Today's Favorites - Saint Crispin's

Saint Crispin's shoes never cease to amaze me! And while their shoes are not off-the-wall or anything, they have this feel and look about them that just sets them completely apart from the rest. Also the little details, like the saddle type of leather piece on the monk strap right above and the lacing on the loafer (in the background) of picture 3 of 6, from the top. Like I have said before, in a saturated world, it's hard to really create something completely new that has not already been done before so what you find is the little minute details that will start to set you apart but also really bring out your creativity and look. Probably my favorite thing though that Saint Crispin's does is add quite a thick, yet sleek sole to their dress shoes. It's funny because I hate clunky things, but because they cut the sides of the sole very close to the shape of the last, it takes away that heavy feeling and gives you a pretty sturdy dress shoe. I just wish that they were more easily accessible!!

Photos Courtesy Of: Style Forum

Balancing Your Outfit

Expensive suits, crap shoes (with the exception of Colin Farrell, who looks to have some decent ones)

Everything has its place, whether it's cheap shoes, expensive suits, mediocre shirts, wrinkled trousers etc., but too often do you see a lot of men jumbling them all together in a way that does not make sense. There are ways to mix and match them, get away with it and still look relatively good. Take me for example, often I wear cheap shirts purchased at Primark, and then pair them with expensive suits and shoes. Most of the time, no one notices, but I can tell you that there is a difference, and I can see it, as well as feel it. When I look at my colleagues £100+ shirts, their collars and quality of shirt material look infinitely better than mine. Granted, I do this on purpose as I deal with polish all day long, particularly black polish, which I will have you know is very hard to get off of a white shirt, and therefore don't want to wear nice shirts that I will constantly run the risk of ruining. And since the collars have built in stiffeners, they usually look decent enough....allowing me to balance my outfit, as the other articles of clothing within my outfit tend to correlate in price. But the other day, I made the mistake of wearing a very nice suit, with some shoes that did not correlate, in price, quality, or look and realized that so many men do this, and ruin their entire look, as I had.

Expensive Suit, cheap shoes = no good

Expensive suit, expensive shoes = good

For the life of me, I can't understand why most men will fork out loads of money on their suits but then will only want to spend 1/5 of that on their shoes. I mean, if you can afford a £1000 suit, then certainly you can afford £400+ shoes. For me, the rule would be that you should spend half of what you are giving for your suit, on your shoes. Just to clarify, if your suit is £1000, then ideally (in my twisted mind) your shoes should be cost around £500. This way, you maintain a good balance in your outfit, because it is so amazingly noticeable when someone is wearing a decent suit with the crappiest £100 shoes. When you do this, you stick out like a sore thumb and no matter how nice or expensive your suit is, your shoes just kill the entire outfit. However, there are ways to fool people as some shoes can look real good and expensive but not be. For example, when you shine a shoe up, that has a decent leather but be a mid range shoe, you could easily pass it off as something of higher quality due to the maintenance that you have given it. It is surprising how a shine can make a shoe look so much more expensive than it actually is. But this will require a bit of knowledge in knowing what is able to get there and what isn't, as a cheap leather won't look good no matter how high you shine it.

Photo Courtesy of Rugged Old Salt

Both Shoes by Spigola by Koji Suzuki, Photos courtesy of Rugged Old Salt

NOT  THESE BELOW

Now, the buck doesn't stop with incorrect price correlation within your articles of clothing, but also needs to take into account the types of styles that you are putting together. What I mean by this is the act mixing trendy attire with classic attire, certain Italian shoes with English suits etc. If you have a nice Savile Row suit with a very English cut, it would look absolutely silly to pair it with some ostentatious trendy designer shoe by LV or Gucci. They just don't go...and that's not to say that the English cut suit has to go with English made shoes, because that's not the case either. It's about matching styles. Elegant for elegant, trendy with trendy. When you start to blur the lines a bit too much, you throw off the balance of your outfit and thus your look. Obviously there are some style icons who can do this and get away with it, but it's very difficult to do. If you are wearing a very slim cut Italian suit with soft lines, then don't be afraid to wear your Ferragamo tassel loafers....but then you would want to sTay away from some heavy, double-soled British brogue. Like for like, in style and price, will allow you to keep a good balance in your outfit at all times.

