Today's Shoes

Day

Martegani austerity brogue bal with U-throat, wing cap, and counter done in twin-needle stitching. I have written about these shoes before when discussing the Edward Green bespoke shoes that Tony Gaziano made for me based on this design. The inspiration for these shoes was a pair of Sutor Mantellassi shoes that I once saw a picture of. They were wholecuts, but they had a toe cap and other details simulated using twin-needle stitching. I thought that the idea was good but that the execution was off -- the last was too chunky, and some of the elements just looked strange -- and I decided that I wanted something like them, only better. Gravati wouldn't do it. Martegani would. They turned out very well, I think, although shallower penetration on the twin-needle stitching would have been better.

Evening

Martegani six-eyelet plain-toe bluchers with a floating medallion in dark English tan (Lucca 2 model). These were the first Martegani shoes that Ron Rider, then the shoe guy at Franco's in Richmond and now the US rep for Martegani, imported into the US, and it is still a mainstay of his Martegani business.