Visiting shoemakers in Budapest - Rozsnyai Shoes - part one

My dear blog readers profound apologies for being quite for some time, I just happened to be in Hungary (Budapest) and had to pay the famous Hungarian shoemakers a visit. I was fortunate enough to go into Mr. Vass Laszlo's establishment, he has two stores on the same street not far from each other and right in the heart of the city of Budapest. 

Not far from Mr. Vass there are other two Hungarian shoemakers, Buday Shoes and Rozsnyai. Unfortunately never had a chance to go into Rozsnyai, but did take some pictures through the display window.

I have to apologise for the almost crappy photos taken with an Iphone, but you all get the idea as what is offered by the Hungarian shoemakers in this case the Rozsnyai establishment. Need not say that the first week of my stay was very hot, almost unbearable, but the flooding had retracted. So that was good. 

For the day I will post a few shoes offered by Mr. Rozsnyai.

I almost passed the shop, when I saw the below pastel coloured whole cut Adelaide with punched holes and no brogues in green and blue on a chisel square toe last, similar to the Crockett and Jones 348 Last. 

A double strapped monk with a wing tip cap toe. Very elegantly done

 A green and black Oxford (the green hide looks like lizard, but could be mistaken) also on a chisel square toe last

 A Derby in brown Ostrich hide

 My favourite from Rozsnyai was the below strapped loafer in exotic hide. 

All photos sourced from me  "The Shoe Aristo Cat"

Il Corno Blu - Japanese Bespoke shoes

As you may know by now that I have this fascination about Japanese bespoke boot and shoemakers, and I have not touched on them for quite some time. Today I have sampled a few creations by Il Corno Blu (not sure if it is a collaboration of different bespoke shoe artisans or one man's work). 

The first depicted light brown or Tan coloured quarter brogue punched captoe Oxford is from Il Corno Blu (Yutaka Seigaku), never have I seen a classic simple oxford renditioned so immaculately and perfectly as this creation from Master Yutaka Seigaku.

Bespoke quarter brogue punched Oxford laced shoe from Il Corno Blu (Yutaka Seigaku)

 Sole details of the shoe - just simple, adorable, perfect, classic and timeless

The below shoes photos all sourced from Style Forum and creations of Il Corno Blu.

A black stitched Oxford, simple, classic and elegant.

 Il Corno Blue Ready To Wear offerings, if wishes were horses, then I would be begging to ride and be a jockey on these below RTW offerings. So simple and refined yet classic and elegant. Need to pop up in Japan for a cup of tea.  

 A line up of the usual suspects from Il Corno Blu

 I am not sure what hide is the strapped loafer made of, but it is appealing to my taste, same as the tan below loafer and above the monk strap

Pictures sourced from Style Forum and The Shoe Realistic Blog and Style Forum.

Dimitri Gomez - Paris - Shoes for the Spring & Summer

For today I have sampled some inspirational shoe creations from Master Dimitri Gomez (Parisian based bespoke boot & shoemaker) for the forth coming Spring and Summer. The shoes are mostly in brown colour variations of suede, including an interesting blueish/greyish and one in leather.
In my humble opinion all of the below shoes will be a nice complementary to a mustard /cream linen suit or cotton suit paired with a Panama hat. Do not forget the pocket squares to the suit jacket. Now, are we all set for the forth coming Spring and Summer? Hopefully yes. 

Two tier Derby in blue/greyish suede colour. Mustard linen suit will be wonderful with this pair. The colour will bring contrast to the suit. Nice shoe for the Summer no doubt.

Strapped monk in brownish suede. Hmm...

Stitched cap toe oxford in Polo suede. The contrasting laces brings the colour of shoe to it's glory.

Three tier Derby in a lighter brown shade suede. Cool.

A bowed loafer in another version of brown suede.

A loafer with a strap and a raised apron in a tan colour, pair this with any shade of blue linen suit then we are all set. Lovely loafer.

