September 5, 2018
For those of you interested in reading the thoughts of master last and pattern maker and one of my mentors in the shoe industry, Kevin Seah has just done a nice interview on Tony Gaziano of Gaziano & Girling at the LINK HERE. The shoe business is a tough one and most people see it as glamorous from the outside looking in, but in the thick of it, you go through a lot of ups […]
August 20, 2018
Sometimes the best pair of shoes is a simple pair of shoes. When I say simple, I mean a simple pattern, style, cut etc. But nothing is more boring than a flat and lifeless color so the way the shoe looks in terms of leather style/choice/color is very important. And that is preciously what attracted me to this exquisite pair of bespoke oxfords by Stephane Jimenez, of France. I am a pure sucker for a […]
August 17, 2018
Hiro Yanagimachi never ceases to impress with his array of ghillie designs, most recently having come up with a ghillie brogued boot unlike ever seen before! It’s a gorgeous pattern and you can bet when wearing these people are going to give you the positive vibes as this is truly a one of a kind beauty. My only critique is the last choice. This might be my personal preference but on a boot, I tend […]
August 6, 2018
Mexican Shoemaker Castez Ermili has created something that I have yet to see and find it very intriguing, even more so, very beautiful! A cross breed between a balmoral and button boot, this hybrid boot gives the best of all worlds. Its feel is extremely Victorian, an era that I love for the elegance that was expressed in men’s attire, particularly in the footwear department. Boots were rampant and button and balmoral boots were the […]
July 18, 2018
I love an underdog story and all of these Chinese bespoke shoemakers for me represent just that. Due to the industry of cheap labor and products, China over the last 50 years has received such a bad wrap for making ‘cheap things’ to the point where people scoffed at anything Chinese made. Now, I can most certainly agree with being against child labor and underpaying your employees to the point where it is nearly slavery […]
July 3, 2018
We now live in a world with few words, thanks to the latest social media. So in honor of that, I will leave you with a bunch of pictures and little text. I hope that you all enjoy! Justin, ‘The Shoe Snob’
June 12, 2018
In the world of shoes, there are many names given to all of the different types of oxfords. ONE of them is ‘wingtip,’ set to describe the W shaped cap that’s side extensions have been described as ‘wings.’ Again, this is simply one type of oxford, which is the base name for all shoes that have closed lacing system. For example, the shoe highlighted has many names. It is an oxford. It is an adelaide (for […]
May 30, 2018
I have been following Enrile (Antonio Enrile) for a few years now and have been impressed with his progression as a bespoke shoemaker, hailing out of Seville, Spain. His designs were always intriguing but at first, I was not crazy about the last shapes, all too often being very bulbous. But nonetheless, there was potential for greatness through the perseverance of trade and cool designs. Today, Enrile has shown me his best piece of work […]
May 11, 2018
Pictures of random beautiful shoes that have nothing to do with the post It’s been a little over a month since I have kept up with my rant on what bothers me within the shoe industry and I thought that I would add another post to check off one more bullet point on my list. To read the previous 5, CLICK HERE. Funny enough a lot of these rants come from helping customers, mainly at […]
May 4, 2018
***All words by Jesper of Shoegazing Blog, who was my co-host to the London Super Trunk and the World Bespoke Shoemaking Competition*** This is part two of the walkthrough of all competition shoes in the World Championships in Shoemaking 2018. Here position 11 to 30 is reviewed with comments and lots of pictures.
