January 12, 2017
I recently went on Gaziano & Girling’s Instagram page and noticed that recently they have been commissioning a lot of blue shoes in their Made to Order program and it was quite interesting to note how many people are requesting them. I have said it in the past that many classic shoe companies have started to introduce colors into their RTW shoe collections that 10 years ago they would have spat at the idea and […]
November 27, 2016
41. Many well known European shoe brands (clothing too) claim their products are made in their country, but outsource about 80% of their production to China/India only to finish the shoes in their country and slap on “Made in Europe”….lots of lies out there 42. Toe taps are essential to unnecessary premature re-soling, especially if you are hard on your toes (i.e. jump off your toes with a lot of force when walking). Toe taps […]
September 12, 2016
Shoes Above: Crocodile by Riccardo Bestetti Up until I moved to Italy to learn bespoke shoemaking, I never really was a fan of exotics. This was partly due to the fact that in America, certain exotic leathers are made in a way that they are insanely gaudy i.e. blue and green ‘pythons’, yellow ‘gators,’ pink stingray etc. And the other reason being that many of them are made, in my opinion, on the ugliest lasts […]
January 27, 2016
Every Pitti Uomo I have my ritual of visiting the same shoemakers that present season after season. One of those makers is Paolo Scafora who in my mind is one of the most underrated shoemakers in the world, a great deal of which I believe is due to his wesbite that does not represent just how nice his shoes are. For those that don’t know, he has his own factory in Naples, specializes in hand […]
October 5, 2015
I just saw these MTO’s the other day and was blown away by their beauty. It’s not so much that they are things not done before, but in these colorways I have yet to really see them, and of course each brands pattern and shoemaking abilities differ quite a bit. The adelaide at the top is thing of beauty and that is saying a lot as I was never a huge fan of croc/gator. But […]
February 12, 2015
A customer recently sent me some photos of his new bespoke Ugolini’s and I have to say bravo to him for choosing such a magnificent combination of not only colors, but design and leather choices. It’s close to a perfect oxford for me (better if it was a saddle!) in terms of style and color. The hand coloring of that blue is extremely well done, providing a lot of depth to the variations of […]
September 17, 2014
During my time in Milan, I basically did 4 things: 1. Went to Lineapelle to look at and source new leather/fabrics/cloth etc. for making shoes; 2. Went to the Ilcea tannery for a tour and to talk about using them in the near future; 3. A visit with the brothers behind Barbarnera and 4. Last but certainly not least, a long overdue visit to one of my favorite shoemakers, Mr. Riccardo Bestetti. It was a […]
August 25, 2014
I am starting to see a lot more dressy saddle shoes lately and I am quite pleased by that as it is probably my favorite type of dress shoe. As I have said before, for me, the saddle shoe creates the perfect opportunity for a well balanced two-toned shoe. Even if one was to be monotone but bi-material, it still presents a subtly elegant duality but one that is nonetheless noticeably present. And that is […]
July 18, 2014
The concept of the “museum” characteristic is spreading and it’s now reached your soles, thanks to Il Quadrifoglio. This one of course, is bespoke, but I can bet you that someone (I have my money on Meermin) will start to do it for RTW shoes as well. As per usual, only time will tell. This is actually quite a cool version of it and makes me want to see what this would look like on […]
August 13, 2013
I have always liked the idea of Jodhpur boots but have never really took the plunge into them. Thinking about it, the only boots that I really every like on my own foot are ones with laces, like chukka’s, balmoral/oxford boots or darby boots. It’s weird how you will like the look of something on other people or in picture etc, but then when you give it a go for yourself, it becomes a whole […]