They Are Listening....And It Is About Time!!

I don't know if it is because of shoe designers like Mark McNairy and Grenson (of whom were amongst the first to come out with abnormal coloring in shoes) or because of my blog, and other ones like mine, but it would finally seem that the brands that may have once been seen as strictly conservative in their shoe making are now branching out and becoming a bit more eclectic! Never in a million years would I have thought to see Allen Edmonds making shoes in colors such as green, blue and red, and even more so using colored laces outside of black and brown. But this day has indeed come and it's quite refreshing to see. And the reason that this excites me, is because a company like Allen Edmonds, who has been making shoes for nearly 100 years and has quite an extensive and loyal customer base, also has the power to get men to think differently. So if more and more men who think that dress shoes should only be black or brown start to see their favorite brand release red shoes, blue shoes and green shoes, then it might just get them to realize that shoes can be fun, and don't have to be something that is simply necessary to complete ones outfit, but rather enhance ones outfit!

Just a reminder, if you are in London, fancy a chat or are interested in checking out Carmina's shoes, then I would suggest a quick pop over to the Rook & Raven (just north of Oxford st.) tomorrow from 11am-6pm.....hope to see some of you there!

Best,

Justin, "The Shoe Snob"

The Green Machine

The thing about green is that when you are able to create the perfect shade of it (think a mix between emerald and forest), it can become one of the most stunning colors there is. While I won't say that the color that I created on these bespoke brogues is perfect, I will say that it is lovely shade that I happen to find extremely versatile. Not only does it pair well with this light gray POW, but I also enjoy mixing it with my navy three piece. And the best thing is that while this green might have been a bit bright for some people, I feel that because of all the brogueing, it tones it down a bit and separates all of that green. Then again, it does so because I blacked out each hole with a permanent marker....Anyway, back to the subject: green brogues = cool, but what's even better is the idea of creating an entire range of brogues in every color that would be appropriate for smart, casual wear. In particular, a full blue brogue...now that sounds appealing!

Shoes: Bespoke, made by me (with Gaziano & Girling "Rothschild" upper)
Suit: Readjusted bespoke by Chittleborough & Morgan
Shirt: Primark
Tie: Tie Rack

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

Shoes Of The Week - Laszlo Vass MTO Spectators

I absolutely love a nice spectator (co-respondent), and this my friends, is among the nicest that I have seen to this day. It doesn't surprise me either, as most of what I see coming out of the workshops of legendary Laszlo Vass, is nothing shy of spectacular. Having inspired a reader with another model presented on the blog, he went out and found someone who could produce exactly what he was looking for, and the outcome was these, something I am sure that the reader was very pleased with....as I sure know that I would be!! Black and gray, as paired colors, is such a lovely mix to me. Not only does it keep the elegance of the black (being dressy), but it also separates it from being too muted (as I feel black shoes generally are). For me, this shoe would be something that I would love to see at a black-tie event. Call me crazy, but this to me is elegance. Sure, you may find it flashy, but how lovely would these be with a nice black-tie suit, with some gray accents in the tie/shirt region? Maybe I am just strange....but this to me is the way the world should be....not so stuffy as it is now!

