October 30, 2020
Gaziano & Girling has just launched an interesting, new oxford model that is available from today (although not yet live on the site, but able to be ordered via email). If you look at G&G’s history you will come to find that Tony Gaziano likes to design oxfords where the piece of leather that makes up the facing (where the laces are) sits on top of the vamp which is a unique design feature as […]
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 […]
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 […]
July 30, 2018
It’s that time! Our 2nd markdown is here and we have some good offers so read carefully. Core Products — We have decided to mark these down at 20% off for the duration of the sale. This opportunity doesn’t come often so take advantage while you can. Some of our core products include the classic Magnolia oxford, the illustrious Laurelhurst loafer, the iconic Stefano saddle oxford and the famous denim Wedgwood boot. Seasonal Products — These will be going […]
July 25, 2018
The iconic saddle oxford has made its way into the design books of Laszlo Vass shoes. And even more so, their version of what looks to be the ‘saddle buck oxford’ although I believe that they used suede instead of nubuck. Neither being here nor there on the suede vs. buck, it is good to see the saddle oxford being introduced into their line as I have always personally been a big fan of this […]
February 16, 2018
For those that have missed the first two parts to this, please see links below: 1. https://www.theshoesnobblog.com/2018/02/my-story-the-early-years-the-foundation.html 2. https://www.theshoesnobblog.com/2018/02/my-story-the-5-year-plan-the-first-two.html At Stefano’s bespoke workshop there were 3 makers, Masako (the head maker), Kumiko and Matteo. Then you had the RTW shop where Mario Bemer, Stefano’s brother, was based. This was a much bigger shop around the corner from Piazza Nerli. My first two weeks was working with Mario doing various odd job work. I remember thinking to myself, […]
December 25, 2017
For those that celebrate Christmas, I just wanted to wish you all a very beautiful day with your loved ones and thank you for all of your support in the blog over the last 8 years. For those of you that do not, I still wish you a beautiful day and hope that you are celebrating today with those that matter most. I am currently in the Dominican Republic giving myself some much needed holiday […]
October 30, 2017
Those of you in the US might be familiar with the shoemaking culture that Mexico has had over the last century, but for of you on the other side of the planet, it might come as a surprise to know that in Leon, Mexico shoemaking has been thriving for many many years and clearly still continues with brands like Atelier Amareto by Claudio Lopez. With Mexico’s proximity to the United States, it might not come as […]
July 6, 2017
Leather creases. Plain and simple. There is no such thing as crease free leather. Frankly the thought of people thinking that leather should not crease is just absurd. So many times have I heard people complaining about wrinkled leather and thus blaming either the leather or the maker for this reason. Well allow me to tell you that there are so many more factors that play into a shoe’s leather becoming prominently wrinkled, factors that […]
November 15, 2016
I have a lot of time for shoe brands that are actually out there doing something different, and Altan Bottier is certainly one of them. It takes no skill to simply tell a factory to make a common cap toe oxford or your standard full brogue. They all have those common patterns stored in their computer. But it takes real skill to make something that no one else has ever done and it come […]
