Shoes Of The Week - Gaziano & Girling Astaire

So I am in LA for a two day pit stop before heading back to Seattle, and am loving the feeling of being back in the States. Don't get me wrong, I love London, but as saying goes, there is nothing like home. Nevertheless, as promised I am back on the computer writing to all of you about shoes, and what better than to write about my favorite model by Gaziano & Girling, the Astaire. When I decided to get a pair of G&G's and wanted to do so as an MTO, I knew that I was going to get the Astaire, but just didn't know what colors that I wanted to get it in, as the options were literally endless. In the long run, I let my favorites get the best of me and just decided to go with midnight blue leather on top of navy blue suede. Not very creative, but I did really want a nice blue oxford and what better than to do so on a beautiful G&G.....However I quite enjoyed seeing what the gentlemen who purchased these two models managed to come up with. Granted, the brown pair is not too far off than what the Astaire comes stock in but if you look carefully he put in on the GG06 last and added a double sole. But the gray and black one is the business!! It reminds me of a shoe that might have come out of the Victorian era, but nicer! Anyway, I always love to see what people come up with for their MTO orders and there are not many better sites than Leffot (owner of the pictures) to do this!

See you back on Monday for a long post!!

Today's Favorites - John Lobb Wingtip Brogue

Picture Courtesy of Steps & Style

Today has been a manic day and therefore I will not be writing much, as I don't have a lot of spare time, but in reality, what there is there to say? This pair of John Lobbs (Paris) is absolutely epic, as they always are are....I tell you, that while JLP would not be in my favorite, I can really say that I have ever been less than amazed by the RTW shoes that they make, and the styles that they manage to come up with. They have such slight particularities about them being so subtle that you might not even catch them. One of them would be the fact that the balmoral piece (top) in this shoe is stitched on top of the vamp, as opposed to underneath it as most pattern makers would design it. Subtle, yet distinguishable. Lovely shoe, beautiful in fact. I would wear these proudly.

On another note, I have some news. First, I will be heading back to my lovely hometown of Seattle for two weeks starting on May 24th. This means, that while keeping up with the blog is always one of my highest priorities, it will take a back seat while home. Don't worry though...this just means that instead of 5 posts a week, it might just be 3. Second, I am going to start to hosting 'Polish Contests' whereby, you (the readers) can shine your shoes, send me pics and then I will judge the 10 best, post those on the blog and then let the people decide whom the top 2 will be. They will win prizes. I will be doing this monthly to start and might even make it bi-monthly depending on the popularity of it. That being, start getting prepared and your polish skills in order. I should post this up by June 1st to kick it off.

Be well and to all those enjoying the sun right now, I am jealous of you!

Best,

Justin, "The Shoe Snob"

Today's Favorites - Bespoke Austerity Brogues

I have a friend who like me, once ventured outside of the US to go and study shoemaking (among other things, such as be with his wife...also like me). That adventure landed him in Germany, where he is currently residing and continuing to perfect his craft and skills, in the hopes (of which will occur) of becoming a bespoke shoemaker who offers lovely shoes to people around the world. On occasion, he gets a chance to pop over to London, of which he will usually stop in to have a chat, only this time, he brought a pair of shoes for me to also shine. While he is hard critic on himself (as one should be to become great) and feels that he is still far off from becoming a credited maker who could offer shoes to clients for purchase, I on the other hand, believe that he is not far off. The hardest part in shoemaking is what is called 'finishing' the shoe, i.e. making the sole and heel area look flawless, and it is something that takes a long time to perfect. And while he still has some work to do before it's tip top, I think that his progression is very good and wanted to show all of you, as I thought that some of you might appreciate it as well.....

