Today's Shoes

Day

John Lobb Paris three-eyelet plain-toe V-front bluchers in tobacco suede with single leather soles (Perrier model, 8896 last). The first really expensive shoes that I ever lusted after were from John Lobb Paris -- three-eyelet plain-toe ankle boots in tobacco suede with low-profile rubber soles. I saw them at Neiman Marcus in 1997 or 1998, and I thought that they were about as perfect as a pair of shoes could be. The model name was Giono, and it turned out that it had been developed as an ankle boot variant of Perrier. Well, I saw pictures of Perrier, and I thought that it was pretty perfect, too, although Lobb had this inexplicable habit of making it up in black. These shoes were a special order inspired by those Giono boots. It's a pity that the 8896 last doesn't fit me better (like most Lobb Paris lasts, it's too wide in the heel for me), but Perrier is one beautiful shoe. The picture above doesn't really do it justice, both because it's crappy and the color of leather selected doesn't really do much for the pattern; but I have to work with what I can find on the interweb.

Evening

Gravati ghillie tie split-toe bluchers with twin-needle stitching on the apron and toe (13555, 500 last).