Shoes Of The Week - Dimitri Gomez French Derby

I just realized that I don't own any derby shoes, not dress ones at least, just those blue suede/white sole Churchs. Funny that, even funnier that I never really realized it, nor have even thought to purchase one with a leather sole. I have always known that I am not the biggest fan of them, but it never occurred to me that due to that, they were left overlooked in the wardrobe department. I have really just always been drawn to either loafers, oxfords or boots. Could be that American derbys are just big and clunky looking, and that always deterred me from them. Who knows? But it wasn't really until I saw a French style derby, as pictured here by Dimitri Bottier (aka Gomez), that I began to start actually liking and desiring them. The way in which they design them is so much more appealing. The two (or three) eyelet interpretation with the straight line (where the two pieces of leather are attached) coming down to the arch makes it look so much more clean and dressy looking, taking away that sharp point that most other derbys have. And as you can see here, it creates such a beautiful and elegant outcome, leaving a shoe that is elegant and desirable....

Today's Favorites - Carmina

There is a sleeping giant in the shoe industry that not many people realize yet is soon going to be a major player, and that giant is Spain. For many years, Spain has been a producer of high quality shoes coming from several factories such as Carmina (which is shown here) and Magnanni, not to mention others that are less known. But only until recently, I believe, have people started to catch on, as the moniker "Made In Italy" starts to slowly fade. As I have said before, a good shoe can be made anywhere. Sure, that country has to have the right ingredients, such as the proper machinery, but mainly there just has to be passion, patience and attention to detail. And Carmina, has done an amazing job of doing just that, as you can very well see in these pictures. These chukka, just might be among the coolest boots that I have ever seen. Not only do they have a crepe sole, that is amazing for walking, but with that, they have managed to maintain their dressiness and shape. And to top it all off, what a great color for suede: olive green! I continue to be amazed with where the shoe industry is going (in terms of styling), and for me it brings great pleasure to see shoes like this, that are classic, but have that little bit of edge...

Pictures Courtesy Of: Rugged Old Salt
Shoes: All MTO, available through The Armoury

Today's Favorites - John Lobb

This shoe, by John Lobb, called 'Abbey' just might be my all-time favorite shoe ever created by the illustrious maker. There are many things that draw me to it. First off, the fact that I feel that it cannot really be labeled. It's hard to create a shoe that does not really fall into one of the common categories, at least not a classic shoe. Maybe some awful trendy shoe that is such a concoction of crap that it does not fall under anything concrete, but a shoe as elegant as this, without being able to be categorized is amazing, at least to me. Sure you could call it a slip-on shoe, but it's not a loafer. It's definitely not an oxford, nor is it a monk. It's a hybrid, but an elegant one. Its unique simplicity is breathtaking, having cleanliness all around the shoe, with I believe only one seam. (Not sure if there is a heel seam) Paired with John Lobb's lovely Museum calf, this shoe truly stands among the best of them, and not only because it looks good, but because it was a design created by the people at Lobb at a time when everything under the sun has already been done, yet they managed to pull a rabbit out of a hat by creating something that hadn't, and looked damn good!

What I Am Wearing

The Astaire by Gaziano & Girling is hands-down my all-time favorite spectator (co-respondent). Every different part of it was designed perfectly, particularly the facing, with all of it's beautiful curves. When I decided that I was going to get it, I was almost a bit nervous in deciding what colorway that I wanted it in. Not that it was frightening or anything, but as I love the shoe so much, I wanted to enhance it as best as I could with my color options. At first I thought a bit crazily, and wanted to do some strong contrasting, but in the end, I decided that having the two different leathers was all the contrast I needed. Therefore, why not pick my favorite color in two different shades? And I am sure glad that I did, because the end result has turned out to be better than I would have imagined and has created a shoe that I absolutely love! And if you are like me, as in you love a beautiful spectator, but have never found one that really did it for you, then look no further than the Astaire. After all, it is named after my all-time favorite style icon, Mr. Fred!

Shoes: Gaziano & Girling
Zip Sweater: Intimissimi
Trousers: H&M
Undershirt: Primark
Tie: Drakes

Socks or No Socks: That's The Question.....

DO - This guy, has mastered wearing no socks with a dress-casual outfit

It has been awhile since I have done a controversial piece, yet as my moniker is 'The Shoe Snob,' and I do have quite strong feelings about many things within the shoe world, I felt that it was about time that I spoke my mind about something which needs speaking about. As is evident from the title, the date today (being Spring now) and the weather (depending on where you live), the subject at hand refers to whether or not socks are appropriate for certain outfits. Now, this will be very very subjective (for some) and will have some gray areas too, but I do feel that there are definitely certain outfits that men will wear --going sockless-- that without a doubt, should have been accompanied by covered ankles! But ever since Thom Browne, and a bunch mega-fashion trends, started sprouting about, you see more and more guys wearing suits (dress ones), with leather soled dress shoes and no socks....and sometimes, even those awfully short trousers, which bare more than just ankle.....and to me, this is simply just wrong....and not in the least elegant!

