Today's Shoes

Day

Gravati cap-toe bals with reversed seams in Radica 033 calf with single leather soles (16496, 500 last).

Evening

Gravati plain-toe five-eyelet blucher boots in antiqued tan calfskin with a rubber lug sole (15950, 640 last). Gravati calls this calfskin Betis, and it's a third approach to antiquing. (For reference, the other two are the use of unfinished crust leather into which coloring waxes have been worked and sponged leather, which is sponged while the dye is still wet to give the leather a variegated appearance.) It's regular aniline-dyed leather that has been treated with a chemical like alcohol or acetone to disrupt the finished surface. Coloring waxes are then worked into the leather using buffing wheels. The finish is a bit unstable -- creases tend to lighten, which can look strange on darker shades. However, everything works perfectly with the tan color.