This one's for the locals. I hear tell Andy Gilchrest (Ask Andy About Clothes) and Richard Torregrossa (author of Cary Grant: A Celebration of Style) may be meeting us along the way.
We meet at Brooks Brothers, head to Ralph Lauren, then to Leather Soul, then Carroll and Co. and to the the various shops around the blocks.
2pm at Brooks Brothers, I'll probably be going through shirts downstairs. Wear a suit and bring conversation.
Willie's in Hollywood under the helm of Raul Ojeda is beginning to establish itself as a a top of the line bespoke shoemaker for more than just the studio circuit. The shop for years has been making custom lasts for the stars and has been working directly with Hollywood to design some of the most iconic footwear seen on screen. From Captain Kirks boots to to Wonder Woman's... well, boots, Willies has been in the business of making the stars walk like stars for over 50 years.
Raul's Custom Don Ville shoes promise to help your gate, as well as your looks. The baseline price for a first pair of shoes is around $1,600.00, then drops substantially after the last is made and your foot's needs are nailed. Yes... A high price, but when compared to the number of cheaper shoes you can go through, wouldn't it be nice to buy at least a pair a year that can be resoled and repaired to perfection to 17 years, than to have a three pairs of not quite right pairs a year that you may not even want repaired due to fickle fits and styling?
From my conversation with Raul yesterday, he's always studying the other shoemakers around the world and building on what he sees. I appreciate the fact that he's an encyclopedia on what everyone in the market is making in general.
Timeless, and you decide what you want.
Someday... someday. Best part is that they are local and I can stop by anytime I like just to watch the leather being sewn.
I received a new pair of shoes yesterday, something I've been waiting a few years to see. The new Allen Edmonds Strawfut. Back in 2009, the only pair I'd seen were vintage and falling apart, yet I loved them just the same.
There were three main reasons I felt they were a fantastic shoe.
#1 The foot shape was just right for me. The shoes had a foot shape that was common for the day with a wide forefoot and narrow heel... this was a big plus that gave me lots of toe room; something which always made me regret my rack full of modern dress shoes that tend to be designed with a small toe box (my Hobbit-like feet require Hobbit-like shoes).
#2 They breathed. The shoes had a mesh that allowed air to flow freely around the foot. Being a Californian and a dancer who spends a lot of time on the floor, having shoes that breathe is a great bonus. They are shoes from the 1940s, and the construction is completely vintage, so when the mention of the mesh being nylon came up, the heads at Allen Edmonds thought it odd material to be used, even in the conversation with Paul Grangaard, the CEO of Allen Edmonds, I think he and their head designer thought nylon was a bit taboo when it came to shoes made for business. But being a material from the 1930s, it was a time when something like a nylon mesh to keep shoes air cooled was very innovative.
#3 They flexed and needed no break in time. With nylon mesh on much of the upper, there is no leather to break in on top of your foot. This makes them lighter and more maneuverable when it comes to... well, doing anything. They move and feel like leather soled sneakers.
A perfect off the shelf shoe when it came to my foot, yet the only way to get a pair was to hunt through vintage shops, or build a time machine, and with current science saying that you can't time travel back into the past unless you'd built your time machine there already -- well I guess I had to choose my own route.
I posted the shoes everywhere and wrote about how much I loved them. Because of this, I eventually received a call from the CEO of the still-existing Allen Edmonds company and we discussed the styles of the past.
It's a little over two years later, I still keep in contact with the company through emails now and again. And I also think it's high time I finished writing and showed you the new addition to the Allen Edmonds Spring shoe collection...
I received them in the mail yesterday. They are a veritable duplicate of the 1940s shoes made by Allen Edmonds.
Before I get to them, I have to say this,
I want to thank Paul Grangaard and Jim Kass and the whole Allen Edmonds company for returning the Strawfut to the their line of shoes. I hope you sell a million, and know that a good dress shoe that is flexible and really breathes is back on the market to fill a sartorial hole that has been very empty.
Thank you!
I do have to say that the ones I received are not the production model, but a special make. The production model is done on the #5 last that has a narrower toe.
Now to the shoes.
This pair made for me is done on the #1 last that has a wide toe-box like the originals. The footbed is Poron which is a space age dense memory foam wrapped in a layer of leather; very comfortable. The soles are Rendenbach leather that is a denser leather that can take more of a beating over time than the standard Allen Edmonds soles, and the heels are combination rubber leather, and I just like the look.
Introducing the Laureate Fedora by Matt Deckard Apparel. This is the prototype. All the details have been hammered out to create the highest quality production felt hat on the market.
I've gone with a high crown and somewhat medium in scale brim in order to accommodate the face shape of most men. Too often do I see dress hats with crowns too low and brims too wide creating an affected look when worn. A dress hat should look natural with a suit and tie, not comical.
I've been studying what's currently out there for years and with that knowledge have worked out what you see below. There is no powder in this felt so no discoloration or color rubbing off on your hands should occur. The felt is all beaver and has as little stiffener as possible. Over time it should make for a nice soft companion of a hat. Russet colored roan leather sweatband and white satin liner. This is the prototype. More info to come as time goes by.
Bit of a diaper look with the low waist and the forward pleats that are slightly too tight and bow out, watch the movie (Wall Street), and then watch a movie from the 1930s with men wearing forward pleat trousers and you'll see the difference. If I were him I'd go 5 inches higher with the waste and have a little more room in general for the seat and the crotch.
The waist and the fit of trousers is a science that depends upon tailors that study anatomy and each and every body type. I go very high with my waist bands because I want comfort and style, not just style... it's also where the narrowest point of me is. I need trousers that can stay up without issue if made to fit without a belt. I wear suspenders because gravity sometimes contests my decision. If I wear a belt I tend to be adjusting all the time like when I have on a pair of trousers without one. Bottom line, suspenders suspend, belts just belt.
Why can't Gordon be comfortable? Well if he's got money he's eating, and if he's really a broker he hasn't time to workout... which means he has a belly. If his waistband is cutting across his belly rather than sitting above it at his waist, it cuts into his belly when he sits. Many men opt for the look of putting their belly above their waist in these situations, I advise to go above. In the end it's just more appealing.
