What's a Split Toe?

Sara writes below in one of the comments that she was initially confused by what a split-toe shoe is, and she speculates that "that probably refers to a cut and some stitching up the leather in the front". She is correct (well, mostly). It refers to a real or artificial seam in the middle of the toe of the shoe. The picture above is of the JL Paris Campus loafer, the shoe that I was wearing yesterday (in a different color). Notice the seam in the middle of the toe, and notice that it actually is a seam: it connects two different pieces of leather. On some shoes, however, there are not two different pieces of leather that are being joined. There's just one that has been pinched and stitched through. The resulting detail looks like a seam, but it's entirely decorative. See this Alden shoe for an example of this second type of split-toe.

Today's Shoes

Day

Edward Green chestnut antique adelaide half-brogues (Canturbury model, 202 last). Well, they would be half-brogues if they had a medallion on the toe cap. The shoes pictured to the left are the same model, color, and last as mine, but that's not my couch and those aren't my shoes. These are traditional adelaides, unlike the modified numbers from G&G that I wore yesterday. These are the first Edward Green shoes that I bought (as a special order from Maus & Hoffman in Florida maybe three and a half years ago), and they remain among my favorites.

Evening

John Lobb Paris split-toe penny loafers in dark brown pebble grain leather (Campus model, 3198 last). I picked these up from Neiman Marcus on sale at two thirds off the original price a few years ago. I like the look, but the strap across the vamp is too tight. Chances are that I'll survive.