Words and photo by Will Boehlke
It is probably a sign that he has too many shoes, but the earnest collector eventually turns to exotic skins in one form or another (exotic being another word for skins offered at price premiums over ordinary shoe leather that range from the merely to the horribly expensive). One reaches this point along either of two unrelated avenues, the more common being wealth beyond most dreams of avarice and the less a relentless pursuit of clothing perfection whether within one's means or not (usually not - as a friend replied when I suggested that he needed a maildrop to keep his wife from complaining about his spending, a maildrop would be admitting that his wife was correct and that he had a problem).
Having travelled down either of those avenues there are also two principal reasons to choose exotically skinned shoes. The public one is the distinctive look that can be achieved in no other way. The recognizable pattern of alligator and the variegated color of pigskin make for a shoe considerably different from every day calfskin but with less obvious "look at me" shouting than the bright green and purple dyes used by some cordwainers as a change from black and brown. But, as in so much of life, the story told for public consumption differs from reality. And in the case of exotic skinned shoes, the private reality is the psychological benefit the owner gains from the subconscious feeling that he is a man apart from other men, a wearer of footwear so rare that the man on the street hardly knows it exists let alone where to obtain it.
Of the two available options, the distinctive look is of course the rationale for Cleverley's shoes of Russian calf. The leather was hand stamped during its 18th century tanning with a varied cross-hatching (no-one has ever bothered to make a machine to do the stamping with the required irregularities) that needs to stand on its own, with minimal brogueing or other distractions. A captoe like the shoe in the photograph, for example, or RJ's banded slipons, add interest to a pair of flannel trousers (and, summer or no, today's temperatures call for flannel).
That one is wearing shoes so rare that alligator is common by comparison has nothing to do with it.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Exotic Shoes
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
3 comments:
The Russia leather could easily be worn with a tweed suit. The irony is that alligator\croc shoes (despite the hike in price), to me look spivvy with anything apart from cords or jeans!
Possibly shoes made of alligator you shot yourself would have equal panache, no?
I recall when I had my first pair of custom shoes (not true bespoke) made at Alan McAfee in London. They had my last in their records from a previous purchase of ready-made shoes that fit me perfectly. The sales clerk asked me what type of skin I wanted, and I replied "What do you have?"
"Oh, we have everything: crocodile, lizard, elephant..." So I asked to see the crocodile samples. He brings out what looks to be a large key ring, on which sat about twenty-five swatches of crocodile in every conceivable color: red, orange, mauve, persimmon, violet...you get the picture." And I said, "This must be wear Mick Jagger gets his boots made" (the year was 1970, I think). And he replied, "We do indeed make some of his footwear; he just purchased seventy pairs of boots from us." Well, I just asked to see the calf samples, and he brought out another "key ring," with at least fifty or sixty samples of brown leather. Who knew that there were that many shades of brown? From whisky and honey, to espresso and sepia, and in every type: pebbled leather, high shine, matte finish, etc. I'll never forget the peek at the lives of the very rich that I received from that purchase.
Post a Comment