Today's Shoes

Vass six-eyelet blucher Budapesters in Cognac pebble-grain calf with reverse welting and a double leather sole (with a hard rubber plate inset at the toe of the sole) (Budapest last). The shoe show above is the same leather and last, but the design is slightly different. It doesn't have the reverse welting that my shoes do, it has five eyelets instead of six, and the quarter seam and counter don't meet in a curved V like they do on my shoes.

Today's Shoes

Vass plain-toe bluchers in burgundy pebble-grain calf with double leather soles (Budapest last). The shoe pictured above is identical to what I wore today except that it's in black pebble-grain calf instead of burgundy pebble-grain calf. I have written this before, and it remains true: I have never worn any shoes that prevent my feet from getting fatigued when standing or walking for extended periods of time than double-soled Vass shoes. They're amazing.

Today's Shoes

Vass plain-toe blucher in burgundy Scotch grain calfskin with double leather soles (Budapest last). My shoes are identical to the model shown above except that mine are on Budapest last while the one pictured is on the Banana last. Vass calls this model the London, for some strange reason. British shoemakers make a lot of plain-toe bluchers, but they certainly don't make them for wear in London. At least, not by their well-dressed customers.

Today's Shoes

Vass split-toe bluchers in dark brown Scotch-grain calf with a reverse welt (Goyser-stitched, in Vass-speak) and rubber lug soles (Norweger model, Budapest last). The picture above is of a Vass Norweger model shoe, but mine are made on a different last with a different leather, different welting, and a different sole. These were purchased to be my New York walking shoes, so I figured that I might as well break them out to work at the fall festival at E&B's school since that would require me to be on my feet all day, walking on concrete. They performed well, although my forefeet felt like they had been pounded on with sledgehammers by the end of the day.

Today's Shoes

Vass six-eyelet reverse-welted wingtip blucher in cognac Scotch grain calf with double leather soles and rubber plates in the toes of the soles (Budapester model, Budapest last). The shoes are identical to those pictured above except for two details. First, the quarter edge and counter on my shoes meet in a V, unlike those pictured. Second, and obviously, mine are Scotch grain while those pictured are smooth leather. Vass calls reverse welting "Goyser stitching". I don't know if that's specifically a Hungarian shoemaking term, if it's common to all areas of the former Austro-Hungarian empire, or if it's even more general than that.

Today's Shoes

Vass split-toe bluchers in dark brown Scotch grain calfskin with a reverse welt and a Vibram commando-style rubber sole (Norweger model, Budapest last). The shoes above are the same model as these, but a different last, leather, and sole configuration. I wore these today because somebody promised to help me wash my car; and with the rubber sole and reverse welt, these are perfect for wet work. Well, that, and I really like them and hadn't worn them for quite some time. Of course, she didn't in fact help me but instead dragged me all over Houston looking for temporary tattoos and body jewelry (again). Not that I'm bitter. Oh, no.

Today's Shoes

Day

Let's face it: fall clothes are better than summer clothes. In fall, you can wear tweed and flannel and cashmere and corduroy and Aran sweaters. In summer, you can wear... polo shirts and linen. I like linen as much as the next guy, but it's a island paradise in a sea of banality. Watching football over the weekend, I noticed that fall has apparently come to wide swaths of the country, with temperatures in the 50s and suchlike. Alas, such is not the case in Houston: we're due to see highs around 90 for the foreseeable future. So I can't wear tweed and flannel and cashmere and corduroy and Aran sweaters, at least if I don't want to me marked as a freak. But I can wear shell cordovan boots, which most people consider appropriate in the fall and winter. Alden cigar shell cordovan wing-tip high-lace boots on Plaza last with double leather soles, to be precise.

Evening

Vass five-eyelet plain-toe bluchers in burgundy pebble-grain calf with double leather soles (Budapest last).

Today's Shoes

Vass split-toe Chasses with a reverse welt and a rubber lug sole in dark brown pebble-grain calf (Norweger model, Budapest last). The shoes to the right are the same model from Vass, but I don't believe that they're on Budapest, and they certainly don't have a reverse welt, rubber lug soles, or dark brown pebble-grain uppers. I ordered these to be my New York walking shoes, and while they have never seen service as that, they certainly do very nicely on a rainy day like today.