DON'T - Even though this guy looks incredibly cool to me, his outfit requires socks, as it is a bit dressy to be without them 

Now this is not to say, that socks should always be worn, as there are times when the weather gets so blistering hot and one must let his feet feel comfortable without having to resort to flip-flops in the city, but there is a decency that should at least be kept, especially when wearing a suit (and shoes) that are intended for work-wear. That being, allow me to list some of my 'do's' and 'don'ts' for going sockless. Bare in mind, I am not saying that I like each outfit for my 'do' section or that I hate each outfit for my 'don't' only that I believe that the person in the picture, did either the right ('do') or wrong ('don't') thing in not wearing socks....

Do's - You really have to judge your outfit, from the trousers, to the shoes that you intend to wear to the upper part of it, such as a blazer vs. a sportcoat vs. a button-up shirt. To me, the culmination of all of these will determine whether or not wearing socks will be necessary. For instance, the guy a the top (and below, right) of the post is wearing everything that allows him to go sockless: tan shoes, loafers, khaki jeans, casual leather belt, casual button-up shirt and sportcoat in non-dressy color. And here are some others that pulled it off too.

Don'ts - The problem with a lot of the pictures that I am going to put below, is not that the people look all that bad (regarding their outfit coordination), it's just that the outfit are such that they require socks. For me, the lighter your clothes (in color and it cloth weight) the easier it is to go sockless, as the contrast between skin and clothing is not so strong (hence why it is considered sartorial blasphemy to wear white socks with dress clothes). This is where many of these people got it wrong. Wearing a sharp navy suit, with black shoes and not having any socks is just like a blinding light coming from your ankles, that to me just throws off the whole outfit and makes it so inelegant......

Side Note: You may look at the guy directly above (with the DB suit) and the guy directly below (right) and think that they are wearing pretty much the same thing, but the key difference is that one is wearing black shoes. For me, black shoes should never go sockless, as they are the most formal shoe there is, and going sockless is the most casual thing that you can do. It's a total contradiction, even if they are loafers or suede. It just doesn't go. Plus the guy below has his trousers just a bit too high for my taste.

The Border-liners - There are times when at first glance you may think, 'that person should be wearing socks.' But after re-assessing their outfit, you may come to understand that going sockless, albeit a bold decision, was in fact, okay. But each case will be different, and not everyone would be able to pull it off. You will notice below that one guy has a suit on and no socks. But his suit is casual. It has no crease in the trousers whatsoever, a very bold (and casual) check, no tie, and suede shoes. And because there are all of these things, him wearing no socks seems to work.

As a whole, I am not really a fan of going sockless (unless I am wearing shorts), but that does not mean that it is not okay. It is just one of those things that you will have to assess case by case. Certain people will be able to pull it off and still look cool (like the guy above) and certain people won't. But when trying too hard and doing so when dressed formally, looks just outright silly to me. Everything has it's place, and ankle showing while wearing a nice dress suit is just flat-out unacceptable, but everything else is up for interpretation....

Pictures Courtesy Of: The Sartorialist & The Fashionist

Balmoral Boot Porn

I was never quite the biggest fan of pairing black with a burgundy and/or an oxblood/merlot type of color, but I must admit that the more that I studied this prototype of mine (for wear-testing), the more that the combination of colors grew on me. Having friends and colleagues try it on, wearing jeans, suits, dress casual trousers etc., the more that I felt that these colors actually go quite nice together. It never presented itself as being too dressy for one thing, yet too casual for another. Meaning, that when my colleague tried it on with his navy suit, I felt that it complemented the outfit quite well and when tried on underneath a pair of jeans, it happened to smarten up the outfit. That being, while it's contrast is subtle and not in the least ostentatious, it still provides a great deal of pleasure to the eye, overcoming the monotony of two colors too close in tone. I am still not sure if this will be a colorway that I offer for my first collection, but nevertheless, I am now pleased to have at least had it made up, which gave me the chance to absorb its subtle yet elegant contrast....

What I Am Wearing

The thing about me, is that I love blue, as you might know from previous posts, or as you might be able to tell by looking at this outfit. I mean, with the exception of the shoes, there is some form of blue in every other piece of my outfit. Some might find this excessive, but as I love it, it doesn't matter. Now what I am getting at, is that I think that a dark brown suede loafer, is just about one of the nicest pairings that you can conjure up with blue attire (just outside of burgundy shoes!). And while I don't wear these loafers as often as I should (maybe due to not wanting to ruin them), I do find myself always drawn to suede loafers when looking into shoe stores. We actually have a pair at G&H, in the Cleverley butterly loafer design, that I absolutely love, but thankfully (as I don't need more shoes or to spend any money) they don't stock my size. Nevertheless, if you are like me and love the color blue in your wardrobe, then a dark brown suede loafer is something that you should also look to own, because it will take you a long way.