What I Am Wearing

Before coming to England, I can wholeheartedly admit that I did not have a clue about suits and good tailoring. I used to even work in a place that sold (what I believed to be) nice suits but after seeing the quality of the cuts and tailors here on the Row (as we snobs like to call it), I now realize that what I used to see in the States was like a top sirloin from the grocery store and now I am dabbling in the Kobe beef from a 5-star restaurant. It's absolutely amazing what a good tailor can not only do for your figure, but for your whole image, and here at Gieves, we have someone who is rumored to be among the best and considering some of the things that I have seen him do, I don't doubt it! And in this new found passion of mine (whereby I am selling my personal shoes to buy more suits), I have come to love a nice double-breasted suit. Something about it just really appeals to me even though I am quite sure that I may not have the stature for them, as I am not the tallest of guys. Nevertheless, I don't care and will continue to pick up more and more of them, in every color I can! I must admit though, that my next order of suiting, is unfortunately not a DB, but rather a lovely navy flannel, peak lapel, single button suit and I can't wait to get it!!

Shoes: J.FitzPatrick design, Gaziano & Girling produced
Suit: Gieves (older label)
Shirt: TK Maxx
Tie: Robert Talbott, Best Of Class

Shoes Of The Week - Septieme Larguer

What an absolutely beautiful color!! The complexity of it amazes me, with how many different shades of blue (my favorite color) there is. From navy, to teal, to sea blue etc. it's a array of blues that leaves one of the most amazing colors (if not the best) that I have seen on a pair of shoes. I just might have to commission one of these and unfortunately steal the idea of whomever is the owner. Don't worry, I would do a different model, as not to be an exact copy-cat! Septieme Largeur continues to impress me, particularly with how easy they make having a shoe company is, from their classic (yet unique) styles to their amazing patinas, to the lovely last shapes and finally, the wonderful prices. It's no wonder they are getting big, very quickly! My hat is tipped to the gentleman that issued this shoe, as no doubt, when walking down the street heads will turn and impressions will be left! If only more men had to courage to do this (wear bold colored shoes), as I know that they would like to!

Riccardo Bestetti Ready To Wear Collection

It's been a long time coming, but the day has finally arrived: Bestetti introduces his Ready-To-Wear collection at none other than the infamous Pitti Uomo. These pictures are obviously not from there, but are a few models to wet your beaks nonetheless and see what he is up to and what you can expect from his line. As you can see he very much keeps in tune with his bespoke footwear, offering models that have the mouth-quenching curves and lines that give resemblance to a handmade shoe. I assume (but am not sure) that he used lasts that were either identical (or very darn close) to his bespoke footwear. The only difference is that these beauties are going to be made with a Blake construction. But fret not, the Goodyear welted counterparts will be arriving in the near future... While I still believe these are in the production stages, having not quite yet been finalized nor sold to any stores, they will be coming out in the price range of around 400 Euros. While still not cheap (as they shouldn't be), it now allows some of you dreamers (such as myself) to be able to finally get a piece of footwear that has been made/designed/influenced by none other than Mr. Bestetti himself... Will update when I receive more information...Enjoy!

 

What I Am Wearing

The beauty about having shoes that have fabric in the upper, is that if the fabric is relatively mild (such as this flannel is), then they are quite easy to compliment most things. A tweed on the other hand, might prove a bit trickier. As it comes into the cold and wet season, I will not be able to break these bad boys out as much as I would like to, but I can at least look forward to those wonderfully winter days where the sun is shining and it's below freezing. While my toes might get gangrene from the cold, I won't have to worry about the rain from damaging the flannel..... While this shoe won't be in my first collection, nor any for that matter as it was not made by my factory, I promise that for the future, as I spend more time in the industry, I will somehow incorporate something of this nature either into a collection or on an MTO basis. Because I know that I am not the only one who enjoys a bit of fabric in their shoes...   

Shoes: Designed by me, made on the DG 70 last, with the deco finishing at the G&G factory.
Coat: Burberry
Trousers: H&M
Undershirt: Primark
Jumper: Some Neapolitan brand
Tie: Salvatore Ferragamo
Scarf: Was gift so I don't know..

