Today's Shoes

Day

Gravati punch cap balmoral high-lace boot in dark brown calf (10278, 683 last). No, not the shoes to the right. Balmoral boots are rarities: virtually nobody makes them anymore, which is a great pity because they are wonderful. I had been searching for a pattern to have made up for less than Edward Green would charge for its Shannon model when I happened to see an eBay auction for the pair of Gravati boots to the right. The auction did not specify the model number, and I couldn't seem to make the seller understand what I was talking about when I asked him for it. That's unfortunate, because you absolutely need the model number in order to get the boots made up. No worries, though: I sent the picture to Jim Pierce, who owns the shoe concession at Harold's in the Heights, and he got the people at Gravati to track it down. Three months later, the boots arrived, and they're lovely.

Evening

Gravati plain-toe monkstrap in dark brown peccary with a combination leather/rubber sole (16371, 640 last). This shoe was inspired by a 1930s picture of a bespoke pigskin monkstrap in Alan Flusser's Dressing the Man. Peccary is commonly called a species of wild boar, although that's not really accurate. Pigskin's grain is slightly different, and it takes a shine much better than peccary does. Nevertheless, I do think that these shoes are a reasonable facsimile of the 1930s originals.