cleverley; R - Pigskin by Gaziano & Girling
                      (Third Row) Elephant by Stefano Bemer (both)
                      (Fourth Row) L - Ostrich by Barker Black; R - Mountain Ram by George Cleverley

Shoes Of The Week - Mannina

There is something about wholecut loafers that I just absolutely love. The fact that they seem to derive from a Prince Albert shoe but usually will have a normal sole on them and are intended for actual wear as opposed to prancing around your big mansion, is quite appealing to me. And then, there are so many things that you can do to them to give them a little bit of character, like add a medallion, some tassels or some thick and contrasting piping around the edges etc. These ones here, by Mannina, seem to have added all of those little extras that I just listed and what came out, to me, is beautiful loafer that (if not for the color) could get an amazing amount of wear. Shame that light suede is such a delicate material, something that can only be worn confidently in few countries (like Italy) without fear of ridicule or the chance of ruining them. But imagine these in a nice snuff suede or something a bit darker, that would be a shoe to have, cherish and rock your socks in....

My Prototype Adjustments

I'm back! Sorry for the long time without posting, but I did not have time nor much access to anything while away on my quick trip to Spain. But alas, I am home and decided to give you another little morsel of what I have been up to. So needless to say, you can see here just what I have been doing while away, and how I am going through the rounds of adjusting my prototypes in order to create the ideas that I had floating in my head. Now, you might think that what I have been showing you is nothing that special (in terms of unique designs), and that is purposefully done as I don't want to give away of my ideas before my shoes are ready for distribution. So, at first I showed you my take on a cap-toe and now I am showing you my take on a nice brogue. I decided that I did not want to go straight into designing a full brogue, as every other shoe company in the world has one. Obviously I will eventually need to make one, for all of you classicists out there, but in the meanwhile being the sucker that I am for saddles, I decided to introduce the 'saddle brogue.'

As you can see, there have been adjustments made with a silver pen indicating what needs to be changed. The sharp corner of that saddle did not flow well with the smooth, soft line of the wing cap below it, so I am having the pattern maker round it out a bit in order for the lines to be in sync with each other. This will give the shoe a little bit more balance as I believe that it is a bit on the clashing-side at the current moment.

For some odd reason, it would appear that the toe sits very high off of the ground, but I can assure you that this is not the case, as I am not a fan of toes that curve upward. Obviously, a shoe needs a bit of space between the toe and the floor, due to the way that we walk, but I think that the fact that there is a piece of glass that sits on top of the table, it would appear as if the surface is lower than it actually is, giving off the illusion of a toe that curves too high upward.

So, here is one more of my shoes to hold you over and to let you know that I am indeed working as fast as I can to release my collection which will consist of around 12 different designs, having two of the designs using two different lasts, making it seem that there would be 14 different designs. I am hoping (optimistically) that they will be ready by mid to late January (assuming there is no more need for adjustments) and that I can put my first order through by sometime in February (but don't hold me strictly to this). So for all of those patiently waiting, I can assure you that it is not long from now.....

Today's Favorites - Caulaincourt

I wanted to try and squeeze out my usual long-post that I do on Mondays, but I simply have not had enough time, as I prepare for my flight to Spain and such. But as I hate to leave my blog content-less for too long, I figured that I would give you a little tidbit to hold you over until I get back on Thursday. I know that I have been showing a lot of boots lately but I just can't help it as the majority of lovely things that I have been seeing, are in fact boots. This one above by Caulaincourt (go to site at your own risk, my computer denied access) just might take the cake however. The mix between tweed, colors, a touch of burnishing and brogue detail were simply perfect, not leaving a single trace of lack in style or aesthetic. And while I had always heard of this brand before, but never really putting much thought into them, I will now definitely keep them on my radar after seeing these bad boys....

Well, it's that time to be off now, as I head out to have a quick lunch before my flight. Optimistically thinking, my prototypes will be all sorted out by the time I come back, but realistically speaking, I will at least have one (if not more) round of corrections. Just know that after much talk about releasing my own shoe line, it is creeping upon realization. Thanks to all of those that have been loyal in following my progress, I only hope that I do not let you all down....

Enjoy your week and be back on Thursday!

-Justin, "The Shoe Snob"

Shoes Of The Week - Alfred Sargent Special Make Up

Following a survey on Style Forum, online shoe store 'A Fine Pair of Shoes' created (based on popular vote & in conjunction with Alfred Sargent) what was considered to be the perfect brogue boot. While I can't say that I agree that this model is the 'perfect' brogue boot, I can say that I do like them very much. Probably the thing that I like most (outside of my obvious two-tone obsession) is the brogue design that leads from the bottom part of the facing/quarter all the way to the back end of the shaft bit. While this boot would be a great option come Spring/Summer, I just can't say that it's perfect for the fact that it cannot be worn during the cold months, for fear of thrashing that lovely light suede during a wet day. Nevertheless, it's a beautiful model that I am sure will become a great seller. If you are interested in this boot, the nice gentleman at AFPS informed me that they are currently available via Special Order at info@afinepairofshoes.co.uk and are going for £420.

I will try and post again sometime this weekend, but if I do not get a chance, there might be a little while before you here from me as I am taking a trip back to Spain in order to sort out some of my other prototypes!

I hope that everyone has a fantastic weekend.

-Justin, "The Shoe Snob"

Today's Favorites - Carmina Balmoral Boot

I have never actually had the pleasure of holding a pair of Carmina shoes in my hands, but I have always appreciated what I have seen in pictures and all of the nice things that most people have to say about them. While they tend to not stray too far outside of classic styles, I did notice this pair on Ethan Desu's blog a little while ago and was quite taken aback by the uniqueness of them. There was no description of what they were for, but I could only imagine that they must have been an MTO, as this is not a combination that you see often, especially in RTW circulation. And even though it did not make me say 'WOW' for some unknown reason, I feel that I would love to have them and would gravitate towards them more than I think. Something about them really captures me, but in a way that is almost indescribable. The seem to have these little subtle qualities that make them really stand apart, but only after 3 or 4 glances do you notice them. I feel that they come up higher on your leg than your average pair, the stitching along the facing is not quite straight but not quite as curved either when it comes to the edge of the vamp/quarter, and that the mouth of the boot (above ankle) is a lot smaller than most openings. And all of these details make me think that this is truly inspired by what they used to wear in the late 19th, early 20th centuries.... I applaud the person that designed them...Well done!

What I Am Wearing

The more and more that you see my personal collection, the more that you will realize that I love to gravitate towards two-toned shoes. This is actually a pair, despite being colors that I don't particularly think go that well together, is one of my favorite models. The only shame is, the more that I spend wearing bespoke shoes and shoes that come in narrow width, the more that I feel that many of the shoes that I bought in America, are too big. In the sense that being the fool that I can be, I would just always buy US 8D, thinking that they would be fine. But like shoes do, some fit bigger than others, and if you look closely you will notice that the sides of these are gaping, indicating that there is too much space. Needless to say, after wearing these for the first time in about a year or two, I came to the conclusion that I am going to sell them, as I no longer need them and need to free up space in my miniature European closet. So after I clean them up a bit, I will be putting them up for sale! Be on the look out if you fancy them.

Shoes: Magnanni
Suit: Gieves & Hawkes
Shirt: Primark
Tie: Gieves & Hawkes