Shoes: Ferragamo Tremezza line
Jacket: Burberry
Scarf: Vintage
Waistcoat: Vintage
Shirt: Some Neapolitan brand
Tie: Robert Talbott Best of Class line

Feast Your Eyes! - Roberto Ugolini

Shoes by: Roberto Ugoini, Photo Courtesy of: Gentleman's Gazette

Dear All,

I am feeling a bit under the weather today, and therefore do not have the capacity to write anything longer than a sentence or two. That being, I want you to study this amazing picture, taken by the author of Gentleman's Gazette, of some of the collection of Roberto Ugolini (Florentine bespoke shoemaker) and ask yourself, "what if this was my shoe wardrobe?" Imagine that....

Best,

Justin, "The Shoe Snob"

Today's Favorites - Septieme Largeur

I figured that while I have been pitching wholecuts quite tough for the last few weeks or so, I might as well keep on! I mean, how could I not after seeing these bad boys by Septieme Largeur? It just makes sense, doesn't it? I think so.....Nevertheless, the beauty about having a custom patina done on your shoes is the fact that you can have any shade of color that you would like, and even multiple shades of many colors if you fancy that. You see, for me, this blue is perfect. It's not too light, but it's not too dark either. It's just right and shows you that it is a blue. There would be not question about it, like navy can sometimes come across as black. This is blue, period. But you would have a hard time finding this exact color at a leather tannery or supplier. There might be something close, but not exact, and more likely than not, once lasted it would not look the same. It's amazing how far along shoes have come since their conception. I remember once going to some museum and seeing replicas of some of the first shoes made, and to think that since then we can now do what we do, having customized fit, color, shape, detail etc....it's quite amazing.....yet I feel that we are at the peak in terms of customization (not craftsmanship), because what more could we truly do to make a shoe unique? Add hovering capabilities? :-)

The eBay Experience

I have never been someone who has had a whole lot of patience, unfortunate as that may be. This downfall has prohibited me from taking part in many things...like learning how to actually hit the ball in golf, reading a book past the first 10 pages (it better grab me), and last but not least, taking advantage of the wonderful creation called eBay. Some things are obviously more important than others, in terms of helping my intelligence (like the reading bit, that would help me write and speak better) but none could have probably saved me more money than, being a smart eBay shopper could have. I mean, I have wasted tons of money in my life from things that I bought, and then never wore or wore just once or twice and then gave away. It hurts to think of that sunk cost that I cannot regain.....But let's now dwell and move back on to the subject.....I can't even begin to imagine how many amazing products have been sold on eBay for next to nothing: millions. And to think that I have missed out on all of them! But, apparently I have reader that has done the opposite of myself and has completely taken advantage of this brilliant creation and by doing so, has acquired around 75 of his 150 pairs of shoes. (Makes me look like a chump!) And by doing this, not only has he been able to purchase very nice, high-end shoes, but has also probably been able to save tens of thousands of dollars, which I am sure has helped him buy more clothing! :-)

What's most amazing about this, is the eclectic array of shoes that my reader now owns. I mean, it ranges from those Florsheim looking cream slip-ons (which for me don't match the vibe of the others) to the most amazing suede Lobbs. But that's what happens when you have the ability to get a shoe for $20-$30. At that price, you just might buy anything. It's like when I used to work in retail, made loads of money for a 22 year-old, and had a discount. I frickin' bought everything, even things that I hated after one wear. It was stupid....but that's what happens when things are too cheap to pass up, which is why eBay is brilliant. Someone literally came up with the idea to have people pretty much swap crap that they don't want and then the company makes loads of money from fee's. Simply amazing! And while it sounds like the owners of eBay are having all of the fun, its actually people like my reader who (if they are diligent enough) are able to profit off of this concept and build a wardrobe (or whatever product they are after) on basement bargains!

Some of the shoes that he has gotten are simply beautiful. The suede Lobbs (above) are most likely my favorite, just because I love the uniqueness of the design, so French, yet so elegant! Next up, must be the Berluti wholecuts in a pebble grain. It's funny because I have never seen that before, nor have I even thought of it, but to me, it looks brilliant. It's the only way to tone down the dressiness of the whole cut, and make it a bit more casual. Great idea! And last, but certainly not least, are those yellowish/tan Bontoni wholecuts with brogueing. Those are simply beautiful! And for those 3 shoes, that probably retail upwards of about $4000, it would not surprise me if he got them for about 1/4 of that price. How can you beat that? You can't really and that's why the eBay experience is so genius. I tip my hat to the owners and to those (such as this reader who owns all of these amazing shoes) whom have actually been patient enough to take advantage of the sheer brilliance in trading crap for bottom dollar prices!