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dieworkwear

Mahatma Jawndi
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You get yourself an exotic skin on the apron of the loafer, like elephant. Can be very tasteful. Full-on gator can be risky yeah.

Def no elephant or hippo shoes for me. And no two-tone shoes.
 

gte872h

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Exactly the vibe I want to avoid. A younger guy in gator shoes sound like it borders on "punchable dickhead" rather than "punchable, but somewhat intriguing, old guy"

hmm, I would be somewhere in the middle. At what age starts to put you in the intriguing category?
 

ixk

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Berluti has a patina where they simulate crocodile on half the shoe, maybe a good middle ground (sorta joking but not really).
1288791
 

ixk

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Agreed on that: the Berluti Andy loafer looks amazing in the store, but I'm a bit skeptical about the rest of their offering these days.
1600 euros for a blake-loafer though is not in my budget, can get some sweet MTO from many makers at that price range.
 

dieworkwear

Mahatma Jawndi
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Agreed on that: the Berluti Andy loafer looks amazing in the store, but I'm a bit skeptical about the rest of their offering these days.
1600 euros for a blake-loafer though is not in my budget, can get some sweet MTO from many makers at that price range.

Personally not convinced any of that stuff looks good in actual outfits. Super sleek shoes, faux patinas, two-tone leathers, weird leathers, weird colors, etc.

I'm OK with weird shoes in casual outfits, such as stuff from Yuketen. But in tailored clothing, I think those shoe-nerd details just ends up looking either dorky or tacky.

Like, what is this? ☹

1288803
 

ixk

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Patina in itself is fine in my opinion. I would agree with 2-tones and bright colors.
I'm down to use a brown or burgundy patina'd shoe with a suit honestly.
 

DWFII

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If a 'suede' shoe is made from splits...as many, if not most, RTWs are, it probably is not anywhere near the quality (or longevity) of a full grain leather.

On the other hand, a reverse calf is full grain leather. And reverse calf looks and feels like (and actually is) the best grade of suede. So, all other things being equal, there should be little or no difference.

And FWIW, no bespoke maker worth his salt, would use a split. IMO...

That said, a shoe made from full grain leather, with the grainside out, is far more likely to crack than a reverse calf.
 
Last edited:

poorsod

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I have a pair of kid suede
Curious what are people's thoughts on bespoke suede shoes? I feel like "regular" leather ages better because you get a patina. And while I like suede shoes in RTW, bespoke shoes are expensive, so I'm a little more careful about how my choices will look in the long run.

For kicks, a photo of some old Henry Maxwell bespoke shoes once owned by Douglas Fairbanks Jr., which was sold to the writer David Coggins during the big Fairbanks auction many years ago


View attachment 1288600

I have a pair in kid suede and it has an incredibly buttery smooth feeling on the foot. Baby calf is close in feel. Tony said that they can’t do kid suede on RTW because it is so soft the machines will tear it up. I would say that the kid suede are the most comfortable dress shoes I have.
 

shirtingfantasy

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Personally not convinced any of that stuff looks good in actual outfits. Super sleek shoes, faux patinas, two-tone leathers, weird leathers, weird colors, etc.

I'm OK with weird shoes in casual outfits, such as stuff from Yuketen. But in tailored clothing, I think those shoe-nerd details just ends up looking either dorky or tacky.

Like, what is this? ☹

View attachment 1288803

I think few of their bespoke clients would choose such fashion-forward last.

As for “patina”, I know many purists hate “artificial patina”. Maybe it would be less offensive if we call them gradient brown, gradient grey, cloudy blue etc?

Rejecting everything from “Berluti gradient brown” to “Edward Green brown patch” and “Gaziano cloudy blue” would be too drastic, at least to me.
 

ixk

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I usually get a patina to 'save' a pair of shoes that I've worn into the ground, especially when the starting color is light. The patina artist takes into account deformation and creases in the upper and your shoe is 95% new, albeit a different color.
My light brown shoes reincarnate as dark brown.
 

dieworkwear

Mahatma Jawndi
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I think few of their bespoke clients would choose such fashion-forward last.

As for “patina”, I know many purists hate “artificial patina”. Maybe it would be less offensive if we call them gradient brown, gradient grey, cloudy blue etc?

Rejecting everything from “Berluti gradient brown” to “Edward Green brown patch” and “Gaziano cloudy blue” would be too drastic, at least to me.

I like EG's faux patinas. They seem reasonably subtle enough. But the painted stuff, and especially the stuff from Continental Europe, and most of all Berluti, looks tacky to me. A lot of the stuff seems like it looks good on Instagram, but I've yet to see an outfit where I've seen those shoes work. Happy to be proven wrong though.

Sometimes I see guys in the city who look reasonably well-tailored. But then you look down and it's just some red, orange, or navy shoe. Or it has some faux patina. Or it's that cloudy museum calf stuff. It just ruins the whole look for me.

I'm not a hardliner about rules, but for classic men's style, I think the focus tends to be up on the upper half of the outfit -- on the shirt, jacket, and tie combo (assuming you're wearing a tie). It's the reason why patterned trousers can be hard to wear. Or bright colored trousers. Or tan shoes. They draw the eye downward, which looks off.
 

dopey

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Curious what are people's thoughts on bespoke suede shoes? I feel like "regular" leather ages better because you get a patina. And while I like suede shoes in RTW, bespoke shoes are expensive, so I'm a little more careful about how my choices will look in the long run.

For kicks, a photo of some old Henry Maxwell bespoke shoes once owned by Douglas Fairbanks Jr., which was sold to the writer David Coggins during the big Fairbanks auction many years ago


View attachment 1288600
I have a pair from Foster & S. Really fantastic fitting and great looking. I sued to wear them all the time, though I put them away for the summer two years ago and didn't wear them at all last year. Thanks for the reminder. I think I will take them with me tomorrow.
 

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