Today's Shoes

Day

GJ Cleverley bespoke three-eyelet plain-toe bluchers in chestnut Russian reindeer with single leather soles. Cleverley's Russian reindeer is certainly something of a gimmick. I don't think that it's the most durable skin available, and I don't think that it is the most appropriate for shoemaking. In the 18th Century, when these skins were originally tanned, Russian reindeer leather was mostly used for bookbinding. The two centuries that it has spent on the bottom of the ocean off the coast of Plymouth probably didn't do wonders for it, either. I have heard reports that it splits fairly easily. Despite it all, though, I do love the skin and the shoes it can make. I have two pairs made from it, and I love them both. A friend of mine has recently been ruminating about whether he should bespeak a pair from Cleverley made from Russian reindeer and if so in what pattern. I think he's leaning toward a double buckle monkstrap cap-toe, something that I had never considered but that would be excellent. If he doesn't do it, I might. Heck, even if he does do it, I might.

Evening

Alden long wing bluchers in Color #8 shell cordovan with reverse welts and double leather soles (model 975, Barrie last).