Photos sourced from For The Discerning Few

Hidden gems from Style Forum 2012 - Mr. Antonio25

It was some time since I last visited Style forum and as I was browsing through the shoe threads and forums when I came across a gent named Antonio25. According to Mr. Antonio25, he has worked for Kiton and Rubinacci, which are both Italian houses offering high-end men's clothing and shoes.  As I was reading through the "shoe damage report" thread, I noted that Mr. Antonio25 showed the below depicted well made shoes each with a very brilliant patina that brought the individual pair to higher grounds of admiration. To my surprise, Mr. Antonio was offering these hand made shoes, patina and all, for less than 500 Euros per pair minus postage and handling. I lost my jaw for a second or two. Why? Hmmm....look at them, these shoes shows that the maker has respect for the craft of bespoke shoemaking, is paying attention to the details, and not to mention that he has also mastered the art of the patina. A discipline for itself.
My favourites: the boot and the punched whole cut oxford. I think Mr. Antonio is just teasing my appetite and I am looking forward to the other dishes to be offered. So in short ....I am a very hungry man and waiting for a reply from Mr. Antonio25. More news on these beauties......and thanks Mr. Antonio25 for sharing these beauties with us at Style forum.

Strapped loafer with a nice shine

 Oxford laced boot with an amazing patina in tan and dark brown, I love the rendition of this boot and colouring.

 A beautiful loafer with a darkened toe

 Side laced oxford in a very beautiful red and black patina. I imagine this patina on a Chelsea boot, wonderful.

 A rendition of a wing tipped oxford in beautiful tan and light brown patina

 A Berlutisque rendition of a stitched apron oxford, the patina is breath taking

 A punched cap toe with a medallion on a burgundy whole cut oxford. Classy.

Photos sourced from Style forum

Nettleton's from the USA - lamenting an era lost

As a shoe lover, I have to go backwards in time to find out what the old shoe masters or companies created to get a clue of what was made and what I desire. Now from time to time under my quest, I do happen to come across long forgotten companies, gems, shoe masters who once roamed and conquered the art of shoe making. In my quest I came across "The Nettleton Shoe Company", but then I realised that I had seen some of their creations and products earlier in my life as a kid. My favourite shoe from this company (not knowing) was the Norwegian split toe. Currently I own three pairs from Alden (one black cordovan, one shell 8 cordovan and a suede (my favourite)). As a kid I thought that Nettleton was called "need a ton", as the owner of these wonderful shoes nicknamed them "need a ton" and it was a pair of split Norwegian in two tones. So it's easy to understand my excitement  when I found this beauties and the real company name on the net. 

An ad from Nettleton from about 1909 - two toned balmoral boot. 

Below text taken from the Internet (Japanese blog here):

Nettleton shoe company (USA) 

A.E. Nettleton Company, founded here in 1879, considered its product to be the Rolls Royce of footwear. The company designed and introduced the Loafer in 1937. Since then this shoe has become classic American footwear.Nettleton has produced footwear for over a 100 years. The Wright brothers, Theodore Roosevelt, and Charles Lindbergh are few of the famous people who wore Nettleton ShoesNETTLETON COMPANY SLOGAN..."AMERICAS SLOWEST MADE SHOE"....THE COMPANY HAD/HAS A SELLAR REPUTATION. IT PROVIDED FINE MEN'S STORES IN THE US WITH HANDMADE SHOESTHE COMPANY STARTED IN 1879-1984....SYRACUSE, NEW YORK...IN 1990 THEY RESUMED BUSINESS WHEN THE NAME WAS BOUGHT BY A DIFFERENT COMPANY!!U.S. Shoe AddsPublished: December 29, 1984The United States Shoe Corporation said it had agreed to acquire the brand name Nettleton for men's footware and certain other assets of the A.E. Nettleton Company. Terms were not disclosed. It said the Nettleton brand footwear would be manufactured by its men's division in Beloit, Wis.

A simple Norwegian split toe in whiskey colour. 

One Eye let Tan Norwegian split toe in tan colour

Norwegian split toe in two tones Crocodile and Suede, this was the combination I saw as a kid and was  very up taken by this shoe. I personally think, it is the best rendition of of a Norwegian derby. Amazing rendition.

