HRH Prince Charles and his old bespoke shoes

It seems his HRH Prince Charles cherishes his shoes very much, earlier on this blog I wrote about HRH recycling a pair of bespoke(Lobb) oxford's, which has been in service for more than 40 years. Apparently HRH has a few pairs which are older than his sons and he does use them after all these years. From the below pictures one can see HRH wearing a black straight cap toe, then a burgundy punched cap toe. Followed by a very beautiful burgundy or oxblood  coloured full brogue.


I anticipate that the full brogue is the same pair of shoe, so all in all we see HRH still recycling at least three pairs of bespoke shoes, which are well looked after and cherished by his HRH Prince Charles. 
Note the well polished & patina on all shoes, that glossy spit-shine. 


Message to all shoe-lovers, Shoe AristoCats is: "Look well after your shoes, and they will serve you for decades to come".


Recycling a black cap toe oxford

Recycling a burgundy cap toe oxford

 Recycling a burgundy full brogue in snow

Prince Charles at Lobb

Full brogue worn by HRH Prince Charles

 Full brogue worn by HRH Prince Charles

 Full brogue as worn by HRH Prince Charles

Pictures sourced from http://redingote.fr/en/breves/les-chaussures-du-prince-charles/ and Style Forum

Edward Green of Northampton

Edward Green or EG as the company is known to many Shoe AristoCats is one of the oldest establishment from Northampton, England. EG started making shoes in 1890, their motto being "to make the finest shoes, without compromise".         


EG produces beautiful, classical, stylish, timeless English shoes. Today they do not operate a bespoke shoe production as Tony Gaziano left EG and opened Gaziano & Girling a few years back. EG offers Ready To Wear (RTW), Made To Order (MTO) and a Top Drawer (closer to bespoke) shoes, the latter being the expensive.


EG offers an endless of possibilities if taking the MTO or TD option.

Below a few of EG's offerings from Top Drawer

Shannon Balmoral boot with tweed

Shannon Balmoral boot in Antique Oak and mink suede

Arundel Tassel loafers

Gladstone

Lichfield

Palmerston

Fairfax

All pictures sourced from: Styleforum

Is this a bad joke from Christian L. Tasselissimo

I was looking at the below creation (Tassel(issimo))  from CLT (Christian Louboutin Tasselissimo) and I was not sure if it was meant as a bad joke or not. 
After a few minutes of thinking, I concluded that this was utterly very ugly, not stylish nor elegant and will never be a classic piece, and wondered who will buy and wear this shoe. Am I bias? Any thoughts?

Sourced from the Internet.

Classic Summer suitings for all ages

Today I decided to look at the Summer suits. Most men in the Western hemisphere will settle for a tee-shirt, jeans/chinos, worst case shorts in town and paired with trainers or those ugly plastic crocs. But it does not have to be that way. 

Summer is the season of the year when men can look elegant & classic in attire that looks good and stylish. The below pictures shows two elderly men, and a younger wearing Summer suitings, which are very well orchestrated and beautifully done. Very well composed and elegant.

An Italian Gent in a cream cotton or linen suit with a blue and white Bengal stripped shirt, blue tie with white dots, paired with a tassel loafer. Oh, the socks are stripped too. So elegant.

The below photo is a Parisian Gent in a three piece navy blue shaded Summer suit, paired with a navy tie. Look the at the length of the trousers, just a hint of those purple socks and a pair of dark brown suede shoes with cream laces. Hmm, very classy and simple, can I pull that trick?

A younger American Gent in a Seersucker suit, purple tie and pocket square. Note the tie-pin? Wonder what colour socks and what kind of shoes he is wearing to complete the look.

Pictures sourced from:The Sartorialist Blog 

The Japanese suit by HRH The Emperor of Japan

The Japanese are traditionalist by nature and love the traditional Western clothing. Below HRH The Emperor shows how this Western classic garment should be worn with a pinch of style, classiness and almost effortless hint. Let us take a better look at the suitings worn by the Emperor below and judge how he does it so elegantly and almost effortless (it seems). I salute HRH The Emperor for his timeless and elegant rendition of the Western suit. 

HRH below in mid night blue shades, white pocket square. The contrasting with his grey hair brings the Gents suiting out very well.

 A grey shaded double breasted suit, with a greenish tie and pocket square

Another grey double breasted suit for the Emperor. Look at the cuffs of the jacket, wow, I have to say.

 Grey again double breasted, various shades of grey, but not the same as his grey hair, however complimenting his grey/silver hair.

Morning coat outfit, more formal it can not be for an event occurring during the day time. 

Pictures sourced from the Internet.

Summer inspiration alá Les Sapeurs (Gentlemen of Congo)

For the coming Summer be inspired by and try dressing sartorially alá the Gentlemen of Congo (Les Sapeurs) style. In one of the earlier blogs, I mentioned the Gents of Congo and their feel and attention to details and colour, men of Sartorial honour.


Well, why not try the below shown blazers and pair them with suede shoes like the ones depicted below. Oh, do not forget to add trousers, braces, belts and socks to pair the jackets. Use some colour to the trousers, so you have the Gents of Congo effect. Good luck Gents and Shoe AristoCats.

Carmina suede loafer

 Linen Summer double breasted blazer, add a pocket square to the breast pocket

 Markowski suede tassel loafer

 Two button single breasted Summer jacket/blazer

 Three button single breasted Summer jacket with patch pockets, add pocket square

Add the Sloop loafer to the above Summer jacket

Pictures sourced from the Internet

Old shoe dated 1968, from George Cleverley

Gents or Shoe AristoCats who bespeak their shoes tend to have the shoes for decades and decades and never willing to separate with their favourite pieces. In one of my earlier  blog, we saw how HRH Prince Charles had his favourite Lobb oxford mended, spit shined and used. The ultimate recycling.


An American Gent or Shoe AristoCat in his seventies sent his pair of G. Cleverley derby's for replacement after having the shoes for forty three years. The elderly Shoe AristoCat left a note inside the shoes with a suitable understatement: " I think it's time to replace this pair, although I'm worried the new shoes will be to new for the wooden box". Well articulated.

No doubt that this pair of shoe has been used, however well cared for, polished, loved, caressed, tended to -; in short well looked after. The leather has teared, worn down a few places but still good looking. The note said it all, it is time for a replacement.


Sourced from: www.esquire.com