Seriously.....? What is high fashion?

The words style and fashion sure do not mix, nor do they have even close to the same meaning, as we shall learn here today. Now, one might bravely call these Christian Louboutin shoes 'high fashion objects,' but one would hopefully not venture to wear these and say that they have 'style.' Obviously, those who would buy and wear them, will undoubtedly think that they have style, but oh how wrong they will be. I am beginning to think that the high fashion artists of the world have ran out of clever ideas to create so they just create the most ostentatious things that they can think of and call it fashionable. I really believe that as the days go on, these two words grow further apart from each other, when in reality I believe that in their truest forms, they should go hand-in-hand. The definition of fashion is: a prevailing custom or style of dress, etiquette, socializing. It's like when Tommy Nutter, one of the most famous designers from Savile Row, came about. He revolutionized the lapel, making it bold and beautiful. Wearing his stuff was not only fashionable, but took someone with style to pull off. Where do you think Tom Ford got his inspiration (and designs)? Tommy Nutter! So...when I look at shoes like this, I shake my head in disappointment, thinking about how someone who would design this could be so famous???? 

Shoes -- Part 2: Style & Terminology -- Loafers/Slip On's

Among the more casual forms of dress shoes within the shoe industry are the lovely non-laced loafer shoes (or slip-on's). Although the origin of loafers most likely trace back to way before the internet might tell me, the popularity of them came about around the 1930's, when Norwegian shoemakers were exporting these moccasin like shoes to the rest of Europe. Apparently American tourists took a liking to them and Esquire magazine did a feature on them, enticing G.H. Bass to come out with their own version, called 'Weejun' (hence the name sounding like Norwegian). From that point on, they seemed to skyrocket in popularity with slit-strapped loafers being made and heavily worn by East Coast school prep's who put pennies into the slit. From this trend, the term Penny Loafer (a version pictured above, by Septieme Largeur) came about, and seems to remain strong to this day. Now days we have all types of loafers and here I will begin to show all of you which ones are which. If I forget any, please feel free to add to the commentary.

Butterfly Loafers

I had never known (or maybe had never thought about) the butterfly loafer before moving to England. Then again, this place has made me more conservative (not in thinking) in the year that I have been here and because of that I might have not even taken a second look at them prior to 2010, even if I had known about them. But nevertheless, I am glad that my views have changed, as I find them to be one of the nicer loafers in circulation. This pair here, a bespoke model by Gaziano & Girling, is slightly different than the way it is usually portrayed, in it's classic sense, and that is without the brogueing on the straps. The butterfly loafer is said to have been created by Mr. George Cleverley himself and I must say that my hat is tipped to him, for I look at this and still see a loafer that is not only unique but elegantly timeless. This is one model of shoe that is surely on my to-get list!

Tassel Loafers

I tell you, there was nothing that I hated more than tassel loafers when I was young, and that is partly because I come from the States. Probably everyone can picture the guy who is wearing a baggy suit with those Cole Haan pinch tassel loafers (as we speak I am desperately trying to find a picture on Google of this, with no luck!), the ones that are super ugly with crappy leather and no shape at all. Anyway, this idea of wearing tassel loafers was ruined for me until I moved to Italy and saw how a man who knew how to dress well could pair his tassel loafers with his outfit and make them look quite nice, so long as they were not those shitty ones loved by American businessman. Surely you know what I am talking about? Anyway, I love them now, so long as they are done well, as the pair above are, by Saint Crispins.

Whole Cut Loafers

Whole cut loafers are among my favorite type of loafers, being that they have that minimalist look to them, which is strange, as I am by no means a minimalist. I don't know. My tastes change everyday anyway. Tomorrow my favorites will be apron toed loafers......Back onto subject. I like them. They are simple, elegant and let's not forget, cool (like these crazy banana yellow ones by Scarpe di Bianco). I believe that it takes a real shoe freak to like these, which is probably why you don't find them often being offered by shoe brands. When on, they look like a boot, which most people don't like to give that impression, especially when dressing in a suit. But when you have your inseam taken up to the point that the bottom of your trousers sit (with no break) on the top of your shoe with an opening of 14 inches, as I do, then you get to see the whole shoe, with no mistakes about it!

