A Shoe Night To Remember

Pierre Corthay, Courtesy of Parisian Gentleman

When I was younger, I used to always flip through GQ and Esquire magazines (back in the States) and wish that I could attend the events (that they love to display each month), where the cool of the cool within the style industry go to mix and mingle. Well, for the first time in my life, I was actually invited to one of those events. However, it was not one from a magazine host, but rather a collaboration between Corthay shoes, the magnificent Hugo Jacomet from Parisian Gentleman, and the Edmund de Rothschild Group. The night, albeit a celebration of both PG & Corthay, was in fact for the purpose of screening a short film, 'La Beauté du Geste', a film that followed the travels of Corthay's Excellence Run, as well as a paid tribute to various artisans throughout Europe. And while I shall not spoil the film for those of you whom read this blog and just might be attending the following screenings, I will say that there were many beautiful things said, as well as shown.

Many other things were also happening at the event, one of which was the magnificent patina artist, Thomas, showing all in attendance, the magic that he creates. Having met him briefly the first time that I went to Paris, and again when the Corthay shop here in London opened, you can say that we have built a mutual respect for each other. But this respect almost ended when I saw his shoes (above left, orange) and felt that he was showing me up, The Shoe Snob!! Only kidding there, but needless to say, that respect grew even stronger when I saw him wearing something sold bold, yet so cool. Not even sure that I would have the courage to do that....you have to admire someone who has the courage to wear what they want and not be afraid of the backlash they might receive.....But what I admire most about Thomas, is the fact that he is only in his very early 20's, has only been doing patina work for a few years, and in my opinion, is already a master! That's impressive! Another feature was the new head shoemaker lasting up a new pair of shoes, shown below. He was quire impressive, his speed and how amazingly straight his hammering of the nails was whilst lasting over the upper.

Overall, the night was a good night, full of drinks (a bit too many!), good conversation, good networking, lovely shoes and most of all, good people. It was a pleasure to be invited and I hope to go to another event like this soon! I hope that you all have enjoyed the pictures and the post, and am sorry that it was not something a bit more informative or opinionated, like my usual Monday posts, but my mind is a bit spent these days and need to think of something fresh to talk about.....if you have any ideas, let me know...

Photo below: My business partner, Ngoni the man behind the scenes, and I....
Courtesy Of: Parisian Gentleman

Today's Favorites - Customer's Shoes

While I feel like it has been forever since I have written, really it has only been almost exactly 48 hours, which is not that long, in fact, to go without a post, especially considering that I am currently in Paris....yup, Paris! Taking a short trip, seeing the sights and doing a couple of things here and there, that you will see and hear about in the not-so-distant future. But as always, I have to keep up my wonderful blog and give to all of you the shoe porn that you so desperately yearn for. And for today, I have decided to honor my comment of putting up the shoes of my readers who send me pics of their collections. So, to lead the pack, I have added a most beautiful spat boot, that would put most boots to shame, and was made by none other than French shoe house, Aubercy. And while I appreciate putting up my reader's shoes, I find myself a little jealous at some of them, especially since I don't own a spat boot, and may have to wait awhile, as no one really makes them, especially not for a ready-to-wear collections. Anyway, you can see the interesting shoes that were given to me via picture and think about the one's that you want to send me to show for future posts!

Wait until you see the shoes that I had commissioned a patina for....simply amazing!!!!

Enjoy.......  -Justin, "The Shoe Snob"
 

 Custom-made green cracked leather balmoral boot -- unique!

Custom-made scorpion medallion toes -- very interesting..












John Lobb (2), Corthay & G&G -- Not as unique, but nice nonetheless.. (clockwise from top left -- below)

Shoe closets....

High Toe Shine -- Good job!

Shoes -- Part 2: Style Names & Terminology -- Derby's, Monk Straps & Others

With the second installment of 'Style Names & Terminology,' I will finish off laced shoes and monkstraps, before getting onto loafers and boots. As I mentioned the majority of oxford styles (or closed-lacing shoes) in Part 1, it is now time to introduce their counterparts and show the open-lacing models, as well as some of the other styles that I forgot. Enjoy!

Derby (Darby in England) AKA Blucher AKA Gibson (far less known): 

As you can see above, I started with what I believe is the most iconic derby in shoe history. And even though the model is not that old, once you see it, you know instantly who it is made by, as it was the first to start this two-eyed trend in derby history. This model that I am referring to, above, is made by Pierre Corthay and is called 'Arca.' Now derbies come in all shapes and designs, most of which, at least in my mind, take form within the more casual side of the footwear industry, as they are not as dressy as their counterpart, the oxford. This could be why I am so drawn to the model above, as it's cleanliness gave it a dress feel that most derbies just don't seem to possess. 

