Today's Shoes

Gravati long-vamp penny loafers with a twin-needle-stitched apron in red-brown grained Tibet #39 calfskin with a single leather sole (15477, 701 last).

Today's Shoes

Day

Gravati side-zip plain-toe ankle boots in dark brown kangaroo with single leather soles (16821, 683 last).

Evening

Gravati high-vamp penny loafers with twin-needle-stitched apron seam in medium red-brown grained calfskin (Tibet #39) with single leather soles (15477, 701 last).

Today's Shoes

Gravati high-vamp penny loafer with twin-needle stitching on the apron in medium red-brown grained calfskin (Tibet Color #39) with single leather soles (15477, 701 last). The shoe in the middle of the picture above is mine. When I originally saw the 701, I thought that it was a chisel-toe last. It's not exactly. It is certainly flat in the forward toe area, but it doesn't have the defined cut from the top of the vamp down to the sole. It's much more gradual, which means that it's not quite deep enough in the toe for me.

Today's Shoes

Gravati high-vamp penny loafers in red-brown grained calfskin (Tibet Color 39) with twin-needle stitching on the apron and a single leather sole (15477, 701 last). The shoe in the middle of the picture above is mine.

Today's Shoes

Gravati penny loafers in red-brown grained calfskin (Color 39 Tibet) with twin-needle stitching on the apron and a single leather sole (15477, 701 last). The shoe in the middle in the picture above is mine. 701 last is a bit flat at the tip of the toe. This means that if your big toe is thick or up-turned, it's likely to hit on the top of the shoe when new. Not to worry (unless the contact is severe): it won't be noticeable with some wear.

Today's Shoes

Day

Gravati cap-toe bals in red-brown grained calfskin (Lama Larice) with single leather soles (16592, 500 last).

Evening

Gravati high-vamp penny loafer with twin-needle-stitched apron in red-brown grained calfskin (Color 39 Tibet) with single leather soles (15477, 701 last). The shoe in the middle of the picture above is mine. As I have previously mentioned, I'm quite taken with Tibet calf -- the veining pattern is beautiful, it's soft, and it takes a good shine -- and I'm going to use it on other special orders in the future. My current project is a split-toe blucher boot with twin-needle stitching on the apron and toe seam in Color 39 Tibet. What I really want is the 15950 with the apron and toe stitching. It remains to be seen whether Gravati will make it or whether they will force me into an existing model.

Johnny Comes Through

Johnny Mykoff, the manager of the shoe department at Harold's in the Heights, was kind enough to send me a few of the pictures he took on Saturday of the same model of Gravati shoe (15477 -- a long-vamp penny loafer with twin-needle stitching on the apron) on three different lasts (640, 701, and 500). You will recall that I picked up this model as a special order on the new 701 last in a dark red-brown grained calf, that Harold's has this same model on two other lasts (640 and 500), and that Johnny, who is an excellent photographer, took advantage of the opportunity to get a comparison shot of the three shoes. In the picture above, the shoe on the left is on 640 last in a tan soft, grained calf that Gravati calls Rodeo; my shoe is the one in the middle; and the shoe on the right is on 500 last in smooth black calf. As you can see, the toe on the 701 is elongated and narrower in comparison to the other two. 640 is a standard square-toe last that has been a Gravati mainstay for several years. 500 is a traditional round-toe last that has been in the repertoire for even longer. The contrast between the three is not quite as dramatic in the picture as it is in real life, probably in part due to the angle and in part due to the fact that Johnny didn't have the time to set up a light box; but I hope that it can still be seen.

Incidentally, Johnny took the picture with a professional-quality SLR digital camera on the 10 megapixel setting, and he has the equipment necessary to print the picture on a 7 foot by 3 foot canvas. I don't know about you, but I think that that would make perfect wall art. Thanks, Johnny.

Today's Shoes

Gravati high-vamp penny loafers with a twin-needle stitched apron in dark red-brown grained calfskin (Gravati calls it Tibet -- the color is 39) with single leather soles (15477, 701 last). These shoes were special orders that I placed with Harold's in the Heights sometime in the early summer, and they came on Friday. 701 is a new Gravati last. It has a soft square toe that is rather flat on top, and it runs large. I had to order a half a size down to get an appropriate fit. Tibet is somewhat similar to Lama in its grain pattern, its softness, and its ability to take a high shine. I gather that both are shrunken calfskins, with the shrinking process producing the grain pattern. Most Scotch grain calf has the grain pattern stamped onto the skin, which has to be thick to take the pattern appropriately. Hence, most Scotch grain calf is stiff and rugged. Not this stuff. The color is beautiful, too. It would do wonderfully on a split-toe blucher -- maybe a split-toe blucher ankle boot.

In its regular stock, Harold's (well, actually, Jim Pierce, who owns the shoe concession at Harold's) has the same 15477 pattern on both the 500 and 640 lasts. While I was picking up the shoes on Saturday, Johnny Mykoff, who is the manager of the shoe department and who is also quite an accomplished photographer, took several pictures of the two Harold's versions and my version lined up side by side. I'm hoping that I can get him to send me a copy because it will provide eloquent testimony to how the same model of shoe can appear completely different depending on the choice of leather and last.