Prince Albert Loafers

Popularized -- at least one would think considering the name -- by Prince Albert, who was a great sartorialist, the Prince Albert loafer is now what we think of when using dress slippers for the house to wear in velour and pair with our smoking jackets while drinking Loius XIII (Cognac). At least that's what you see in the Ralph Lauren ads. But I like to think of them differently, like the one that I made, in brown, directly to your left. I hope to see these one day made with thicker soles and being worn on a daily basis as I think that they give the daring man a chance to be fun at throwing a nice, contrasting color of sock with this outfit, you know....to spice things up. (BTW, these are also a version of the whole cut loafer, but having a much larger opening for your foot)

Shoe By: Del Toro

Pumps

Pumps, you will find, are generally a shoe that you wear for formal occasions and will find them in some sort of patent leather form, as is the one at the top by Dimitri Bottier. But when one wants to be fun, you can find them in all sorts of arrangements, like these ostrich pumps by Barker Black. They are a fun shoe, but can really one be worn in certain environments, at least for most. I wouldn't mind wearing them regularly, but then again, traveling to the SE of London most days, I might find myself in some predicaments...that was a joke, just in case you are traumatized. Moving swiftly on...pumps, I believe, got their name from their construction, which if the shoe is bespoke or high end, should be a pump stitch. Now, I know what this word is, but I have no idea what it means. I am pretty sure that it is some way of stitching the sole directly to the insole -- by hand. But if you read the Carreducker's blog and type in pump-stitch to their search bar, you will find a much better explanation, I am sure. 

Kilty Loafers

It should be easy to see where this name derives, as it is so clearly evident. Kilty loafers are usually something that you will see paired with tassels, but have been recently popularized by the likes of Italian shoemakers to make in other versions, such as this one here, by Riccardo Bestetti. I don't really have much to say on these. Some I like, some I hate. To me they are strictly a shoe that is for fun, as I don't see them as professional. I would rather wear them with jeans...

Side Gusset Shoes (AKA lazy man's oxford - which is a loafer)

Aaawww, the side gusset shoe. Not sure that I could ever like this, as to me, it represents something that is fake, like a pre-made bow-tie. I just have never been the person for illusions in clothing, something trying to pass off as something that it is not. I mean, don't get me wrong, the George Cleverley shoe above is beautiful, no doubt, but the side gusset with laces is just not my style. Now, on the other hand, if it did not have laces, then it would be okay, but you tend to find that the majority do, as this seems to be a new trend right now in the shoe industry, probably because many men are super lazy and can't be fussed to lace their shoes but still want the professional look of an oxford.

Anyway, there are probably variations of many other loafers, but as usual, I am tired and think that the 2+ hours that I have spent on this post is good enough. So if I have missed anything, please feel free to comment. If not, enjoy the new week into September...

-Justin, "The Shoe Snob"

(oh yea, I have a picture of a side gusset shoe without laces, below by Koji Suzuki --- beautiful!!)

Shoes Of The Week - Riccardo Bestetti

I constantly get so jealous when I look through the pictures of shoes that Riccardo Bestetti has made. Not only because they are beautiful and I want them all but because his bespoke shoes are the closest thing in style, color, and detailing to what I see lacking in the shoe industry and what I hope to slowly but surely release into the world at non-bespoke prices. For instance, either on the those two whole cut loafers at the top, are something that I always felt was lacking yet I feel like they are such an elegant shoe that should be an option in the shoe stores. But they are not. They seem to only be an option if you are filthy rich and can afford to shell out 2000-3000 Euro/GBP/$ for a pair of shoes, which unfortunately only makes up around 1% of the population. So knowing that he is doing well and that people like his shoes gives me inspiration in knowing that when I make shoes (RTW) in similar styling, at a price that 50% of the population can afford, they too shall be well received! 

Some Pictures Provided By: StyleForum

Heavy Brogue Boots

While I can't say that I am the biggest fan of heavy country brogue boots,  but I have a reader that is facing a dilemma, in what to buy versus what to spend on a pair of brogue boots. Since, I do not wear them nor know of many makes, I thought that I would do this post finding as many as I could, but also leave it up to all of you for any possible recommendations. I think that the criteria is nothing too far over 350 GBP. So I am looking for all of you to leave comments on things that you have found/own that you might be able to post/recommend in the comments section

The reader is currently debating between the two above, which are Trickers (right) and Cheaney (left) but is not completely sold on either one.

