Tag Archives: shoes

A Guide To A Good Life

Classic Solo Handmade Shoes

Late last year, I ordered a pair of handmade shoes from Stefan Burdea, a shoemaker from Bucharest, Romania. I’d like to show them to you now. They’re the Classic Solo model, a beautiful and understated pair of shoes made from a single piece of leather.

Some of you may already know that it’s fairly difficult to make these shoes, as it requires much greater skill from the shoemaker to get it right from a single piece of leather than it is to make them from multiple pieces, which can be fitted much more easily around the boot tree.

I’d like to show these shoes to you now via a video I made (part of my Elegant Gentleman series). I’m happy with them, especially since they meet a very important criteria for me: they’re comfortable to wear for long periods of time. That’s the most important criteria for me when choosing shoes. They have to fit me very well. All other aspects: design, finish, materials, are secondary. Sure, I first pick up a pair of shoes based on how they look, but if they don’t fit me well, I’ll put them right back down on the shelf and move on.

I don’t know if you’ve ever had a pair of handmade shoes made for you, but you should if you get the chance. They’re much more comfortable than machine-made shoes. And because they’re handmade, there’s usually more attention to detail and a higher level of workmanship, as you’ll see from the photos. It’s rewarding to wear shoes that you know were made just for you. Try it sometime!

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A Guide To A Good Life, How To

A comprehensive guide to all-season shoe care

During the past few weeks, I worked on an extended video (about 50 minutes long) on shoe care, where I explained how I take care of my shoes. In order to offer as much advice as possible, I selected three pairs of shoes: a summer pair, a pair of winter boots and a pair of old shoes that had been abused in the garden and the yard. The point was (and is) to show the viewers how to take care of all sorts of shoes, whether they be warm weather, cold weather or just plain old shoes. As an added bonus, you’ll also learn how to get a spit shine (also known as a mirror shine or a bull shine). Here is the video, enjoy!

This video is part of my “Elegant Gentleman” series, to which you’re encouraged to subscribe, here or on YouTube and on Facebook.

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A Guide To A Good Life

Have great shoes? Use a cobbler.

If you like and buy quality leather shoes (over $100 or more), and if after you’ve worn them for some time, they need repairs (sole or heel repairs or restitching) don’t throw them away. Find and use the services of a good cobbler (a shoe repairman) to breathe new life into them.

A cobbler repairs shoes. A great cobbler can make old shoes look new again and can even repair a shoe’s sole so well that you’d never know it was replaced. Good cobblers are few and far between, but they’re the only ones that can help you, so it’s worth it to find them.

In this video, I talk about how I repaired three pairs of shoes.

There’s also a great video from Put This On, a web series about dressing well, where shoes and shoe repairs are discussed (found it thanks to Sheldon Schwartz). It’s a great video that teaches you how quality leather shoes are made and how they can be repaired. It will also show you how to shop for good shoes.

Enjoy!

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A Guide To A Good Life

My favorite pair of casual shoes

–> Updated: these shoes turned out to be terribly put together. The sole came apart from the shoe less than a year after I got them. I asked LL Bean to replace them, which they did. They sent me a new version of the shoes whose soles also came apart from the shoes about a year after I got that pair. So while they were comfortable to wear, their durability was terrible. Caveat emptor. 

I’ve been wearing a new pair of Keen shoes for the past few weeks, and I love them. If they haven’t got the showroom look in my photos, it’s because they haven’t been sitting in the closet.

I spotted them at L.L.Bean and couldn’t resist the design. They looked so comfortable and cool, up there on the shelf, that I had to try them on and get them. Indeed they are comfortable, even for extended walks, and they’re a lot of fun to wear.

One thing I should mention, if you care about that sort of thing: this particular design will make your feet seem smaller. I took a photo of one of my formal shoes next to one of my Keen shoes, just to show you the difference. Believe it or not, the formal shoes are slightly tight on my toes (length-wise, not width-wise). The Keen shoe looks smaller, yet my feet have no problems fitting in there.

While women may love having their feet look smaller, I understand that some men may not go for that sort of thing… Apparently foot size is associated with a certain other size in our vernacular. Personally, I’ve gotten over that, because I like these shoes a lot. Just thought I’d put that out there in case any of the women reading this are thinking about getting them for their significant others.

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