October 19, 2020
I have always loved the look of the Belgian style loafer design, but was never a huge fan of their traditional sole that was essentially built as a house slipper. Being a big loafer fan, in general, I was always waiting for someone to make that more mainstream in terms of a solid, dress shoe style that could be worn more ‘practically.’ And while I think that there have been a few brands that have […]
May 14, 2020
I have never quite seen a loafer like this one before. It pushes ideas and crosses boundaries I feel most shoemakers are afraid to cross. And Andante Shoemaker, of Japan, did so in a very well-executed manner. So much so, in fact, that I love them and am already picturing all of the amazing combinations that could be done with these. I think that in all-calf, this would be too much to swallow for most. […]
February 3, 2020
Atelier Dutranchet has recently made several pairs of their version of a double strap monk, one in black and one in brown. They are not the first to markrt to make this pattern but I like their version more than any other that I have seen. In reality, I didnt actually like this model until now. There are several details on their version that set the model apart. Lets look at them. 1. Notice that […]
November 8, 2019
Bespoke Spanish shoemaker, Ramon Cuberta, has recently launched a new range for this Autumn/Winter season. It’s a range that blends his bepsoke with RTW service by offering a Handwelted MTO shoe. He told me that his passion lies in the handmaking side of things so he wants to slowly move away from factory-made RTW and go more into offering Handwelted MTO shoes where he can blend the best of the two worlds. The new line […]
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 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 […]
July 16, 2019
A pretty cool project recently went underway between a bespoke shoemaker and a wooden inlayer in the heart of Florence, Italy. For a presentation at the latest Pitti Uomo, they created three samples of shoes, one being a normal, leather brogue, another being made the same but in special cuts of wood (the middle, brown one) and one is in white paper (looks like paper mache). The shoemaker is called Orma Shoemaker (Wataru Shimamoto), trained […]
June 5, 2019
For those of you that haven’t heard of him, there is a new bespoke shoemaker in town (of course, when I say new, I don’t mean literally) that is of French origin but set up with operations in Dubai. And his name is Morgan Papin. I don’t recall how I came across him. For sure on Instagram. But what got me was the shoe above. We all know that I am a huge sucker for […]
April 25, 2019
Plain and simple. If you bought them from a department store they are not handmade. If you bought them from a large shoemaker that produces more than 20,000 a year, they are not Handmade. If they cost less than $1500 they are definitely not Handmade. And of course there are exceptions like Vass, but I am talking to the majority of you that don’t own Vass, bought your ‘Italian’ shoes from a shop where the […]
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 […]
