Shoes Of The Week - Saion

Summer is officially here in England; it is always sunny, hardly rains and the light colored shoes are beginning to come out, at least by me that is. So with that in mind I figured that I would display a couple of good options for the summer season, by one of my favorite Japanese makers, Saion. Now you will find that in England there are many 'gentleman' who wouldn't dare wear tan (or any shade like it) with blue/navy trousers, jeans or any other pant for that matter. And to me this is a mistake. Maybe I am not a 'gentleman,' in the traditional British meaning of the word, but when the sun comes out those two colors go together like white on rice.

As a matter of fact, I have an antiqued tan pair on today, as it is looking like it is going to be a marvelous day. And because the sun is becoming a common thing these days, I dare you, my dear readers, to fight your urge to wear black and grab your lighter colored shoes, and if you don't have a pair, go and buy one. It will truly open up the possibilities that you can manage to muster up in your wardrobe and give you a nice summer glow about you!! Enjoy the pics!

 7 Eyelets - That's Amazing!!

Today's Favorites - Craig Corvin Bespoke Shoemaker

Becoming a bespoke shoemaker is tough, but becoming a bespoke shoemaker in America is even harder. But thanks to a few people who are teaching what they know and sharing it with others, there is a way if you have the will, and a few bucks. Funny enough, as I was starting out, I was looking for people to learn from and I never knew until years later that I had a bespoke maker right in my backyard, in Seattle. That is Craig Corvin. After reading his blog and sending him an email, I quickly discovered that Craig, like me, started his learning process at The Shoe School, which is a tiny workshop run by two wonderful people, Alan and Jane, in a small, quaint town in Western Washington. He then took what he learned from that and went on to study under Marcell (otherwise known as Koronya) in Budapest, Hungary. The rest seems to be history and now Craig does what he can while still maintaining another job, all for the love of shoemaking.

I know that it is hard to find bespoke shoemakers in the States and I thought that this might give some of you, a chance to see that you do not need to go all the way to Europe or Japan or where ever to get bespoke shoes, you can just look in the NW of the States. On another note, on the day of the Royal Wedding, here in England, I will be taking the day off from work to go shape my new lasts and learn how to cut a pattern, from my very own design. I am quite excited and can't wait to show all of you my finished product, although that might be a little while from now. But as a clue to what it will be, I will just say that it does involve fabric.

http://www.craigcorvin.com/blog/

Today's Favorites - Jan Kielman

I'M BACK!!!!

The phrase, "you learn something new every day," is truly an accurate thing. I say this because many of my readers like to write me personally, mostly to ask questions but every now and then to also provide me with some information, that I may or may not know, in which to possibly use on the blog. This is great because, in many cases, I am new to the information that they are providing, as in the case at hand with bespoke shoes from Poland, by maker Jan Kielman.

And of course, when it comes to shoes, I love to learn new things about them and the people that make them. So when a reader of mine informed me of some of the more well known makers from Poland, I decided to check them out. The first one I came to was Jan Kielman, and boy did I discover a land full of shoe porn. What I liked about his site, is that he displayed his work, as I think every bespoke maker should, by taking pictures of shoes that he has made for past clients. It is such a great way to allow people to truly see your work and what you can do, as well as provide potential clients with ideas of what they might possible want to have made, especially for those who may be less creative yet want something unique. So here, I have displayed some of the more unique shoes that I found. I cannot say that I would wear all of these but I certainly appreciated the creativity behind them. So please enjoy....

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....

Today's Favorites - Lodger

 

A cap toe with a high-shined cap is always a pleasant thing to see, but when you then add the color green into the mix, it becomes even cooler!! I was just in at Lodger's today and saw some of the new samples that they want to put into production and I was quite impressed. This model here is looking to come in a gray as well as a burgundy, two beautiful options on the color scale. Another exciting model was a wing-cap laced derby boot, that was black but had contrast white stitching. Come to think of it, I just now realized that I had my camera on me and failed to take a picture. What a slacker I am!! Well, I apologize for my absentmindedness but you will have to take my word in regards to the amazingness (I know that this is not a word, but who cares) of the boot. I can't imagine that it wouldn't make it into production, so you will have to be on the look out for it! 

Back to the shoe at hand. You don't see to many green shoes these days but it is always nice when you do. This model here is a great example of having a shoe that can be a different color but not be ostentatious or overly colorful. I really don't see why any businessman could not wear this with a navy suit? It certainly would not scream out, 'look, I am super flashy,' but would on the other hand, in my opinion, say that the gentlemen was a sharp dresser. But hey, baby steps right?? Let's start to see those navy dress shoes on the feet of lots of men before we can start asking for green to be a normal colored shoe.....

Gieves & Hawkes New Shoe Collection

 

Every few years it seems that Gieves & Hawkes switches the manufacturer who makes their private label shoes. As there is newly appointed upper management and a new re-vamp of the Gieves & Hawkes Flagship store and company image, the old shoes had had their time and the new line is finally here. What's great about this new line of dress shoes, is that it is under the name of a very old bespoke shoemaking firm that dates back to the early 1900's, here in London. And that name is Pouslen & Skone. If you try and search them in Google, what it will bring you, is to the website of New & Lingwood. This is due to the fact that some time in the early 70's, Poulsen & Skone's business was tanking and New & Lingwood saw an opportunity and therefore purchased the rights to the name. Around this same time, New & Lingwood was also employing George Cleverley on a consultancy basis, as is hinted by the famous 'Butterfly' loafer in this collection and stated to be designed by Cleverley himself. But from then until now, the Poulsen & Skone name has been casually floating in the wind, popping up here and there but is now here to stay, under the Gieves & Hawkes shoe collection.

For a little bit of background knowledge, the Poulsen & Skone shoes, that we carry, are made by Crockett & Jones (the loafers) and Grenson (all of the rest of the models). The prices range from 350 GBP to 425 GBP. The shoes made by Grenson, must be similar in quality to their highest grade line, because their feel reminds me of the handgrade line by C&J or of regular Edward Greens. Needless to say, I was quite shocked when I tried them on and felt how well made that they were, the brogues in particular. I was unaware that Grenson produced to that level of quality. They hugged my foot quite well, as they tend to run a tad bit on the narrow side, and felt as though I could tread around the concrete jungle of London all day long and would still be comfortable. As I have been longing for a burgundy loafer for a long time, I patiently awaiting for the butterfly loafer to arrive in burgundy so that I can add a Poulsen & Skone shoe to my collection!!

Another addition to the new Gieves & Hawkes shoe collection are the more casual shoes, provided by Harry's of London and a boot by Lodger. Gieves & Hawkes' new idea apparently wants to provide every kind of shoe, to go with all of the attire that they sell, in which apart of that is causal wear.Therefore, they teamed up with Harry's to create a comfort shoe selection, ranging from Tod's style loafers to sporty chukka boots, with contoured rubber soles. Another collaboration was with Lodger, to provide a more rugged jean type of boot which certainly appeals to the rainy London city-life. The new collection is also providing what any gentleman's dress line should, and that is a monogrammed Prince Albert loafer, for the distinguished gentleman. (Sorry, I had to try and crack a joke to this relatively dry yet informative post) But in all seriousness, I am quite fond of the new line, it certainly beats the old collection and I am excited to get my first pair in the not so distant future.