Shoes Of The Week - Alden Collaborations

While I have lots to write about for my trip to Paris, it needs to be organized and the posts are going to be longer ones, so bear with me on these things. For the meantime, I wanted to talk about Alden and how they seem to be such busy bees with their collaborations with other brands. As I have stated in many earlier posts, I believe that this idea of collaborating is the way of the future in the shoe industry. While it has always been about, it seems that it has really taken off, since 2010. Obviously, as most of the world went into recession a few years back, companies had to start thinking about alternative channels of distribution, and it seemed that collaboration gave the best of both worlds, for all parties involved. It gave the designers/shoe brands something new to create and an alternative way of making money, it gave the collaborating brand something different from their usual, and maybe stale collection and all-in-all the collaboration gave the customer another option, in case they were not liking anything at that present moment. That being, I have thoroughly enjoyed all of the new saddle shoe models that Alden has been producing for the likes of Unionmade (pictured above & below) as well as Blackbird (very bottom), which is a very popular boutique located in the neighborhood where I grew up, Ballard, Wa. And while I feel that Alden has done a good job of going relatively outside of the box with the likes of these color combo's, I am hoping that the next time I see this shoe, it might be in green or red or some other non-traditional color. We shall see...

Enjoy your Friday and check back soon for my trip to Paris posts....

-Justin, "The Shoe Snob"

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Shoes Of The Week - Random Mark McNairy's

I really love what Mark McNairy has done in the shoe industry. In what used to be a relatively dull, no-color ridden market, Mark McNairy decided to do something about it and launched his line, emphasizing this prep-chic style (loafers, heavy brogues and buck's) that incorporated a lot of color, particularly in the soles. And since then, he has seemed to grow at an exponential rate. And that is simply great! When coming out with something so bold, as this concept is, one would think that it is either going to make it, or break it. Luckily he made it, even with shoes as daring and colorful as a crayola box.

As I put together my first collection, I am growing insecure (even though I shouldn't) about offering classic dress shoes with colorful options (such as a full-brogue in navy or a forest green whole-cut). When you think about starting a line, you have to know that even though you may want to make all of the craziest options that you always dreamed of owning, you have to also realize that you need to make things that will sell, so that you can stay in business. This is what I appreciate about people like Mark McNairy and Mr. Hare. They both created something that they felt was missing, hit it dead on and are now growing at exponential rates. I just hope that my first collection will have this kind of impact, as I believe that I have been studying a long time, what is lacking in the current marketplace....

Some pictures provide by: The Shoe Buff

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They Are Listening....And It Is About Time!!

I don't know if it is because of shoe designers like Mark McNairy and Grenson (of whom were amongst the first to come out with abnormal coloring in shoes) or because of my blog, and other ones like mine, but it would finally seem that the brands that may have once been seen as strictly conservative in their shoe making are now branching out and becoming a bit more eclectic! Never in a million years would I have thought to see Allen Edmonds making shoes in colors such as green, blue and red, and even more so using colored laces outside of black and brown. But this day has indeed come and it's quite refreshing to see. And the reason that this excites me, is because a company like Allen Edmonds, who has been making shoes for nearly 100 years and has quite an extensive and loyal customer base, also has the power to get men to think differently. So if more and more men who think that dress shoes should only be black or brown start to see their favorite brand release red shoes, blue shoes and green shoes, then it might just get them to realize that shoes can be fun, and don't have to be something that is simply necessary to complete ones outfit, but rather enhance ones outfit!

Just a reminder, if you are in London, fancy a chat or are interested in checking out Carmina's shoes, then I would suggest a quick pop over to the Rook & Raven (just north of Oxford st.) tomorrow from 11am-6pm.....hope to see some of you there!

Best,

Justin, "The Shoe Snob"

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Today's Favorites - Rider Boot Co.

