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

Day

Gravati high-lace punch-cap bal boots in dark brown calfskin with single leather soles (10278, 683 last). You may have noticed by now that I have a thing for boots. Back in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, boots, ankle and otherwise, were very common for dress wear, I would imagine because the dirty streets of the day and the fact that men still rode horses at least occasionally made them more functional than low-cut shoes. They have fallen out of favor over the last 60 or 70 years, however, and it's easy to see why. They're warmer than shoes (since they cover the ankles and lower legs), they're more expensive than shoes (since they use more leather), and they take longer than shoes to get into and out of. Still, I like the way they look, the ankle support that they provide, and the fact that they're a bit out of the ordinary without calling attention to themselves -- a casual observer would probably not ever notice that I'm wearing boots.

Evening

Gravati double monkstraps with twin-needle stitching on the apron and toe "seams" (even though they're not really functional seams) (16617, 671 last).

Today's Shoes

Day

Gravati punch-cap bal high-lace boots in dark brown calfskin with single leather soles (10278, 683 last). I was in Harold's in the Heights on Saturday, discussing shoes with Johnny Mykof and Jim Pierce. One of the things that came up was the problem with cap-toes. A lot of men look at them and try them on, Johnny said, but they can frequently be a difficult sell. That's because the toe cap can bind the top of the foot when the foot is flexed, making them less comfortable than plain-toes or wingtips. American shoemakers tend to solve this problem by making toe caps shallow so that they don't come far enough up the vamp of the shoe to come into play when the foot flexes. The problem with this solution is aesthetics: they look stubby and ugly. The Italians elongate the toe cap to make it aesthetically pleasing, but they can have comfort problems. You pay your money and you take your chances. As for me, the elongated Italian-style toe cap doesn't particularly bother me, but I would never put one on a pair of shoes that I intended to do a lot of walking in.

Evening

Alden long wings in dark tan pebble-grain leather with reverse welting and a double leather sole (Barrie last). Man, I love these shoes. Tom (Park of LeatherSoul in Hawaii), please use more of this leather in your make-ups.

Today's Shoes

Day

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

Evening

Alden wingtip bals in dark brown suede with single leather soles (model 904, Hampton last).

Today's Shoes

Day

Gravati high-lace punch-cap balmoral boots in dark brown calf with single leather soles (10278, 683 last). Gravati's 683 last is my current favorite. It's what Tony Gaziano would call a smart round toe -- slightly elongated, which allows the toe to be narrower, but not needle-nose narrow. It has the same general visual characteristics as the John Lobb Paris 7000 and the Edward Green 82 lasts. It really works on these boots and on most of the other Gravati shoes that I have ordered on it.

Evening

Martegani wholecut side-lace bals in waterproof snuff suede with thick single leather soles (3B last). The 3B last is also elongated, only with a square toe instead of a round toe. It works on this shoe. I should wear them more often.

Today's Shoes

Day

Gravati punch cap bal boots in dark brown calfskin (10278, 683 last). Have I mentioned that these boots have padded tongues? Well, they do, and it's a very good idea. I have high insteps, and laced shoes typically irritate me after a while on the top of my foot. (This is one of the reasons that I like side-elastic shoes: no laces to irritate my feet.) Padded tongues tend to minimize this effect.

Evening

Gravati wholecut plain-toe bluchers in caramel calf with a rubber lug sole (16368, 640 last).

Today's Shoes

Day

Gravati punch cap bal ankle boot in dark brown calf with leather soles (10278, 683 last).

Evening

Martegani long-vamp penny loafer in English tan with a thin leather sole (Cortona model).

Today's Shoes

Day

Gravati punch cap high-lace balmoral ankle boots in dark brown calf (10278, 683 last). A person can't have too many high-lace boots, I say. I was considering today whether it would be a good idea to have this pattern made up with a wing cap instead of a straight cap, and I concluded that it was not. A plain toe would work, however.

Evening

John Lobb Paris split-toe penny loafer in dark brown pebble grain calf (Campus model, 3198 last).

Today's Shoes

Day

Gravati punch cap balmoral high-lace boot in dark brown calf (10278, 683 last). No, not the shoes to the right. Balmoral boots are rarities: virtually nobody makes them anymore, which is a great pity because they are wonderful. I had been searching for a pattern to have made up for less than Edward Green would charge for its Shannon model when I happened to see an eBay auction for the pair of Gravati boots to the right. The auction did not specify the model number, and I couldn't seem to make the seller understand what I was talking about when I asked him for it. That's unfortunate, because you absolutely need the model number in order to get the boots made up. No worries, though: I sent the picture to Jim Pierce, who owns the shoe concession at Harold's in the Heights, and he got the people at Gravati to track it down. Three months later, the boots arrived, and they're lovely.

Evening

Gravati plain-toe monkstrap in dark brown peccary with a combination leather/rubber sole (16371, 640 last). This shoe was inspired by a 1930s picture of a bespoke pigskin monkstrap in Alan Flusser's Dressing the Man. Peccary is commonly called a species of wild boar, although that's not really accurate. Pigskin's grain is slightly different, and it takes a shine much better than peccary does. Nevertheless, I do think that these shoes are a reasonable facsimile of the 1930s originals.