Spring Rains Are Coming

Spring and rain are synonymous in my book, and rain calls for boots. Cordovan boots to be precise, with double soles. Boots keep the ankles dry, the thicker soles keep the uppers further off the ground, and cordovan, the skin from the rump of a horse, sheds water like a duck (if that doesn't make sense read it again - it took me a minute and I wrote it). The first photo is a pair of Alden's commissioned by Leather Soul.


Cordovan boots are available from makers such as Alden, Carmina and Vass in different styles and a range of price points. The boot in the photo above is a design commissioned from Carmina by the London Lounge.

Perhaps the only negative to boots is that they take a few seconds longer to lace up than do oxfords. Speed lacers at the boot top (those metal things at the top of the Carminas) are a bit easier.

Consider a pair of half boots for the coming season.

Vass USA

It was nearly six years ago that Gabor Halmos and Andrew Harris introduced hand-made Vass shoes onto the internet forums, opening an important new market in North America for a small Budapest-based shoemaker.

Rather surprisingly, it's a new market that likes English-inspired shoes. In Hungary, 90% of Vass sales are from its 'traditional' collection of distinctive bluchers, comprised of the Budapest, Alt Wein and Theresianer models. In the United States, that percentage is reversed, with 90% of sales coming from models that originated with the company's relatively recent collaboration with Roberto Ugolini for the F and U lasts. The photos are of two new designs introduced for 2008 on those lasts.


These are really outstanding shoes. Perhaps the finish may not be up to the highest world class standards, but it's not far off. Vass construction is comparable to many bespoke shoes, the waist is better than any machine-made Northampton product and the price represents great value for the money.

Speaking of value, I don't understand a lot of the forum discussion about how to purchase Vass shoes in Europe at a savings because I don't understand where the savings are for U.S. residents. Gabor and Harris offer the line at roughly the European price (about $850) after taking duty and shipping into account. Better yet, they'll send a trial pair of oxfords to prospective customers to establish fit before the customer places an order. The average wait time is twelve weeks, the same as it is anywhere. And if there's a problem the buyer doesn't need to speak Hungarian.

There can be a few days email delay in getting a response from Gabor, who is living in Greece for a year, but I'm told that Harris is usually able to respond faster. Contact information for both of them is on the web site.

Personally, I'm thinking about a pair of Old English II semi-brogues in oxblood, on the F last.

Vass to Offer Exotic Hides

This essay began as an interview with Gabor Halmos, the U.S. agent for Vass Shoes of Budapest, and that interview will still appear in the future. But first I thought I'd show samples of two new offerings by Vass, the addition of ostrich and alligator hides to the product line.


Not every man appreciates the exotics. Other mens' hearts beat just a bit faster. They're not seen every day, and when they are they make a statement.

Vass is remains a tiny company of 18 craftsmen and Vass shoes continue to be entirely hand made. That means visibly more attractive waists and, on their traditional models, more interesting sole treatments.

The prices for their new offerings are exceptional. Alligator is HUF 390,000 a pair and ostrich HUF 270,000 in Budapest (tentatively $3,000 and $2,100 respectively in the United States after shipping and duty), which compares favorably to Edward Green's $5,000 crocodile offerings.


Prospective buyers should act quickly. There won't be many skins left once they hear about this in Moscow.

Twenty Great Clothing Books

Here is my list of the twenty great books on classic men's clothing and style of the past fifty years. Most of them are out of print but I've found copies and you can too. In no particular order:

• Scottish Estate Tweeds, E.P. Harrison. A history of tweed with photos of the great estate patterns.
• Esquire's Encyclopedia of 20th Century Men's Fashions, O. E. Schoeffler & William Gale. Esquire was once a style leader and the Encyclopedia covers what it thought about every category of men's clothing from the turn of the century through the 1970's. On the required reading list for every budding menswear designer and ferociously expensive.
• Men in Style, Woody Hochswender & Kim Johnson Gross. Learn how men dressed during the Golden Age from these Apparel Arts & Esquire illustrations.
• The 85 Ways to Tie a Tie, Thomas Fink & Yong Mao. Tired of your four-in hand? Here are all the options.
• The Englishman's Suit, Hardy Amies. How the western world came to dress like the English aristocracy, and how it still can. Expensive, if you can find a copy.
• Handmade Shoes for Men, Laszlo Vass. All about shoes made as they should be made.
• The Boutonniere: Style in One's Lapel, Umberto Angeloni. How to wear a flower in your lapel.
• The Elegant Man: How to Construct the Ideal Wardrobe, Ricardo Villarosa & Giuliano Angeli. Interesting overview with perhaps the best section on cloth that's been in print.
• Hatless Jack, Neil Steinberg. What you'll care to know about the hat.
• Eminently Suitable: The Elements of Style in Business Attire, G. Bruce Boyer. Well written and comprehensive look at the suit.
• Dressing the Man: Mastering the Art of Permanent Fashion, Alan J. Flusser. Big and beautiful review of how to dress.
• Clothes and the Man: The Principles of Fine Men's Dress, Alan J. Flusser. The visuals aren't as good as the ones in Dressing the Man but the text is better.
• The Book of Ties, Francois Chaille. Just about all you need to know about neckwear.
• Gentleman: A Timeless Fashion, Berhard Roetzel. Well illustrated. Less on suits and more on a variety of accessories for the gentleman's lifestyle.

Thoughts on the Shoe Business

Nobody's asked for my opinion, but I thought I'd share a couple thoughts on the high-end ready to wear shoe business.

As the world's become a smaller place, the remaining ready to wear shoemakers have seen their home turfs invaded by by makers from other parts of the world. England's Edward Green does the largest share of its business in Japan. France's Pierre Corthay is in New York's Bergdorf Goodman, and Hungary's Vass is out, at least for the time being.

The challenge each of these makers faces is that there aren't enough competent retailers to go around, and the ones that exist already have lines. A new stockist that can deliver volume comes around perhaps once every five years, so expansion becomes a zero sum game. For Gaziano Girling or W. S. Foster to get shelf space, another maker loses some of his. Yet none of these companies, or the dozen others that I haven't mentioned, has attempted an end run yet.

Foster Ready to Wear in London

What's an end run, you ask? Ecommerce. Expensive even five years ago, today it takes a lot less investment than opening dedicated retail stores a la John Lobb Paris. I can think of a few things that would make my customer experience much better than it is today.

First, invest in a set of fitting shoes for each major market. They should encompass every last, and every size in the product line, and if that's too expensive cut back the breadth of the line. A maker can't sell shoes until the customer knows what size he needs.

Pierre Corthay Ready To Wear in Paris

Once the fitting shoes are available, work out a method for dispatching a pair or two, secured by a credit card, when a new customer inquires. It's a process that works quite well for bespoke hats. In addition, or at the very least, begin trunk shoes in major cities and promote them so prospective customers can get fit and place their first order. Once they've bought the first time, personal interaction becomes less important.

Second, set up a web site that includes a visual of every model on every last, in every leather, and with every sole. Describe the differences between choices like Dainite and Ridgeway soles, for example, because there won't be a helpful sales professional available to your customers when they order. Take orders on the site. And go out of your way to over-communicate order status by email. Acknowledge the order, provide an expected delivery day, and then provide periodic updates during the months it takes to make the shoes. Once the software is working, email is free anyway.

Then put bar code scanners and digital cameras at a couple major stations on the production line so you can take work in process photos and send them to a database. Give each customer a login on the web site where they can see their shoes as they are being made, and keep a record, of course, of the shoes in each customer's inventory. The first company to do this will have customers posting pictures and praise on every clothing forum in cyberspace.

Since customers are freely providing their contact information, a maker going down this road has a free method to proactively communicate trunk show dates, new models, and other useful information that leads to ongoing relationships and repeat orders.

I submit that the first maker to adopt a system similar to this one will sell a lot more shoes because they'll be making life easier on me, and shoe loving customers around the world.