Nettleton did not only offer RTW but also bespoke offerings, below it is a rendition of a bespoke strapped loafer made of sea turtle from about 1960's. Very astonishing shoes. 

View each picture, look at the details and admire. Some is selling this pair on the internet and as you can see, they are pristine.

Pictures sourced from the Internet

Saint Crispins shoes - Croc & Suede spectator + more

Earlier I blogged about Saint Crispins (here) a Vienna (Austria) based shoemaker. A new comer in the world of bespoke shoemaking and does a wonderful job. Beautiful designs and the end products looks stunning. For the day I picked up a MTO Adelaide and two new designs from the company.
Below a Made To Order Adelaide spectator, designed by the client and renditioned by Saint Crispins, in crocodile and natural suede. Saint Crispins did a got job here. It seems spectators are back on the scene again.

New designs by Saint Crispins (seamless whole cut oxford in purple blue). Here again we see the colour theme coming back. Very cool that more and more men dare take colour to their shoes. A right no longer reserved for the ladies. Well done gents.

Very interesting colour combination for the strapped slip-on. Beautifully done

All pictures sourced from Saint Crispins Facebook profile.

The GJ Cleverley Shoes - The best shoe maker in London

"There's two things in life you should spend money on: your bed and your shoes, because if you're not in one, you're in the other." Said Mr. Glasgow Sr. below

The Legend himself below,  Mr. George Cleverley, who first set up his own shop on a street round the corner in 1958 - having already established his name during his years at nearby shoe-maker Tuczek, where he'd developed the flatter-toed Cleverley style that Nureyev, Churchill and Bogart soon made famous.

The Cleverley chiselled square toe, a trademark/dna of the Cleverley house.

Below is GJ Cleverley bespoke shoes for a Japanese client: Note the square & chiselled toe of the shoes. Outstanding. A true fingerprint/dna for the GJ Cleverley house.

The Japanese gent who owns these shoes has something like 20+ pairs of bespoke shoes from GJ Cleverley, some creations from WS Forster & Sons and other bespoke shoe makers around the world. A true collector and a very sartorial Shoe AristoCat. 

Above pictures sourced from http://homepage2.nifty.com/cobblers-web/

Below is a bespoke mid night blue side-gusset pair with false laces, leather and croc.
Photos sourced from the internet, can not recall the site.

Below pictures sourced from :http://www.gjcleverley.co.uk/mobile/shoes.html

Bespoke shoe models

Below bespoke Adelaide Mountain Ram Leather, a beautiful piece of work

Photo sourced from "Leathersoul Hawaii"

Below a picture of the late Baron De Rede's shoe wardrobe sourced from the internet.

Baron Alexis De Rede had his shoes made by GJ Cleverley.

 Below GJ Cleverley's "Anthony Cleverley" line suede tassel loafers, sourced from: http://www.leathersoulhawaii.com

Below De Rede loafer from the "Anthony Cleverley" line in pigskin, made for "A Suitable Wardrobe"

photo sourced from "A Suitable Wardrobe" 

 The GJ Cleverley house, has four lines of production:

1) Bespoke, 2) Semi Bespoke, 3) Anthony Cleverley Line and lastly 4) Ready To Wear Line.

The Ready To Wear Line is based on the Crockett & Jones 337 Last and 348.

Above is a punched cap toe based on the 348 last. A beautiful shoe.

Picture sourced from "Leathersoulhawaii"

I prefer the RTW line from the 337 Last. My own pair of side gusset in black below.
GJ Cleverley's shoes are extremely light, very slim in construction and  comfortable from the first day of wear.

For the money spent on the RTW, you get a very good product. Gents, if reading this, and building a shoe wardrobe that is good, elegant, stylish, go for them.

RTW shoes from Cleverley come with shoe trees and very reasonably priced.

They are my favourite foot wear for special days or evenings. I am still adding to the collection.

Note the spit shine. Below shoe pictures are mine.