As you can imagine, I have a collection of images that must range in the thousands and because of that, it can become quite difficult remembering what I have and what I want to put up. I am constantly just browsing the net, saving dozens of pictures at a time, of all of the beautiful and unique shoes that I come across. Because of that, and having so darn many, I have to literally just peruse around my folders looking for inspiration for each post. But the nice thing about it is that it's almost like finding little treasures that you forgot about, like a $20 in your trouser pocket! So when I came to these mid-height jodhpur boots by Rider Boot Co., I was quite excited, as I find their design to be truly lovely. To me, the best jodhpur boots leave the face of the boot clean looking, not having the strap coming around it, as these don't. That way, you get the lovely and undisturbed profile  of a blank canvas from toe to top of boot. I think that the other detail that really attracted me to these was the fact that the strap has a lovely curve at the bottom of it, instead of just being straight and boring. It flows with the ambiance that the stitching, around the rest of the boot, creates. Nothing has a sharp angle, it's all fluid. That, to me, is lovely. It's all in the detail....as always!

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What I Am Wearing - Black & Blue

I used to be the black & blue hater #1, and even to this day, I would prefer to never pair them together. But as I get older, the climate changes, my culture becomes something else (in my ever-moving journey), I really just can't be asked to rebel any further. Most of the time, I put them together due to the fear of ruining any of my nice non-black colored shoes, like my red's or suedes or whatever goes best with navy trousers. But the more and more that I spend in Europe, where I find myself outside 1000 more than I ever used to be (as cars don't make sense in city center here and thus commuting by foot takes over), the more and more that I find myself pairing these two colors and the more and more I find myself warming to the idea of black & blue. Strange how life is always playing tricks on you, how you hate something one day and then love it the next and vice-versa. It makes us all a bunch of hypocrites....or maybe just me. And even while I feel that it does create a classier look, I do believe that I will always prefer brown paired with navy, as something that just flows better.

Shoes: Allen Edmonds
Sweater (Jumper): Some brand from Naples, Italy
Shirt - Primark 
Tie - Gieves & Hawkes
Trousers - H&M

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Today's Favorites - Alden Blue Suede Tassel Loafers

Sometimes I almost wish that I did not have a favorite color, because that way I would be a little less aggressive in gravitating towards the same things, and therefore have a wardrobe that is a little bit more varied. But I do have a favorite color and as you can probably gather from the statement prior and the picture above, it is blue. And because I love blue so much and wished that it was used on the feet of more men on the planet, you can understand why I am always talking about blue shoes and putting them on the blog, such as these lovely beauties by Alden. And while I love a blue calf leather, I think that I almost prefer shoes in a blue suede. Something about the suede just seems to give the color a bit more depth, a bit more of a rich feel to it, which is why I feel that the blue goes better with jeans and blue calf leather doesn't.... Whatever the case, the fact remains, I love blue and blue shoes and for all of you that share the same sentiment....be ready for a few new executions in the idea of blue shoes....

Picture Courtesy Of: Tassels

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Another Go At A Personal Patina

A little while ago, I had found myself at pub after work, as is a very common thing to do here in England. While I had a good time and can't complain, I noticed that the next morning, it appeared that I had spilled a bit of alcoholic substance on my shoe and it had unfortunately left a lovely stain for me. Now this pair, the 'Dryden' by Allen Edmonds, is my oldest dress shoe, the first one I ever purchased with my own money. So, needless to say I was quite upset because I love the original color of them and did not want to ever change that. But I could not live with having that stain always there yet knew that at least they were not ruined completely, considering the fact that I am now not afraid to dye my shoes with the possibility of consequence.












I had just dyed a pair of my loafers brown (and therefore did not want to do it again), and pretty much have everything else in an oxford with the exception of an all black shoe, so I decided that black would be the ticket. But I wanted to have them slightly unique looking. I thought it would be cool if I could dye the toe blue (some sort of royal or around that shade) and try to fade it to black at the defined cap brogue line. As you can see, I started with the blue on the cap (which ended up being a lot darker than anticipated) and then started using the black for the rest of the shoe, of which I idiotically forgot to take pictures of. It ended up being quite a pain because the black dye that I was using was awful and did not seep into the leather almost whatsoever.  I therefore, built up as much as I could with the black to create a base and then went over the black area with the blue dye (of which was slightly higher quality, getting 'into' the leather). Because of that, I almost ended up with a uniform black shoe. It looked a bit dull so I thought that if I stripped off the toe a bit with some spirit (alcohol), then it would give it some more character. Needless to say, it did so, but not in the way that I was hoping for. It almost became a more aqua blue than any shade of royal.

While I am not disappointed with the turnout, I do wish that I did not spill any beer on my shoe..... :-(

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