Shoes Of The Week

The shoes made by Pierre Corthay are simply indescribable. I wouldn't know what to do if I actually could afford to own a pair. Take this shoe for example, I would have a love/hate relationship with it. Part of me would want to wear the hell out of it and rock it proud on the streets of England but another part of me would want to stick it on my shelf as a piece of art to admire. I would be torn! Aaagghh, I am torn just looking at this pair. If only I was good enough to make something of this nature. It seems like he made the shoe, created the patina and then applied the applicator in order to create a patent shoe. I feel like I could do such a thing but I am not so confident that it would come out even close to these. But that leaves me with something to think about. Creating the amazing patina from scratch might actually be the hardest thing, but I would not be opposed to giving it a go!

Altan Bottier Beauties!!

Well, it's been another crazy busy day, scrambling around to sort out everything before my big trip home and because of all of this, I am left again without much time to write on the blog. But rest assured, instead of fruitless words, I am going to leave you with some unbelievable shoe porn that will leave you yearning for a pair of Altan shoes. Don't thank me now...it's my pleasure! I might try and squeeze a post out tomorrow before my flight but if not, then I will hopefully be back on Friday....

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....

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

Today's Favorites - Enrile

As I usually tend to put 'out of this world' type shoes on these pages, I feel like every once in a while I need to switch it up a bit and add a little bit of classic back into my blog. I have only just discovered this new up-and-comer in the European shoe industry and therefore wanted to share it with all of you. Once only a leather goods maker, company Enrile from Seville, Spain, decided to take up shoemaking as well, just 5 years ago, and have done a good job at creating a very classically Spanish product. As you can see in the pictures, they tend to make a very classic, yet elegant product, having very simple shapes, nothing too extreme yet just curvy enough to not be boring either. They have a small collection of RTW shoes but I feel that their strong base of production lies in made-to-order, where the customer can ultimately choose between last shapes, colors,  and leather types. Being that they are Spanish made shoes, they specialize in shell cordovan as well as vegetable tanned greased veal, which is unique to Spain. As the veal is very difficult to work with, you don't tend to see it used in shoe products, but Enrile has managed to overcome the difficulty and thus offers something unique to them. While the bulk of their company specializes in making leather goods for larger companies, I feel that they more they focus on shoes, the more known they just might become!!

Today's Favorites - Alfred Sargent

While I am usually not into heavy looking shoes, I must say that this model by Alfred Sargent, is one of the nicest 'working man' type of boots that I have ever seen. Thanks to a reader of mine from Finland (who sent me this picture), I was able to gain some appreciation for this 'denim' type of boot, as he described it. As I love jeans myself -- although I am no 'denim head'-- and I am sure that many of you do too, I can say that it is always nice to find a good looking leather shoe (or boot) that can compliment a good pair of jeans. And I can't argue with my reader when he told me that these would look great with denim, because in all actuality, they definitely would! There is something about a nice derby boot that is quite appealing. While I can't lie about balmoral boots being my preferred style, I can say that a derby boot such as this, definitely gives off that man's man type of feel. That alone, is reason enough for many man to flock to this style, as a way to boost their esteem in the macho department. But nonetheless, macho or not, this boot would look good paired with some nice, denim jeans!!

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!