Today's Shoes

Day

Paul Stuart plain-toe four-eyelet bals with a floating medallion in dark brown calf, made by Grenson. At one time, Paul Stuart had some of its private label shoes made by Edward Green. Fed up with inconsistent and untimely deliveries, they dumped Green in the mid to late '90s and replaced them with Grenson. Grenson's actual corporate name is (or was, at that time) William Green & Son, so PS included that name on their label. They pulled it after getting complaints that it was a deceptive attempt to persuade casual consumers that the shoes were still made by EG. These aren't as well-made as EG shoes, but they are impressive -- the designs that PS commissions from Grenson are consistently unique and excellent.

Evening

Crockett & Jones Handgrade split-toe bluchers with a hand-sewn apron and toe seam (Cornhill model, 330 last). These shoes are actually private-label Tom James shoes (I believe that IAG, the parent company of Tom James has an equity interest in C&J, although C&J makes lots of private-label shoes for lots of companies), but it was easy enough to tell that they were C&J-made. The interior markings and the faux counter both give it away instantly.