Reader Questions

From Michael
"I'm visiting New York and wondering what fabric stores you would recommend for suitings. I'm looking to spend no more than $100 per yard."

Brooklyn's Tip Top Super Fine Fabrics buys end bolts from good houses and you can usually find suiting lengths of excellent goods less than $50 a yard. It's well worth the journey.


From John
"I enjoy quality clothes but do not always know how to find what I want. I recently saw a khaki/brown prince of wales sports jacket on someone and would like to purchase one. Ralph Lauren and Paul Stuart (my two favorites) do not have it this season nor do they have it in their swatch books. It seems like such a simple pattern (khaki and darker brown check) - where can I go to get one made?"

The principal challenge you face in getting your jacket is finding a fabric that's like the one you saw.

Minnis has this wonderful 13 ounce flannel glen check for Fall.


They have summer versions too. This one is an eight ounce cloth.

Whoever you choose to make the coat should also have fabrics for you to look at. I haven't used them but many New Yorkers seem to like Ercole in Brooklyn or Mr. Ned for mid-range tailoring.


From Rick
"I have my own law practice in the high tech area and have several clients in the Bay area that dress very casually. I, on the other hand, have always loved fine clothing.

I live in Colorado, so most of the folks I run into are wearing shorts, fleece, and Crocs. I could do that, and never look any different from the crowd. But that is just not who I am or who I represent. But it would look equally ridiculous for me to don a suit and tie every day that I sit in my office or when I travel to visit my clients. What would be an in-between look?"

Let me suggest that you could dress like a venture capitalist and your clients would be fine with that. That would mean "Friday" suits worn with a light sweater instead of a necktie and/or odd jackets with polos and dress trousers, like Luciano Barbera in the photo above. You can wear great shoes without raising any eyebrows.

Take a look around your local Oxxford or Zegna made to measure source. Zegna, for example, is reasonably priced, stylish, and the delivery time is under six weeks. Many Valley executives wear it.

Then acquire a couple pair of Vass, Edward Green, John Lobb or comparable shoes. And get some high quality mock turtlenecks to wear with your jackets. I'll bet you like the look.

Artisan Made Clothing

It usually happens sometime in a man's thirties. He makes partner, gets the big job or realizes that his business is a success. His closet has the basics and the question becomes he goes from here with his clothes?

If the man cares about clothes, by this time he's probably already having some of them made for himself. Certainly his shirts, because everyone should have their shirts made. Maybe a made to measure suit or two from a quality maker like Kiton or Oxxford. But now he's ready to try the best. And the best is artisan made clothing.

What I call artisan made clothing may be made partly by people operating machines, but it can only come from an individual artisan who fits the customer personally and then leads a team that does the important parts of the work by hand. That's because both hand work and personalized fit is critical in the finest clothing. The graceful curve of the sole on a hand made shoe cannot be duplicated by shoe-making machinery. The collar, shoulders, and armholes of a jacket must be sewn by hand or it won't move fluidly with the wearer.

Hand fitting by the individual artisan is just as important. A shoe may need a bit more room in the toe, or a jacket may not fit closely at the neck on the first or second try (unlike the perfect fit of Jimmy Stewart's coat in the Hitchcock film Rope). Vass shoes are made by hand, but they are not individually lasted and may not fit a particular pair of feet. Fitting is also where the best efforts of the factory-based suppliers can break down. A local fitter often lacks the skill level of the craftsman at the factory.

If a choice has to be made between tailored clothing and bespoke shoes, the benefits of tailored clothing are normally considerably higher. Unless a man has unique feet that require a custom fit, bespoke shoes can be a periodic luxury. Few men will be happy with ready to wear, on the other hand, after wearing their first bespoke suit or odd jacket.

A personal relationship with a couple of artisans requires a considerable investment unless a man lives near a city such as Paris, Naples, London, or New York. Some artisans travel, but not everywhere and usually only twice a year at best. So the customers have to travel themselves, unless they are willing to wait a year or more from order to delivery. That's given rise to a new type of traveller, who combines holidays with fittings.

At a certain stage of life, artisan made clothing becomes worth the trouble.