Today's Shoes

Day

Grenson Masterpieces three-eyelet austerity brogue blucher ankle boots in antiqued British tan calfskin with single leather soles.

Evening

Gravati three-eyelet plain-toe bluchers in navy blue waterproof suede with microcellular rubber soles (15445, 433 last).

Today's Shoes

Gravati unlined three-eyelet plain-toe blucher boots in snuff suede with microcellular rubber soles (16899, 697 last). In recent years, Gravati, like all of the other Italian makers, has introduced elongated lasts, both square-toe and round-toe. Styles are changing a bit, and the most recent Gravati lasts are backing off of the elongated look a little bit. 697 is a new last, and it's not as snouty as some of the lasts from the past few years. Still, though, it is a bit snouty -- about 3/16" less length would be perfect. It otherwise is a very shapely and attractive last -- I like what Gravati has done here.

Today's Shoes

Day

GJ Cleverley bespoke side-elastic shoes with twin-needle stitching on the apron in dark burgundy calfskin with single leather soles.

Evening

Gravati three-eyelet half-brogue bluchers with a modified U-throat in antiqued tan calfskin (Gravati calls it Betis -- it's aniline-dyed calfskin treated with alcohol to strip the finish off partially to make it susceptible to neutral creme, which, when worked in, darkens the leather) with double leather soles with a central rubber plug (16407, 640 last).

Today's Shoes

Day

Alden high-lace wingtip blucher boots in dark brown (cigar) shell cordovan with double leather soles (Plaza last). These boots were special make-ups LeatherSoul in Hawaii. Cigar shell cordovan apparently has gotten very difficult to find, and Alden merchants are reporting wait times of many, many months or longer for their cigar make-ups. The good news is that LeatherSoul has been reordering these in Color #8.

Evening

Gravati four-eyelet plain-toe bluchers in dark brown grained (Lama) calf with combination leather/rubber soles (16532, 640 last)

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).

New Shoes

Well, not yet. But they're in the works. Gravati has come out with a beautiful brand-new three-eyelet blucher with V-shaped quarters. Jim Pierce, who owns the shoe concession at Harold's in the Heights, ordered it in snuff-colored Janus suede with light-colored Rapid stitching, light-colored laces, and a microcellular rubber soles. It's also on the 692 last, one that I hadn't seen before. It's a nice, smart round-toe last without quite the elongation of the 683. I like it quite a bit. All in all, the shoe is outstanding. It's undeniably sporty and casual, however, and that's not really what I was looking for. And so I ordered the same model on the same last in a snuff-colored cashmere suede with single leather soles. They'll hopefully be in by April or May, and I'm looking forward to them. Jim also said that he had ordered a new French-style two eyelet plain-toe blucher for late spring/early summer. By French-style, I mean that the vamp-quarter seam is a straight line. It's a very popular style for several Parisian makers like Corthay and Dimitri Gomez. Jim didn't order it thusly, but I think that it would be great in that red/amber grained Tibet #39 calfskin.

Today's Shoes

Gravati three-eyelet plain-toe bluchers in navy blue waterproof suede with a microcellular rubber sole (15445, 433 last). I wore these because more rain was predicted for today, and indeed, I got caught in a thunderstorm without an umbrella when going from the grocery store back to my car. This waterproof suede is as advertised: my feet didn't get wet, and the suede is as good as new after the downpour.

Today's Shoes

Gravati plain-toe monkstrap in dark brown peccary with a combination leather/rubber sole (16371, 640 last). It was supposed to be rainy all day today, and the rubber sole seemed appropriate for the weather.

Today's Shoes

Day

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

Evening

Gravati cap-toe bals with leather lacing simulating punching along the edge of the toe cap and around the laces in tobacco suede with single leather soles (16492, 655 last).

Today's Shoes

Gravati unlined three-eyelet plain-toe blucher boots in snuff suede with a light-weight microcellular rubber soles (16899, 697 last). One of the major differences between these desert boots and the traditional desert boots with a crepe rubber soles is that these are much lighter. The microcellular rubber soles on these boots are made by Vibram; and they are exceptionally lightweight, largely because they are mostly air. Crepe rubber soles, on the other hand, are dense and heavy. The large quantity of air in the microcellular soles doesn't make them significantly less durable, either -- they're not exactly long-wearing; but crepe rubber is not known for its long life, either.

Today's Shoes

Day

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

Evening

Gravati wingtip bals in walnut brown waterproof suede with thick combination leather/rubber soles (15902, 640 last).