I have always like the idea of a brogue boot but have never got into wearing them. This is most likely due to the heavy nature of them and the fact that I am a 5'9", skinny guy, and wearing these with slim jeans just makes me look like a tool. Not to say that I would not wear the pair by Alden, below, which I find very attractive, but then again, they are not so 'country,' they are more like the city brogue boot, being a little bit more slim looking. Even though the one at the very top (which is by Lodger) is quite chunky, I have also been a fan of it, the look of it that is. We actually sell it at Gieves & Hawkes, but I just don't think that it would suit me very much. Nevertheless, I wished that I would look better in a pair of these, as I think that they would make a fantastic shoe to own for English Autumn through Spring. Thanks in advance for any suggestions that you may leave.










Two Above By: Alden

Two Above: Grenson

Two Above: Alfred Sargent

Boots Above: Mark McNairy

My 7th Self-Made Bespoke Pair

As many of you may know, I have been away for the last 3 days, making a pair of shoes for myself, hence the long time without posting nor replying to emails (for those that have mailed me, I promise that I will reply). Sorry for that delay in writing, but I had forgotten that the B&B that I stay at does not have wireless internet access, go figure... Anyway, not even sure I would have had time to post as I was slaving away trying to crank these bad boys out in that 3 day time period. But alas, they are done and looking better than ever!!

So evidently shown by the pictures, you can see that my new green shoes did not start as they look now. In fact they were a rejected upper from G&G (the Rothschild) that was cream colored, which had a couple of blemishes here and there and a few stains. Not really wanting that as my upper, I had been struggling with what I wanted to do with them. At first I was thinking the purple route, but quickly botched that idea as I decided that I wanted something that I would probably wear a little bit more often. As I have literally captured the entire color spectrum in my shoe collection (with the exception of pink and orange, real orange that is), I have now come to the point where I am doubling up on colors. I have been keen on the idea of green shoes for awhile since I have been without my Sassetti's for quite some time now, as they are sitting in a storage box just screaming to get out. Therefore, I decided to give it a go as I saw that the local cobbler was selling green leather dye and the rest is history...

Being that this was my first real patina that I was going to create (with dye and all), I wanted it to be fun and unique. I decided that as I had made the sole black, I was going to use black as the background color, to give it somewhat of an antiqued look. I started this by blacking-out the perforations in the upper with a sharpie (permanent marker). This ended up being great and looked so good that I was almost tempted to just shine it, leave it cream-colored and call it a day. But my urge for green got the best of me, and I decided to push on.

So, I took out my dyes (green and black), mixed them and began applying it with a sponge, rubbing it in circular motions to not get any blotching going on. I emphasized the toes and heels by actually applying too much, which left it black looking from the effect of the leather getting too wet. After spreading it around, I began to use the little applicators that they provided with the dyes that I purchased. There were actually two different ones, which ended up being perfect as one was good for spreading around and the other good for getting in small places, like underneath the gimping (piranha tooth like design on the brogue detailing) and in the welt area. After I had applied the dye and it was done, I let it sit awhile before I started to add my navy shoe polish to it, to really bring up the colors and darken it a bit. And boy, did it work. For being my first time ever doing a real patina, I was quite pleased with the way it turned up. Those 3 days work and 30-something hours, now paid off....

Shoes Of The Week - Aubercy

To reiterate on my theory of brands that don't really get thought of when mentioning a certain aspect within the shoe realm (i.e. Bespoke shoes, Italian makers, American shoe companies etc.), one brand that comes to mind is Aubercy. They make some of the nicest shoes I have ever seen but are often masked by the thought of Corthay and Berluti when thinking of French shoemakers. It makes you think that it is companies like this that should be respected, because they simply must live off good word-of-mouth from their loyal clients, as you never see any advertising of them nor can hardly find them anywhere outside of their shops in Paris. But believe it or not, they date back to 1935, and have been going strong ever since. With the way the world is working right now, where men are again starting to appreciate good quality on their feet, it would not surprise me if Aubercy was to get bigger and become more in demand, but then again, I feel like many of the Parisian shoe lines actually enjoy being small and exclusive......who knows.

Spat Boots Available At: Leffot

On another note, I am off to finalize my 7th pair of shoes that I started a little while ago (which you can see here). I can't remember if I get internet access at the B&B that I stay at so if you do not hear from me until Monday of next week, this is why. By the way, for those that keep up, I have decided to dye them green and give it a go at my own little personal patina.

Until next time,

-Justin, "The Shoe Snob"