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

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Vass Theresianer high-lace punch-cap blucher boots with a rows of broguing along the edge of the quarters and behind the eyelets in tobacco suede with single leather soles (F last). The boots pictured above are made in identical suede and on the same last as mine, but they lack the broguing that my boots have. I would very much like to have the same sort of boot in an identical suede only as a balmoral boot instead of a blucher.

Evening

Gravati three-eyelet half-brogue blucher with modified U throat in antiqued tan calfskin with a thick combination leather/rubber sole (16407, 640 last).

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

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Vass high-lace wingtip blucher boots in dark brown calfskin with a single leather sole (F last). The boot pictured above is actually one of mine, although I didn't take the picture. A friend of mine recently got the same pattern on the same last in Color #8 shell cordovan with double soles for wear as winter boots, and he absolutely loved them. I can see why, although I think that a single sole is the way to go with these -- a single sole fits with the sleekness of the last and the narrowness of the toe.

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Alden saddle bals in Color #8 shell cordovan with a single leather sole (model 994, Barrie last). This is one of the few regular-production shell cordovan models that Alden makes with a single sole. I wish that they would make more -- there's no reason why shell cordovan shoes all have to be double-soled gunboats.

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

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Vass three-eyelet plain-toe side-lace shoes in dark burgundy calfskin with single leather soles (Hunter's Goyser model, P2 last). One of Alan Flusser's arguments regarding shoes is that colors other than black and brown look painted-on, cheap, and artificial. He singles out burgundy (at least in calfskin), among other colors like blue and gray, for disdain. I have a great deal of respect for Flusser's aesthetic sensibilities, but I think that he's wrong about burgundy calfskin. It's true that burgundy looks awful when it's used on cheap, corrected-grain shoes; but cheap, corrected-grain shoes look awful regardless of the color of the leather. Burgundy is just another shade in the brown leather family, and if it's done properly by a high-quality tannery, the result can be very attractive. In case you're wondering, Vass uses excellent tanneries for all their leathers, including their dark burgundy calf.

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Sutor Mantellassi three-eyelet chukka boots in navy blue suede with Norwegian construction and rubber soles.

Today's Shoes

Vass wingtip bluchers in Color #8 shell cordovan with double leather soles (Banana last). The shoe pictured above isn't a wingtip, of course, but it is on Banana last in Color #8 shell cordovan and is useful to illustrate the shape of the last and how Color #8 looks on Vass shoes.

Today's Shoes

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Vass cap-toe bals in burgundy calfskin with beveled single leather soles (P2 last). The shoes above are the same model (Vass calls it Alt Englisch) in a different color leather, last (Peter), and waist treatment. Unusual for a cap-toe bal, this shoe has a heel counter. Notice also the throat -- those small swoosh-like pieces of leather there are also unusual on this style of shoe.

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Gravati four-eyelet plain-toe bluchers in dark brown grained (Lama) calf with combination leather/rubber soles (16532, 640 last).

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

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Vass plain-toe bals with a floating medallion on the toe in cognac (really burnt orange) calfskin with beveled single leather soles (U last). Vass calls this model the Oxford Medallion. My shoes are identical to the ones in the picture except for the color of the calfskin. I don't wear these shoes very often for two reasons. First, the color is a bit extreme -- there aren't a whole lot of occasions that call for burnt orange shoes. Second, they're too big. I had never tried shoes on the U last on before I bought these, and on the advice of others who had, I ordered them half a size larger than my regular size because the U last was supposed to be narrow. Well, maybe it is narrow compared to other Vass lasts, but it isn't narrow in an absolute sense. These shoes are, predictably enough, about a half a size too large, meaning that they break in the wrong place on my foot and aren't that comfortable. Oh, well. If I had it to do over again, I would order these in a darker color (maybe antic cognac or Color #8 shell cordovan) and would order them in my regular size.

Evening

Sutor Mantellassi three-eyelet plain-toe blucher boots in navy blue suede with Norwegian construction and a rubber sole. These are more shoes that have an extended toe that makes them just a bit too long. They would benefit from being half a size smaller. Other than that, they're great. The suede is nice and floppy, even with a full lining.

