What I Am Wearing - Suede Loafers & Blazer

This outfit here is one of my more classic looks, as in I believe that this is something that many others have done before: brown suede loafers, khaki looking trousers, blue blazer & gold/yellow tie. And even though I usually try not to be too classic, I must say that I quite like this look. For me it gives the notion of one who likes to be smart looking but not stuffy. This look is insanely common in Italy, although they seem to be a bit more bold in their trouser colors, commonly using white, red or purple (maybe that was just Florence, as those three colors represent the football team...) and more often than not, just leaving the tie at home. But you see it less often here in London, mainly due to the 'rules of attire,' which states that a gentleman must dress in black shoes/dark suits Monday through Thursday and only break out the more "casual" pieces from Friday onwards. As I don't follow these rules by any means, I must not be a true gentleman....not yet at least....

Shoes: Ferragamo (Tremezza line AKA Goodyear welted)
Jacket: Vintage
Trousers: Levi's
Shirt: Primark
Tie: Robert Talbott 'Best of Class'

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....

Patinas - Even You Can Do Them

(Just a little under half of my collection, 45 to be exact (some you cannot see), mainly my casuals)

I just recently moved into a new flat in London and finally learned what it's like to truly be European. What I mean is, now that I finally have all of my stuff in one place, I can ultimately see that I have way too much and it does not all fit. It's a sad realization, but I think deep down in my subconscious, I knew all along that this was bound to happen. Simply because, I do have a lot of crap!! Now, back in the States, I could fit it all. Don't get me wrong, it barely fit even there but at least I could manage. However, here in London I am bursting through the closet doors (as you can see), being subjected to the mistreatment of my shoes and am therefore having to find strange places to put things that I would have never even considered in a American-sized flat. (On a side note: To my fellow Americans, be blessed of the spaces that you have, because here in England, it would cost you 10 times more to have that space!) At this point, you might be wondering what the heck this has to do with patinas, so allow me to explain. Looking at all of my 100 pairs of shoes (circa), I had to come to terms with knowing that I needed to either give some away, sell some and/or change some to be more practical. I decided to do a bit of each and in doing so, changed the color of another pair of my shoes.

A long time ago when I was a bit younger and a bit dumber (and making a good amount of money working as a salesman at Nordstrom), I decided to buy these cream colored Gucci loafers (pictured). Looking back at it, I know what drove me to buy them, but thinking about it now, I would have been much better off just saving the money. But, such is life and at least I now I am able to turn a mistake into an opportunity. And so I did.

I realized that I would never wear these anymore, not in a practical way at least, and therefore did not want to have another shoe that just sat around for special occasions. I decided that I was going to change the color, since ultimately, I like the style of the shoe and wanted to keep it. After much debate, I came to the conclusion that I was going to make it two colors; ones that complimented each other and that I could get a lot of use out of. Those two colors were brown and blue.

When doing a patina, you tend to be working with dyes and things that stain, so I apologize that I do not have pictures of the process. But I can tell you, that if you have common sense (as I hope that you do), you can do exactly what I did, because it really is not that hard. Now, don't let me fool you though, this is an amateur job, at best, but to get results such as these, which are definitely satisfactory in my opinion, it really is not that hard. The simple rule to remember is that you can never dye a dark shoe light and that the lighter the base, the easier the patina will be. Also, the more contrast that you have in colors (from base to dye) the easier that it will be for the end result. For example, taking a tan shoe, stripping it, and then trying to dye it light gray, will be a lot more difficult than dying it navy. But the real trick is to get good dyes. Now this will be the hard part, and in reality I cannot give you much advice here, as I am no expert. If you can get the people at Berluti to tell you what they use, then you will be in business, but for now, you can use Fiebings.

If any of you have been thinking about doing this let me tell you a couple of things that you might want. Buy yourself a paint brush (for small areas), a sponge to use in circular motions (for big areas), and some surgical (latex) gloves (because it will stain your hands). And make sure that if you are going to be using multiple colors, have multiple applicators, because if you use the same one, you will start creating a third color and it might mess it up. Once you have these things, you can go to town. If any of you end of going for it, send me a pic, as I would love to see the results!

Shoes Of The Week - Crocodile Loafers By Bestetti

Using crocodile (or alligator) on a pair of shoes, is most likely one of those things that you either love or absolutely hate. I have always had a mixed feeling, where on some shoes I think it looks atrocious, and on others, I could not see it done better. This loafer, by Bestetti, would fall into the latter category. I do find crocodile to be on the ostentatious side of the leather spectrum, so do find it quite appealing when a shoemaker is able to tame it down, by pairing it with a fairly conservative style, such as this tassel loafer. And while I do believe that this style of loafer, would look good with any type of leather, due to the beauty of it's shape and proportions, it is suited quite well with this particular skin. The only problem with crocodile and alligator, is that they are so damn expensive, thus not allowing for the average man to be able to afford it, even if he wanted to. This then resorts to people buying faux croc, which to me is the most atrocious thing that could possibly be added to a shoe. So, while I appreciate seeing a beautiful crocodile shoe, such as this one, it pains me at the same time, knowing that it might be a good while before I can see one gracing my feet....

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!!

-- Justin, "The Shoe Snob"

Driving Loafers - Europe's Summer Shoe

Depending on where you live in this world, there is always a shoe that acts as one's 'go-to' model once the hot days of spring and summer start to show their face. In tropical places you have the flip-flop, in the States you have the boat shoe, and in Europe you have espadrilles and even better yet, the driving loafer. But the greatest thing about driving loafers, is that if you have the right model and you wear it properly, it can go a long way in the wardrobe and be worn with more outfits (from casual to dress) than any other summer shoe out there. The question is: why is it so popular in Europe, particularly Italy and France, yet so uncommon in the rest of the world?

The evolution of the driving loafer is quite interesting, depending on how you look at it. I may be wrong here, so feel free to let me know, but common sense would say that the driving loafer was originally created so that rich people could have a nice shoe that they could use while driving their car in order to prevent two things: dirtying the floor (from dirt, mud, wetness etc.) and wearing out the back's of their shoes. With that in mind, it would have appeared to be a luxury that only few could afford, because how many people could actually justify owning a pair of leather shoes, just to use while driving? Not me (unless it's a pair of cheap slippers). But then someone intelligent (perhaps Diego Della Valle, owner of Tod's) saw a niche in the market -- the idea of a soft, flexible and comfortable casual shoe -- with these 'driving loafers' and introduced them into the public where they have been a huge success ever since!

So you might be wondering by now, 'what frickin' brand is it that makes these loafers?' Well, let me tell you. You see, the beauty of writing a blog is that you have small, up-and-coming brands that write to you that want to get their name out, and it's great because many of them actually make a cool product that deserves to be shown to the world, and the problem with other fashion publications these days is that if you don't pay them, you are not getting any space on the pages. But as a humble blogger who loves shoes and spreading the knowledge of them, I get to enjoy being introduced to brands, like Bobbies (who makes these loafers), and then being able to share them all with you! And to give you a little bit of background info, Bobbies is a Parisian company (France) who -- as you can see -- makes unique and colorful loafers. So when they sent me their website to check out and I saw those bow-tie loafers, I immediately fell in love with them, because I just thought that it was the most clever and unique idea, and it looks cool too! So if you are dying for a pair, then look no further, because here you have a brand that makes every single color that you can think of and pretty much sells them all for under 100 Euros!! Happy shopping!

 

Picture Above Courtesy Of: The Sartorialist