October 18, 2019
I have always loved an apron loafer that has a separate piece/material for the apron in contrast to the surrounding leather. The first time I ever encountered one so beautiful was back in London, on Savile Row to be exact, in 2012. I was coming out of bepsoke tailor, Chittleborough and Morgan, saying hello to my friend Joe Morgan, when I noticed Charlie Watts of the Rolling Stones coming in to enter C&M with a […]
October 3, 2019
I have never been in love with black shoes. That is, plain black shoes. But I love an oxford that has a black calf/black suede combination. Something about it is infinitely more appealing than its more subtle cousin, the all black calf shoe. Bespoke shoemaker, Stephane Jimenez, hailing from France, proves this to us with one of his latest bespoke creations. This shoe is easily one of the more handsome black calf oxfords that I […]
October 2, 2019
Young, American bespoke shoemaker, Francis Waplinger, recently came out with a new model that is truly unique and an idea all of his own. Never have I see a model like this that amalgamates 2-3 very unique designs, depending on how you look at it, to create one ultimate shoe. In one part it is somewhat of a gladiator brogue. In another aspect it is a saddle brogue. And to top it off, its cap […]
August 15, 2019
Bespoke shoemaker, TYE Shoemaker, out of Japan has been making some very very interesting shoes since coming to light a few years back, thanks to Instagram. The latest are these very intriguing and unique blue suede Crocodile Norwegian welt derbies with a commando gum sole and a bamboo pattern. Damn, that’s a lot going on. Not to mention the braided trimming, just a little touch of detail that TYE likes to commonly through in there. […]
August 8, 2019
Following yesterday’s roast of Berluti’s RTW atrocities, is the upside post about their Bespoke Program and the amazingness that comes out of that. I recently saw this photo on the Instagram account of @sole_preacher and was immediately impressed with all that was going on. Now, don’t get me wrong. This is not a ‘normal’ shoe. This, for me, is not necessarily a wearable shoe either (i.e. I would not wear it) but the detail, making, […]
August 2, 2019
It’s super refreshing to see a unique creation that looks good and that one can obviously see that thought and passion was put into it. I know that I say this all of the time but its what keeps me passionate about shoes. I lose my interest in footwear when all I see is the same crap being rebranded at a cheaper price. Its boring. It lacks passion. Its just business for the sake of […]
June 6, 2019
Here are some of the top pictures and shoes that I have found on IG. 1. (Top) Yohei Fukada 2. (Below, descending) Septieme Largeur 3. Enzo Bonafe courtesy of Thunder March on IG 4. Santa Mercede Shoes 5. Graziat Taipei 6. John Lobb for Skoaktiebolaget 7. Vass Shoes by Ascot Shoes, patina by Modfx7 on IG Enjoy!
April 22, 2019
My favorite shoe of the Bespoke Shoemaking competition was actually the one that took 9th place and was made by Russian Shoemakers, Per Nobile. It is the shoe highlighted and the one that blew my mind away in terms of pattern making, which I feel often goes overlooked in this contest as maybe the direction of the discussion is often more heavily weighed into looking at details like how narrow the waste is and how […]
December 27, 2018
There is a new outfit in town and when I say ‘town’ I mean Milan, Italy. You might see the boot above very reminiscent of Riccardo Bestetti’s gladiator pattern and well that is because Calzoleria Oscura is comprised of the makers that used to work for Riccardo himself before his passing. Deciding to move on, the new company went out and started their own venture taking with them what they learned from the late, great […]
October 19, 2018
The more that I see this model by Stephane Jimenez the more that I appreciate it. He basically blended a saddle oxford with a swan neck and really took shoe design to another level. And its funny because changes like this are really quite simple yet no one ever does them. All too often to oxfords look the same and its really quite boring. So seeing something somewhat different like this is always appreciated, at […]
