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 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

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

Stuart's Choice four-eyelet plain-toe bals with floating medallions and a chevron-shaped throat in dark brown calf with single leather soles. Quality in shoes does not vary linearly with price. By that, I mean that an $800 pair of shoes isn't likely to be twice as good as a $400 pair of shoes. A 100% increase in price may only yield a 10% or 20% increase in quality of make. Stuart's Choice shoes, made by Grenson, are maybe 20% to 30% lower in price than Edward Green shoes, but they are nearly Edward Green's equal in quality (my principal objection is the quality of sole leather used -- EG's soles are like iron, while Grenson's are not). And yet, I would still rather have EG shoes, as evidenced by the fact that I usually war these when the forecast calls for rain.

Evening

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

Today's Shoes

Day

Gravati plain-toe monkstraps with side buckles in Radica 01 dark brown calf on single leather soles (16042, 433 last).

Evening

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

Today's Shoes

Day

Torrential rains today (thanks, Tropical Storm Erin!), so I wore one of my pairs of rain shoes: Crockett & Jones Handgrade wing-tip bals in antiqued tan calf (Downing model, 330 last). C&J Handgrade shoes are positioned to try to compete with Edward Green and John Lobb Paris, and there are a lot of people out there who try to convince themselves that they're just as good as these other brands but much less expensive. I think that they're kidding themselves. There's just something missing from the C&J shoes. The lasts aren't as nice. The finishing isn't as good. The design isn't quite there. Yes, they cost less, but I wear my EG shoes a lot more than my C&J shoes. So which are a better value?

Evening

Gravati monkstraps in dark brown peccary with combination leather/rubber soles (16371, 640 last). Another pair of rain-appropriate shoes.

Today's Shoes

Gravati plain-toe monkstrap in dark brown peccary with a combination leather/rubber sole (16371, 640 last). Torrential downpours this morning, so a rubber-soled shoe seemed the most prudent option.

Today's Shoes

Day

Gravati cap-toe bal in mid-brown Lama calf (16592 , 500 last). I really need to get this shoe in dark brown Lama, too. The informality of the grained calfskin contrasts nicely with the formality of the shoe style.

Evening

Gravati plain-toe monkstrap in dark brown peccary (16371 , 640 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.