June 29, 2015
Patina is fast becoming the standard in footwear and it would appear that in 5 years time, everyone is going to be offering it in one form or another. One of the people who I think will become another “great” in the industry is John Chung of Mason & Smith, as you can see here from his lovely museum like patina given to these wholecuts. I am not quite sure if John is actually […]
June 26, 2015
I saw these burgundy monks, by Enzo Bonafe, the other day on Skoaktiebolaget’s social media feed (can’t remember which one) and was instantly impressed and proud. Proud because I feel like someone has been listening to my constant nagging of ‘more burgundy!!’ Maybe not though and they had it made on their own accord, but nevertheless, I was pleased to see such a beauty and bet that they are going to look great on the […]
June 24, 2015
I have always preached that paying upwards of £250-£300 for a driving loafers was crazy and unjust by the company. There is no reason they should cost that much, especially without having a leather sole on them. Since then, it has been my quest to offer something that was as good as can be at the best price that could be. Of course, I had to knock out my main passion first, which were […]
June 23, 2015
I have a prediction that we are going to start seeing a lot more grain leathers being used, particularly in colors outside of the average black or brown. Norman Vilalta has done a great job at coming to market with this idea, and even better yet he has done so with a lovely patina finish to the them, which is extremely hard to do. Just ask any patina artist and I bet you that […]
June 22, 2015
The beauty of patina’d shoes is that they possibilities of what you can have are only limited by the skill of the patina artist. The better the artist, the more chances you have at getting whatever your imagination can drum up. So many people tend to focus on color for a patina, but what about changing the look of the design? You can add lines on a patina that would make it appear as if […]
June 18, 2015
These are the best actual Belgian loafers that I have ever seen and that is because they have a proper sole to them. I was actually thinking of doing this one day too, but looks like Velasca beat me to it. Oh well! But well done on them as I think that this is the way they should really look. I am not quite so sure why I have such an aversion to paper […]
June 17, 2015
It’s always nice to discover new shoemakers and this morning while looking for inspiration on what to write about, I happened to discover Cordonnerie Deuzet of Lausanne, Switzerland. They seem to be a jack-of-all-trades type shoemaker in the sense that they are just shoemakers, but also take repairs, patina and even the tattooing of shoes and pretty sure that they don’t just take their own shoes but any brand for that matter. Makes sense too […]
June 15, 2015
Masaru Okuyama doesn’t make crazy unique shoes like many of the Japanese bespoke shoemakers out there, but one thing that you can always count on with regards to his shoes are the finessed laser-like lines to his lasts, welts, heels etc. His shoes always look flawless and beyond perfect. I think that he just might also be the master of the wholecut, as I am always astounded when I see his take on it (as […]
June 13, 2015
So I am here at Leffot today, trying to keep cool from this dreadful humidity that is making me sweat. This is the last day of our trunk show so if you are in or around the West Village today come stop by, say hi and check out the shoes!! And remember that we are now accepting MTO orders and the upcharge is only £75 for non EU residents.
June 11, 2015
I am bit pressed for time today as it is my first full day in NYC and I need to get ready to head downtown to check on my shoes and do my rounds of visits to the various shops that I like. But I thought that many of you would appreciate these lovely photographs by Skoaktiebolaget of their various Enzo Bonafe MTO’s. I particularly like the brown suede adelaide brogue with scarlet red lining. […]
