2012: The Year "Made In..." Moniker Loses It's Strength

It used to be a point of pride telling someone where your shoes were made. Especially if your shoes happened to come from your own country. It was more of an exotic appeal telling someone (if you were American) that your shoes were made in Europe. But now, these things don't really exist anymore. I, frankly, don't really care what country a pair of shoes were made in, so long as I know that the construction is good, the leather is high grade and the design looks good on the last. With all of those things up to my standard, the shoe could be made in Antarctica for all I care, and I believe that more of us are feeling like this. The reality is, no one should care what country your shoes are made in so long as the quality of the craftsmanship and leather, is high. It's a false (and naive) belief, thinking your shoes 'must' be good because they were made in such and such acclaimed shoe making country.

Shoes Above By: DC Lewis 

50-60 years ago, it used to be a guarantee that if your shoes were made in America, England or Italy, that you must have been wearing a beautiful, well-made shoe. But now it's no mystery that certain factories in Italy, either have 80-90% of the shoe fabricated in China, India or Brazil and then send it over to Italy to finish off the last 10-20%, slapping on the "Made In Italy" moniker and allowing the world to believe it was a well-made shoe produced in an artisan country. That's called hustling at it's finest. But we, the people, are (hopefully) becoming more aware of these things, these hustles and are wising up to the fact that good shoes can be made in countries that you would have least expected. And what, anyway, separates a country from being good shoe producers to not? Why were England and Italy rooted in fine footwear? Because at one point and time, creating a product was not about making money, it was about creating something that you could be proud of, something that could make your country known for. And it didn't hurt that men from these countries, truly used to appreciate the art of dressing well and therefore took pride in creating pieces that represented that.

Shoes Above By: Run Of The Mill

But now you see that many companies live off of a name, an idea, a tradition that they no longer stick to in reality, only in false theory. The idea of creating a great product at a great price has changed, and the only thing that high level CEO's (as many companies have been bought out by conglomerates) care about is profit margin and taking the necessary shortcuts to maximize that margin. It's sad really, but I have a feeling that this will change as people are starting to see that the shoes that they have been purchasing for 20-30 years, no longer feel as good as they used to, look as good as they used to and no longer last as long as they used to. They see that their favorite brand has shirked quality for quantity and money and therefore need to find another brand to make up for them. And this is where you see an upsurge in small brands coming out, like DC Lewis and Run Of The Mill, brands that appear to care about quality and honest price control. And I believe that brands like these two, others similar and mine will be the new wave of the future in shoes. At least I hope so......

Happy New Year to all!! Let's make this a year to remember!

Sincerely,

Justin, "The Shoe Snob"

Bespoke Making On A Whole Other Level

Most of the time, people buy bespoke shoes because they have feet that are hard to fit and therefore need a last to be made up to accommodate such feet. But every now and then, you get a gentleman who goes for bespoke simply for the fact that he wants something that no one else is ever going to have. This shoe presented here, represents just that, and even more. I found this on Saion's site and because it is in Japanese I unfortunately cannot understand one single thing, but looking at the pictures, I am almost positive that the stitching of the upper was done by hand, which is simply frickin' amazing!! Imagine how long that would take? AGES!

I look at this and even though I would probably not wear it simply for the fact of the decoration on the strap, I can't help but like and appreciate it. I only wish that there was a side view to look at, in order to get more of an appreciation for the entire shoe, as the top view only gives you so much. But I must say, that this is shoemaking purely at it's finest. The upper is unique, the stitching is hand-done (and contrasted), the design is out of the ordinary (the counter's are quite different) and the color combination is mind-blowing!! Overall, I give this a 10, not for the fact that it's the coolest shoe ever, but simply for the fact that it breaks all of the norms and enters the realm of art for the sake of making something that is beautiful and not necessarily practical....

Today's Favorites - Lino Ieluzzi's Shoes

For those that don't know who Lino Ieluzzi is, he is the owner of the famous shop in Milan, called Al Balzar, as well as one of the more popular faces seen on The Sartorialist. I would have never thought to do a quick post on Mr. Ieluzzi, but at the request of a reader, I figured that I would give my two cents on his infamous contrasted cap-toe monk straps that he is known for wearing. What I can say, is that I always appreciate someone who wears something that is unique and differentiates them from the rest. But, as far as these colors go, I would probably would have chosen them in other combinations. Not to say that these two colors don't go well together, but just to say that they are definitely not my favorite. I do like them, however, and more so, appreciate Mr. Ieluzzi's style in general, as I believe that he has a way about him that could be described as bravado, but in a good way. So what I am getting at, is that I do give my thumbs up on these shoes, but would want them in a different color combination. Your thoughts??