Today's Shoes

Day

Gravati split-toe monkstrap in caramel-colored Radica 03 calfskin with a combination leather/rubber soles (17194, 697 last). The principal complaint that I have with Gravati is the way they do their sockliners. They're longer to hit the foot just behind the ball, and they're glued down with glue that's not perfectly suited for the task. The result is that the sockliner can sometimes peel back partially and ball up underneath the arch of the foot, making walking unpleasant. The only solution to this problem is to cut out the curled-up portion of the liner with an X-acto knife. This happened to these shoes, and it's the reason why I get all of my Gravati special orders with a full-length sockliner.

Evening

Gravati four-eyelet plain-toe bluchers in dark brown grained (Lama) calfskin with combination leather/rubber soles (16532, 640 last).

Today's Shoes

Day

Gravati punch-cap high-lace bal boots in dark brown calfskin with single leather soles (10278, 683 last).

Evening

Gravati plain-toe monkstraps in dark brown peccary with combination leather/rubber soles (16371, 640 last).

Today's Shoes

Gravati split-toe double monkstraps with twin-needle-stiched apron and toe seams in medium brown tumbled (Rodeo) calfskin with double leathers soles (16617, 671 last). Twin-needle stitching doesn't really require two needles; rather, it requires two boar's bristles (actually, I think in modern times, it requires two nylon approximations of a boar's bristles). The key to doing it well is that it must be shallow. That is, it should be possible to see the outlines of the twine going through the central "molehill." It gives the finished shoe more visual interest, both because of the inherent texture of the molehill and because polishing the molehill leads to more variegation in color. It's easier to obtain this kind of effect with supple leathers, so Rodeo calfskin, which is one of the softest calfskins that I have ever seen, is an excellent candidate for this type of construction.

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).

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 unlined three-eyelet plain-toe blucher boots in snuff suede with microcellular rubber soles. Jim Pierce has received an answer back from the Gravati rep in the United States about the pattern actually used on these boots. You will recall that I originally specified them as the five-eyelet 15950 but that these came in with three eyelets and with other pattern elements that were completely different from the 15950. Well, it turns out that the factory changed the pattern to 16899 because 15950 apparently isn't adaptable to an unlined construction (called sfoderato in Italian) while the 16899 is. I do wish that Gravati had told us about the pattern change before actually making the boots up, but I have to admit that these turned out much better than they ever could have had they been made up in the 15950 pattern.

Today's Shoes

Gravati cap-toe double monkstraps in textured forest green suede (called moon suede) with a fudge welt and rubber lug soles (15847, 671 last). The shade of the suede used on these shoes is somewhat unusual, at least to me. There are a lot of suedes out there that are some version of olive green, and most shoemakers will have at least a couple of these in their swatchbooks. This is the only forest green suede that I have ever seen, though.

Today's Shoes

Day

GJ Cleverley bespoke split toe bluchers with handsewn apron and toe seams in dark tan Russian reindeer with double leather soles. It's been a while since I've worn these last; and when I first put them on, there was an odd squeaking when I flexed my foot. I think that the felt that fills the void formed by raising the feather (this is a cork amalgam in factory-made shoes, but not with bespoke shoes) had lost its adhesion to the insole. With wear through the day, the glue softened up or something, but the squeaking went away. This has actually happened with both of my Cleverley Russian reindeer pairs of shoes. I don't exactly like it, but I doubt that tearing the shoes apart to fix the problem would be in the long-term best interests of my shoes.

Evening

Gravati plain-toe monkstraps in dark brown peccary with combination leather/rubber soles (16371, 640 last).

Today's Shoes

Day

Gravati plain-toe side-zip ankle boots in dark brown kangaroo with single leather soles (16821, 683 last). One of the things that makes Gravati the best value of the mid-level Italian makers is their attention to detail that most of their competition misses. Moreschi, another mid-level Italian maker, also has a side-zip ankle boot. In their side-zip ankle boot, the back side of the zipper rubs against the ankle and lower calf. That's not very comfortable, and it's hell on socks. Gravati solves this problem by having a narrow strip of leather covering the underside of the leather. It's a very small design feature that probably added virtually nothing to the cost of materials or the time it took to make the boots. But it makes a world of difference to how useful and wearable the boots are.

Evening

Gravati plain-toe saddle bals in medium brown (Nicotina) peccary with combination leather/rubber soles (15578, 640 last).