Today's Shoes

Day

Edward Green bal austerity brogues in burgundy antique calfskin with single leather soles (Beaulieu model, 888 last). The 888 last was designed by Tony Gaziano while he was with Edward Green as a replacement for the 808 last. The 808 was a replacement for the famous 88, but both of these lasts had fit problems. 888 was supposed to be a better-fitting version of both of these. It is a beautiful last. The problem, for me, is that the toe is elongated enough that it causes the shoe to break too far forward on my foot. When I flex my foot while walking, the crease hits my little toe just behind the nail. This is a bit uncomfortable. Alas. Even though the 808 does not fit well generally, it fits me just fine; and I think that it will meet my square-toe Edward Green needs in the future.

Evening

Mephisto Allrounder Teramo sneakers in medium brown oiled calfskin and taupe suede.

Today's Shoes

As I expected to hauling and moving lots of junk in preparation for the Fall Festival at E&B's school, I wore my Mephisto Allrounder Teramo sneakers. The performed adequately, I suppose, although there is still enough slippage in the heel to make them uncomfortable when worn for an extended period of time.

Today's Shoes

I finally found a picture online of my Mephisto Allrounder Teramo sneakers. Believe it or not, they call that suede khaki in color. It's not: taupe would be a more accurate description. Anyway, they're growing on me. I have decided that they actually are both attractive and comfortable. Believe it or not, but they also make my feet look smaller.

Today's Shoes

Mephisto Allrounder Teramo sneakers. Mine have a gray or taupe suede and copper-colored leather. I was in Harold's in the Heights yesterday, and I saw that they had gotten the same model in in black suede and gray leather. It wasn't ugly, but I like mine better. Johnny Mykoff, the shoe guy, said that there was another color scheme that they would be getting in the spring -- tan suede and antique tan leather. That should look pretty good. Anyway, I though that they performed admirably for doing errands and watching football.

Today's Shoes

Mephisto Allrounder Teramo sneakers. Due to Mamacita's smackdown over the weekend, I won't say that these are "ugly but comfortable." Of course, I don't think that they're all that unattractive, though.

Today's Shoes

Mephisto Allrounders sport shoes (or sport-like shoes, I guess) with elastic gores in taupe suede and black neoprene with a rubber cleated sole (Arto model). Ugly but comfortable (a familiar refrain from me, isn't it). They are more attractive than some of the garbage I saw out and about today. Why must everybody wear flip-flops?

Today's Shoes

Mephisto Allrounder Teramo sneakers. I don't know, the looks of these are growing on me. And they are comfortable.

Today's Shoes

Mephisto Allrounder sneaker-like things with elastic gores (Arto model). As you can see, really, really ugly; but they are comfortable. Perhaps I can be forgiven.

Today's Shoes

Mephisto Allrounder Teramo sneakers. I regret to inform my reading audience that I have again purchased a pair of ugly shoes. I have no excuse. I can't even claim that I bought them to annoy Mamacita. Lord knows that I don't need them to exercise in. I would ridicule anyone I saw wearing them, and indeed, anyone wearing them is deserving of ridicule. They are comfortable, though, although I suspect that they might be too wide in the heel.

Today's Shoes

Mephisto four-eyelet plain-toe bluchers with a storm welt and rubber soles (Marlon model). There's no use denying it anymore: these are too loose in the heel, but I don't think that it's because they're too long but rather because they're too wide. I can spread my toes out as far as they will go and not hit both sides of the shoes. I guess the conventional wisdom about Europeans really is true: they really do have wider feet on average than do Americans.

Today's Shoes

Today's shoes are an experiment. They're Mephisto Allrounders (Arto model), and they're essentially laceless sneakers, with elastic gores instead of laces. I bought them somewhat as an impulse on Saturday at Harold's in the Heights, intending to use them as I would use casual loafers or driving mocs. On the plus side, these are very comfortable, and the elastic gores give a good fit without the pressure across the instep that laces sometimes give. On the minus side, they get a bit hot, and they're a bit ugly. I think that I like them on balance, but I'll have to wear them more to see.

Today's Shoes

Mephisto four-eyelet plain-toe bluchers in dark brown pebble-grain calf with a rubber sole (Marlon model). This is the second time that I have worn these shoes; and I think that in the future, I would be better off getting the narrow width. Even though these are supposedly medium, my feet are practically swimming in them. I can barely touch the side of the shoe with my pinky toes. The reason that these shoes exist is for walking comfort, not for aesthetics. That having been said, their aesthetics are not horrible. I wouldn't go so far as to say that they're beautiful, but they are wearable without embarrassment.

Today's Shoes

Since it's Friday, I wore the same pair of shoes all day. Imagine that! These are Mephisto Marlon plain-toe bluchers in chestnut pebble grain, purchased yesterday from Harold's, where they had been special-ordered for me. Mephisto has managed to develop quite a reputation as the world's finest walking shoes, and I decided to see how well-deserved that reputation was. Unfortunately for me, they are also the makers of some of the ugliest shoes that I have ever seen. These Marlons aren't exactly earth-shakingly beautiful, but they're not that bad. They're also from Mephisto's Goodyear-welted line, and they represent the best that Mephisto has to offer.

You can't see it from the picture, but the last that these shoes are on is butt-ugly -- it's bulbous and blobby with no shape or line. It's even uglier than Alden's Barrie, and that's saying a lot. The only thing saving these is that the plain-toe blucher design doesn't call for much sexiness (although it can be sexy). I really hate the little Mephisto tag on the quarters, but that's nothing that an X-acto knife can't fix.

The construction appears to be pretty standard Goodyear with a storm welt. The number of stitches per inch on the welt is not particularly high, but I don't get the feeling that these are cheap or going to fall apart. The stitching on the upper is regular and tightly-spaced. One feature that I particularly like is that the leather around the throat of the shoe is folded under, meaning that there are no exposed leather edges there. It's a minor touch, but it shows that someone cares about the shoes. The rubber soles are light-weight, similar to microcellular Vibram soles that one sees from time to time.

I can't say that I walked a ton today, but what walking I did do was very comfortable. The rubber sole and other construction elements provide a great deal of cushioning. I don't know if these will turn out to be the most comfortable walking shoes money can buy, but they promise to do very well. The only real complaints that I have are that the heels are lined in suede, which I hate because the suede grips one's socks and causes them to irritate one's heels, and that they run very wide. I don't have narrow feet, but I could have taken a narrow width.