Top Left: Edward Green; Top Right: Gaziano & Girling
Bottom Left: Berluti; Bottom Right: Corthay

It is my general belief that the more eyelets (the holes punched for the laces) that a derby has, the more casual that it becomes. Something about the extended facing part of the quarter, just makes it look so much more cluttered and therefore less elegant, as opposed to the single eyelet plain-toe by Berluti, above left. To me, that is just as elegant, if not more, than a whole-cut oxford. The extension of the vamp leading almost up to the ankle, just gives off such a beautiful look. As you can see here, I went on the extreme of both ends, showing a 5 eye and a 1 eye derby, where I believe that you will find the majority of dress derbies will have 3 eyelets. And speaking of eyelets, I know that many people have a hard time knowing what shoe lace length to get for their shoes. So here is your model:

27-30 inch laces (67.5-75 cm) = 3-4 eyelets in shoe;    36 inches (90 cm) = 5-6 eyelets in shoe

Monk Straps:

Monk straps are the shoe style that I have not taken fully advantage of, and of which I desperately need to. I don't know why I don't own more because I really really like them, all of them, even the triple monk straps (see below). I particularly like this model, above, one that I believe was popularized by John Lobb. Having that galosh-like quality about it, it poses as a elegant alternative to the oxford. Many people will disagree, believing that the metal buckles take away from it's elegance, but in my opinion, it's quite the contrary, where I see laces as posing a bigger threat to elegance. That's not to say that I believe that loafers are the most elegant, as they have no laces, but between this side buckle monk strap and it's galosh-like counterpart oxford, I believe that this takes the cookie for being dressier. However, it is generally regarded (by most) that monk straps sit in middle of oxfords and derbies when it comes to the scale of dress appeal.

Single Monk At Very Top: Aubercy
Top Left & Middle Two: Bestetti
Top Right: Gaziano & Girling
Bottom Picture: Imai Hiroki

Spectators (Co-Respondents in England) AKA Two Tone's:

This style of shoe fits many different looks, color combinations and designs. Most likely, when you think about a spectator you probably picture the Barker Black golf shoe below, as this is something that I feel like is driven into the minds of people in the States. But for me, a spectator or co-respondent is a shoe that has two contrasting colors and/or even contrasting materials, say for instance leather and suede, such as the Gaziano & Girling below. This is a style that I am definitely no stranger to, as I love the mixture of colors, hence my infatuation with saddle shoes and galosh styles with opposing colors.

The spectator, according to Wikipedia, was claimed to be invented as a cricket shoe, by none other than John Lobb. The height of it's popularity grew until about the 20's & 30's, where it was a mainstream shoe, even worn by the likes of my sartorial role model, Fred Astaire. To this day, it's a model that remains in the seasonal line up, whether Church's, Crockett & Jones, Allen Edmonds or some other classic shoe brand is releasing it's latest model. And while I do own one of the classic full-brogue spectators, I prefer two-toned shoes in different manners, such as saddles, galosh styles and anything with multiple materials. Well that is it for this week. Stay tuned next week for all of the different types of loafers, there are many!


-Justin, "The Shoe Snob"

1st Row (Both): Gaziano & Girling
2nd Row (Left to Right): Edward Green; Barker Black
3rd Row (Both): Jan Kielman
4th Row (L to R): Stefano Bemer; Imai Hiroki

Customer's Shoes - Corthay

I have never had the pleasure of actually dealing with a pair of Corthay shoes in the flesh before but just two days ago I was able to actually hold, admire and put a wicked shine on a pair of his classic two eyelet derby's called 'Arca.' Let me tell you, they are absolutely stunning and are the real deal. You could easily tell the quality was superb and that the shoes had all of the components to actually justify the price tag. It may be hard to tell because of the pictures but the color seemed to be of his classic 'aubergine.' The customer was asking me what color I think that I should have added in order to bring out the shoes' patina and ideally I would have loved to have some sort of purple, close to the shoes's color, but I didn't and just thought to add neutral, even though I am not a huge fan of neutral, as I believe that it does not bring up the shine as well. I am not sure if the customer actually dealt with Corthay himself, but he said that the guy who sold him (that he believed to be Corthay) the shoes recommended adding blue. As my blue wax polish does not have a super strong pigment, I figured 'what's the worst that could happen?' As it would be, the shoes did change color, slightly, into a more grayish tone. Nonetheless, they turned up beautifully and it was pleasure being able to finally meet and shine some Corthay shoes in the flesh!