My Prototype Adjustments

I'm back! Sorry for the long time without posting, but I did not have time nor much access to anything while away on my quick trip to Spain. But alas, I am home and decided to give you another little morsel of what I have been up to. So needless to say, you can see here just what I have been doing while away, and how I am going through the rounds of adjusting my prototypes in order to create the ideas that I had floating in my head. Now, you might think that what I have been showing you is nothing that special (in terms of unique designs), and that is purposefully done as I don't want to give away of my ideas before my shoes are ready for distribution. So, at first I showed you my take on a cap-toe and now I am showing you my take on a nice brogue. I decided that I did not want to go straight into designing a full brogue, as every other shoe company in the world has one. Obviously I will eventually need to make one, for all of you classicists out there, but in the meanwhile being the sucker that I am for saddles, I decided to introduce the 'saddle brogue.'

As you can see, there have been adjustments made with a silver pen indicating what needs to be changed. The sharp corner of that saddle did not flow well with the smooth, soft line of the wing cap below it, so I am having the pattern maker round it out a bit in order for the lines to be in sync with each other. This will give the shoe a little bit more balance as I believe that it is a bit on the clashing-side at the current moment.

For some odd reason, it would appear that the toe sits very high off of the ground, but I can assure you that this is not the case, as I am not a fan of toes that curve upward. Obviously, a shoe needs a bit of space between the toe and the floor, due to the way that we walk, but I think that the fact that there is a piece of glass that sits on top of the table, it would appear as if the surface is lower than it actually is, giving off the illusion of a toe that curves too high upward.

So, here is one more of my shoes to hold you over and to let you know that I am indeed working as fast as I can to release my collection which will consist of around 12 different designs, having two of the designs using two different lasts, making it seem that there would be 14 different designs. I am hoping (optimistically) that they will be ready by mid to late January (assuming there is no more need for adjustments) and that I can put my first order through by sometime in February (but don't hold me strictly to this). So for all of those patiently waiting, I can assure you that it is not long from now.....

What I Am Wearing

The more and more that you see my personal collection, the more that you will realize that I love to gravitate towards two-toned shoes. This is actually a pair, despite being colors that I don't particularly think go that well together, is one of my favorite models. The only shame is, the more that I spend wearing bespoke shoes and shoes that come in narrow width, the more that I feel that many of the shoes that I bought in America, are too big. In the sense that being the fool that I can be, I would just always buy US 8D, thinking that they would be fine. But like shoes do, some fit bigger than others, and if you look closely you will notice that the sides of these are gaping, indicating that there is too much space. Needless to say, after wearing these for the first time in about a year or two, I came to the conclusion that I am going to sell them, as I no longer need them and need to free up space in my miniature European closet. So after I clean them up a bit, I will be putting them up for sale! Be on the look out if you fancy them.

Shoes: Magnanni
Suit: Gieves & Hawkes
Shirt: Primark
Tie: Gieves & Hawkes

What I Am Wearing - Spectators

It's not very often that I break out my pair of 1920's Chicago gangster-style spectators, but I always love the reactions that I get when I do. It's funny, because I never thought of them as "gangster-style" but this is a frequent comment that I receive amongst my colleagues here in London. I always looked at them as a very dandy-ish style shoe that elegant gentleman wore in the southern states of America when they wanted to dress up for festive garden parties or the likes of that. And while I am sure that their history goes back in a much more extensive way than that, it's just something that is embedded in my mind, being American and all. But now that I am one of the millions of viewers that watches the magnificent series, Boardwalk Empire, I can understand why they may receive this 'gangster' moniker. Nevertheless, there was a period when Church's were doing these in all types of color options (even white with yellow) and while I wanted to get one of each, I decided that I would just go with the most classic of them, as pictured here.