 

My Trip To Laszlo Vass

During my time in Budapest (which in actuality, was a trip for my wife's birthday), there were two people that I wanted to meet. One was Marcell Mrsan from Koronya and the other was Mr. Laszlo Vass. Now, being that this was not a business trip and was supposed to be dedicated to relaxtion and rejuvention, I knew that I was going to have to make my shoe related events brief. Before going, I emailed Marcell to let him know that I was coming so that we could arrange a quick meet up, but unbeknownst to me he is currently taking up a position as a teacher in an arts school in Savannah, Georgia (USA) and will not return until the holiday break. So with that unfortunate loss for me and the blog, it made my shoe related quests that much shorter and therefore, that much easier to convince the wife about a quick pit-stop to Mr. Vass' shop. Now I had no idea whether or not Mr. Vass was going to be there, as I have never really read much about him or his role at the company (other than being the owner and founder), so was not really sure what to expect other than asking the people there if I could take some photos to do a nice post on the blog. So when I walked up to the shop and saw this gentleman on the phone, who was Mr. Vass himself, I was pleasantly surprised to know that I was going to have the opportunity to meet him.

Upon entering the shop --which was small, quaint and lovely in it's own right-- I was greeted with smiles and kindness and knew that it was going to be a nice visit. While Mr. Vass was on the phone, I told the other two people (a very nice lady and Mr. Kuti Rezso who did the translating) that I was here to see Mr. Vass. And even though a translator was necessary, I got the impression that Mr. Vass could understand english well enough, as he acknowledged my presence and got off of the phone rather quickly. After doing so, I greeted him and began telling them who I was and what my goals were. Of course, they did not know who I was, but this came as no surprise as I know in reality that I am not that big. I told them that I was a huge admirer and that I wanted to put up a nice blog post dedicated to my visit with pictures of the shoes and the shop. They kindly agreed and made a joke saying that they hope that they do not see any of their models in my upcoming collections. I assured them that this would never happen!

After chatting for awhile about my future endeavors and the state of the shoe industry in regards to price versus quality, I got the feeling that Mr. Vass was truly a person who cared about shoes and the ability to make something that represented properly the price that it was selling at, as well as creating something that was not only practical and stylish, but most of all, comfortable. It was nice meeting another person like this, knowing that no matter what, he does what he does in order to see people wearing well-made shoes. For him, it's not just about making a quick buck, but rather about making something that treats the foot properly and maintains integrity. It's not hard to see this when you look at the shoes. The leathers are good, the construction is fabolous and the shapes and designs are lovely. And to top it all off, they come with a modest price point of around 120,000 Ft, which would be the equivalent to about 400 GBP. And while this might sound expensive for some, in regards to what you are getting, it seems like a bargain to me, especially when you think about other shoe brands and their price-points. 

While my time at the shop couldn't have been longer than 15 minutes, it was an absolute pleasure to actually meet Mr. Vass in person and get a feel for his shop, shoes and way of being. It's always nice being able to meet people who truly care about shoes in a similar fashion that I do. And while I could not afford a pair of his shoes on this trip, I assured him that even though I plan to start my own line in the future, that I would one day return to get a pair, as I believe that their distinct looks, shapes and styling, would never conflict with my own.

If you are in the market for a quick European getaway, I would highly recommend Budapest, as the city is beautiful, the thermal spas are endless, the food is good and there is always a chance to get a great pair of shoes at a good price. Enjoy the rest of your week!!

-Justin, "The Shoe Snob"

What I Am Wearing

This is an older picture, when I was using my sub-par camera, but I wanted to show you a little bit more of how I sport the green shoes, as well as give off my Gordon Gekko, Wall Street look. On that note, there is yet another thing that I have become enamored with since arriving on Savile Row: the braces (suspenders), particularly these cotton one's that we sell at Gieves & Hawkes. Since working here, I have purchased all four of the colors that they come in: black, navy, light blue and red. While I tend to get the most use out of the navy, I still enjoy having my options and am looking to get them in green, purple and gray, when I can.

I have yet to venture off pairing my green brogues with anything other than navy, but there are an array of trouser colors that would suit a pair of green shoes. As I move into my new flat in London (as we speak) and finally have ALL of my stuff in one place, I will be able to pick my outfits a lot better, putting together concoctions that I have to imagine up!

Shoes: Bespoke, made by me, using Rothschild upper from G&G, and hand dyed by myself.
Trousers: H&M
Shirt: Primark
Tie: Hardy Amies
Braces: Gieves & Hawkes