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.

Today's Shoes

Vass half brogue bals in cognac Scotch grain calf with double leather soles (Peter last). The shoe pictured above is identical to my shoes except for the color and texture of the leather used for the upper. Note that the medallion is very large and intricate and that it continues over the edge of the top of the shoe. This style is common in Budapest and Vienna. Vass calls this model the Alt Englisch, probably because the closed-laced style of throat is most closely associated with English shoemakers. Were this shoe made with an open-laced throat (ie, as a blucher), it would then be called an Alt Wien since the half-brogue blucher is as synonymous with Viennese shoemaking as the full-brogue blucher is with Budapest shoemaking.

Today's Shoes

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Vass high-lace wingtip blucher boots in dark brown calfskin with single leather soles (F last). The combination of last -- the slim, rounded-toe F -- and the single sole combine to make this very much a city boot. There is an old rule that one should not wear bluchers with a suit (a rule that I don't believe in and ignore), but if ever the rulemakers make an exception, it would be for these boots. A friend of mine recently received an order of these boots in Color #8 shell cordovan with double leather soles to wear as bad weather boots in the winter in New York City, and he tells me that the effect is completely different. The shell cordovan and the double sole conspire to make the boot look much more rugged and rustic. All of which goes to illustrate that this is another of the chameleon shoe models.

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Martegani three-eyelet wholecut size-lace shoes in tobacco waterproof suede with heavy single leather soles (3B last). These shoes are my second attempt at replicating the original Cleverley model shown above (the Vass hunter's goyser on P2 being the first), and it is a much closer replica. It still isn't the same, though, and I fear that I might have to order a bespoke shoe from Cleverley (or from Gaziano & Girling or Foster's) in order to get the look.

Today's Shoes

Vass wingtip bluchers in Color #8 shell cordovan with double leather soles (Banana last). Vass shoes are supremely comfortable, and I'm not entirely sure what accounts for it. Obviously, their lasts fit my feet very well, particularly in the heel, which is where I have most of my trouble with my shoes. They also have non-trivial amounts of arch support, which also helps. I'm not sure if there are other construction features that enhance comfort -- so far as I know, the manner of construction is the same as any other welted footwear (except that these are hand-welted instead of machine-welted). Whatever the reasons for their comfort, I know that any time I have to be on my feet for a substantial portion of the day, I will wear some of my Vass shoes.

Today's Shoes

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Vass three-eyelet side-lace shoes in burgundy calf with single leather soles (P2 last). Vass calls this model the Hunter's Goyser, which should give you an indication about how they see this shoe made up: on the Budapest last in Scotch-grain calf with a reverse welt. I was going for more of a city shoe and something to emulate a side-lace Cleverley bespoke model that I've seen. To be honest, it didn't really work. It's a nice enough shoe, but I'd probably have to go with Cleverley or Tony Gaziano really to get the look I'm looking for.

Evening

Gravati Chelsea boot in tobacco suede with single leather soles (16366, 655 last).

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

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Cleverley bespoke three-eyelet plain-toe bluchers in Russian reindeer. This leather comes in two colors: a honey tan and a darker chestnut. These, and my other pair of Cleverley Russian reindeer shoes, are both the darker version.

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Vass half-brogue bals in English tan Scotch grain calf with double leather soles (Peter last).

Today's Shoes

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Vass apron-stitched bluchers in orangish tan calf (Vass calls it cognac, although it's much lighter than what most manufacturers call cognac) with a single leather sole and a beveled waist (New Norweger model, U last). The shoe to the left is the same model, last, and configuration as mine, only a different color leather. Although Vass calls the model the New Norweger, it's not really a Norwegian shoe -- it only has the apron stitching, not the toe stitching like a Norwegian does. The U last is a snouty, narrow square-toe last that Vass developed for the RTW shoes it makes for Florentine bespoke maker Roberto Ugolini. It echoes Ugolini's preferred bespoke style quite well. I like these shoes, but they are a tad too long. This causes them to break too far up my big toe for comfort, which reduces the frequency with which I wear them.

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