Today's Shoes

Vass Theresianer punch-cap high-lace boots in tobacco suede with single leather soles (F last). The boots pictured above are very similar to mine, but the ones pictured lack a punch-cap and have two more sets of speed-lacing hooks than mine do. What I really wanted was a pair of high-lace punch-cap bal boots, but Vass apparently doesn't have a bal boot pattern. So I had to settle for these. They're still pretty good, although I'm probably destined to buy the Edward Green Shannon.

Today's Shoes

Vass Theresianer high-lace cap-toe blucher boots in antic cognac calfskin with double leather soles and a steel plate in the toe of the sole (P2 last). The boot pictured above is identical to the ones I have with the exception of the last -- it's on 3636 instead of P2. The speed lacers that form the upper six pairs of eyes make it easier to get the boots on and off, but they present a problem: they tend to tear up the laces. I can't get laces to last longer than a few months. Oh, well. They're great boots, anyway.

Today's Shoes

Vass high-lace cap-toe blucher boots in red-brown calfskin (Vass calls it Antic -- that's apparently how you spell antique in Magyar -- Cognac) with double leather soles with steel plates in the toes (Theresianer boot model, P2 last). These boots were inspired by a sample that Gabor Halmos, the Vass rep in the US, has of the Theresianer boot on U last in Antic Cognac. It's a stunning boot, but I don't like the way U last fits me. I basically wanted the same boot, only on P2 last. That is, I wanted a single sole with a beveled waist. That's not what I got. Evidently, there was some breakdown in communication in the chain from me to Gabor to the factory in Budapest. It is still a nice looking boot with a double leather sole and an unbeveled waist, although it resembles a combat boot more than a refined city boot. And so, since I have gotten them, I have tended to wear them in situations where combat boots are metaphorically appropriate. Like, for instance, when going to see an art exhibit with Mamacita and B and thence gallivanting about town.