Shoe Damage Report & Appreciation Central - Part I

[superbikepics]

Originally Posted by yfyf

Those are beautiful and reminiscent of the EG Beaulieu. I see surprisingly few JM Westons in these parts, most people seem to favour their English counterparts. How much did it set you back if you don't mind me asking?
yfyf - Just pm'd you.

 

[superbikepics]

I got these at the same time as the Grant wholecuts in Vintage Chestnut I posted earlier. A somewhat more casual shoe, it gets more mileage in the warmer months.

These have been gone through with a thorough cleaning, ala St. Crispin's guidance, including the saddle soap wash, turpentine rub-down, Saphir Renovateur, and several coats of polish. A keen eye will notice a finer finish on the heels versus the left heel of the '1st Gen' Grants, which isn't quite perfect.


Regards,

Ryan

 

[Gus]

^nice shoes Ryan. perfect for spring/summer in that light tan.

 

[Eustace Tilley]

Originally Posted by pocketsquareguy

^nice shoes Ryan. perfect for spring/summer in that light tan.

+1 - beautiful monks.

 

[superbikepics]

I picked these up last month after having visited the Barker Black boutique in SoHo last February. I have a couple other pairs, which I will also be posting, and have MTOs on order (oh, the wait is killin' me!).

What drew me to this was the skull & bones broguing on the toe and _lack_ of broguing on the heel counter. Taking a closer look, what I _really_ like is the 'stylized' wingtip pattern...lots of flowing, curving lines on this particular model. This particular last has a generous toe box, unlike the Clifton cap toes which have a narrowe last and forced me up a half size.

Okay, you came here for the shoes, not for the small talk...

These have been thoroughly gone over and readied for wearing, including a few coats of Saphir medum brown polish.



Regards,

Ryan

 

[ualman]

Wow, amazing looking shoes.
Love the shine and the skull and bones broguing rock.
Should be getting a pair myself

 

[Eustace Tilley]

Nice shoes.

Can you teach me how to take photographs like you?

 

[JayJay]

Ryan, the shoes are stunning and you've added a very nice shine.

 

[Sartorially Challenged]

Yes, just exactly how does one add a shine like that?

 

[superbikepics]

ualman - the skull & bones originally drew me to Barker Black, but the last shapes were what sealed the deal for me. They are not too dramatic, and though I do keep a modest assortment of Alden and Allen-Edmond, Barker Blacks are, how to describe..."a bit left of center". Just when you think your eyes have soaked up all the details, the few subtle ones hit you. I'll post my other Barker Blacks and you'll see what I mean.

Eustace Tilley - the photo formula is rather simple. The ideal would be to place a softbox directly overhead, but I had to do with a 75 degree angle or so (rather than 90). It helps a great deal to place the subject on a soft white surface so that the light bounces up and illuminates the bottom edge of the shoe. You can't overlook this if you want to tease out the last shape or some other details...for instance the 135 brass nails which make up the skull & bones motif on the sole...wouldn't have shown up quite so well without the white baseboard reflecting some of the softbox light. I've noted a few folks have gone with the "lifestyle" shot which can be somewhat 2-dimensional, but it does reflect more of a reality than the set shot I've used. I will acknowledge that the only motivation for doing these shots was that I could not find very good images anywhere of Barker Blacks. On some level, I think they are doing a disservice by not showing up a lot of the detail that makes these desirable. To me, Barker Blacks are the kind of shoe you wear when you're "workin' for the man" but have a bit of a rebel streak in you. They probably flirt most with the line between style and fashion of any of the shoes I own. Hmmm...got off track there.

JayJay and morph07 - Thank you. Very kind of you to mention.

Sartorially challenged - I searched and searched and then tried and tried the various formulas for shoe shining, and at least for me, the winning formula is the one St. Crispin's offers on their website. I've gone through my entire 'collection' and applied the same treatment to all. The best advice I have ever taken with regards to shoes is to give them a thorough cleaning and shine before the first wearing. The folds that develop on the first and subsequent wearings just seem to wear more evenly, and subsequent polishings seem to result in a more even finish overall. Hard to explain really.

I'll get to posting more pics shortly!

Regards,

Ryan

 

[Gus]

Superbikepic, I went on the St. Crispin site at your suggestion. It does an excellent job discussing shoe care. Here is the link for everyone


http://www.saint-crispins.com/e_pret/index4.html

 

[greekgeek]

Originally Posted by Piobaire

More of my boring AEs. One day I'll post something spectacular up here, but today ain't that day. Tomorrow won't be either.

Nice Mcclains you got there. I like the grain look on that shoe.

 

[superbikepics]

pocketsquareguy - good call posting the link! Their method appears to work best for me, although there were a lot of good results with other methods (many posted on this forum) as well!

Regards,

Ryan

 

[Piobaire]

Originally Posted by greekgeek

Nice Mcclains you got there. I like the grain look on that shoe.

Thanks! Very little love here for AEs.

 

[superbikepics]

More Barker Black goodness. Probably a bit of a lace-up snob, but I _never_, and I mean _never_ considered loafers... There's something about the lack of support on the top of the foot that always bothered me about loafers, even those with a higher than normal (i.e., penny loafer) vamp. Anyway, I tried these on at the Barker Black store in NYC and they looked simply smashing with the grey flannel suit I was wearing. I pair it with mid-gray and navy, but doesn't seem to show up well with my charcoal suits.

Same 'ol St. Crispin's treatment to get the shine up...




Bad move on my part - I wore them on a rainy day, then proceeded to "put them away wet" when I got home. They've dried out now, but this pic of the sole... Ugh!



Regards,

Ryan