Shoes: Church's
Suit: MTM Gieves & Hawkes
Shirt: Primark
Tie: XMI Platinum
Socks: Mes Chaussettes Rouges

J.Fitzpatrick & Gaziano & Girling Collaboration

I don't know how many of you remember, but before I ever went to have my collection made up in Spain, I went to Tony Gaziano to learn how to make a pattern. He spent the day showing me using one of my very own designs. At first I thought that I would try and take another skill on board, but after seeing how intricate it can be and understanding that it would just add a few more years onto realizing my goals, I decided that I would leave it at that and maybe come to it at another point in life. But, that day was very integral to my knowledge in understanding why a pattern (and how it fits on the last) is so important. I realize that it is not just a shape that makes the shoe, but how the design (pattern) fits on that shape. How it compliments the curvature of the last. This is something that I am now struggling with in my own prototypes. Getting the pattern to fit the last, properly, is no easy feat, especially on your first round of making them. They usually need adjustments. 

Needless to say, this is the final result of my design. You may say, 'oh this is nothing unique,' but if you look carefully, I have extended the adelaide to follow the top line of the shoe, giving it sort of a 'wing-like' characteristic. As well as that, I have minimized the heel counter. I did that because I wanted to emphasize the flannel that I used, so that it would be the main focus of the shoe. And even though some might find these characteristics to be unpractical, I find them to be the refreshing difference to everything else that already exists.

As far as the construction of the shoe goes, allow me to explain. So after Tony and I (really just Tony) completed the pattern, we had one of the closers that he uses sew all of the pieces together. This proved to be a difficult request due to the nature of the fabric. Yet, after a struggle, he still managed to do so and ended doing a very good job on such a difficult piece. The intention was then for me to make the shoes myself, but after a couple of complications, including lack of time and the fragility of the upper, we decided to just have it made in the G&G factory on the DG70 last. And as a surprise, they ended up constructing it with the Deco standard of construction and finish, to give it more of that 'handmade' feel. So that being, the concoction that you see presented here is designed by myself conceptually (and on paper), with the pattern done by Mr. Tony Gaziano, and then made up by the wonderful workers at Gaziano & Girling. The only downfall to all of this, is that this shoe will unfortunately be a one-off, as the flannel used is far to delicate and difficult to put into mass production. But, the design will be something that I incorporate into my first collection.


(Just to reiterate for clarification, this shoe will not be available by either side, and in the future, the design will be made available by me, not G&G)

Shoes Of The Week - Saint Crispins

When I first saw this pair in one single color (posted here) I fell in love with them. But when I saw this pair, by Saint Crispins, in a multiple leather type two-tone, I was absolutely blown away. Time and time again, they make the exact thing that I feel needs to be more present in the shoe industry and it makes me smile to know that other makers/designers appear to be thinking the same thing. So, it comes as no surprise that this company continues to grow, having their shoes being carried at more and more stores around the world, all while they carry a price tag of around $2000. This particular shoe just might be one of my favorite models in circulation at the moment. Not only does it remind of what they used to wear back in the early 20th century, but represents shoes as a piece of art, because looking at this, I would not know whether to wear it or place it on my mantelpiece. Just joking...I would definitely rock them!

Pictures Courtesy Of: Leather Soul

Shoes Of The Week - Perfetto

Hands down, these are among the coolest boots/shoes that I have ever seen. Every single detail is bang-on, the styles are amazing and the mixtures of fabric with leather are extremely well-executed. The more that I see shoes that are either designed, or made by Japanese people, the more I feel that the Japanese are surely becoming the masters of shoes. I had never heard of this brand, Perfetto, but upon stumbling across them, I fell in love instantly. And what shoe love wouldn't? After researching a little, it seems that they were an up-and-comer at the last Pitti Uomo, which means that with cool shoes like this, we can expect to hopefully see much more of them as they get purchased by stores around the world. Granted many stores buy rubbish shoes, so maybe we won't, but nonetheless I believe that they will be successful. And believe it or not, this model above, is definitely an example of something that I would still buy, even when I have my own line.....

On that note, let me tell you that I will be getting 8 of my 13 samples on Monday, so be on the look out for a picture or two, for sneak-previews sake!

Majority of Pictures Courtesy Of: The Suitorial