Today's Shoes

Day

Paul Stuart Stuart's Choice plain-toe bals with a floating medallion in dark brown calf with single leather soles. Paul Stuart's top-of-the-line shoes used to be made by Edward Green. They grew tired of EG's delivery problems -- the story that I've heard is that EG could not deliver the shoes ordered in a timely manner -- and so they unceremoniously dumped EG in the late '90s. They replaced them with Grenson, another venerable Northampton shoe manufactured. Grenson is actually a contraction of William Green & Son (I don't know if William Green was in any way related to Edward Green), and the initial Grenson-made Paul Stuart shoes were labeled something like "William Green for Paul Stuart". The intent with the labeling was plainly to convince the casual shoe buyer that nothing had changed, and either Edward Green or consumers complained about the attempted deception. Paul Stuart relented and changed the label to Stuart's Choice. They no longer use that, either, although I still call their top-of-the-line shoes that for ease of communication. In any event, the shoes that Grenson makes for Paul Stuart are in keeping with the rest of Paul Stuart's merchandise: high-quality, classic-looking at first glance, but subtly unusual and flamboyant. These shoes are no exception to that. A plain-toe shoe in dark brown calf is no unusual; but throw in a floating medallion and a unique V-shaped vamp-quarter seam, and you have a unique shoe. These are on a classic square-toe last, and I like them a good deal. I just wish that they fit better.

Evening

Gravati four-eyelet plain-toe bluchers in dark brown Lama calf with combination leather/rubber soles (16493, 640 last).