November 14, 2010
Sun-bleaching leather: Alden pocket knife holder
A while back I bought the above Alden Shell Cordovan pocket knife holder and pocket knife. As an experiment, I decided to try out sun-bleaching leather, and this seemed to be a good item to try it with. After about 1-2 months of being taped to my west-facing window, the branded side has become many shades lighter from sun exposure. This could be done to shoes, belts, and watchbands with some very interesting effects as the sun lightens portions of the leather differently. Just remember if you’re doing this to shoes you should condition the leather afterwards, because in addition to lightening the sun will also dry out the leather, shortening its lifespan.
October 23, 2010
My business partner and I in a style blog
Virile – West Broadway and Lafayette St…Soho NYC….
My business partner and I were photographed on Broadway last weekend. It was cool boot day.
August 6, 2010
Compass footwear trade show
This week I went to the Compass footwear trade show, and it was amazing. I forgot to take pictures of any of the shoes, but I was really excited about a lot of what I saw there. Some highlights:
- The Eastland Made in Maine collection is amazing. Very soon they are putting out a collection of handmade moccasins using Horween leathers and made in the USA. They’re basic models are very similar to Quoddy and the many other moccasin/boat shoes out there, but they also have some more interesting boots and other models. Sartorially Inclined has some great pictures of the line from the capsule show.
- The Wolverine 1000 Mile collection has expanded to include many more new models and designs. Coming soon are a few canvas boots, a denim boot, and a 1000 mile boot made with shell cordovan. The Wolverine agent gave me a Horween leather keychain, and I’m way too excited about it.
- Timberland’s Abington line has some great new models coming out, many of them using suede.
- Mark McNairy’s various lines all look great. The Bass Weejuns collaboration is very nice and there was a big selection from his New Amsterdam line being shown as well.
- I kind of love the Florsheim by Ducky Brown collection. They have such a large collection of shell cordovan and Horween leather longwings, some in really nice colors and some in tacky colors. They’re made in China, but I’d be interested in seeing how they hold up since they use such high quality leathers.
June 30, 2010
New (old) bicycle – Schwinn Hollywood
I’ve been obsessing over buying THE perfect bike for 2-3 months now. I haven’t ridden a bike since I was a teenager, so I had to learn all about what makes good bikes good and what I should look for since I’ll just be riding around the city. In the end I decided on a single-speed vintage Schwinn (which may or may not be a girl’s bike). Old Schwinns are amazing because they’re American-made, high quality and have the vintage aesthetic that I’m always into. Many 50-year old Schwinns are still around and fully functional today.
I started looking and found a few different bikes in Brooklyn but unfortunately didn’t act fast enough before they were sold. Then this past weekend I was walking around my neighborhood and some dude was selling this on the corner for $125! I bought it right then and there, and it was absolutely worth it. This particular bike is a Schwinn Hollywood probably from around the 1960s. I got this pretty cheap all things considered, so I’m going to buy some new parts for it and fix it up over time.
The first thing I plan on switching out are the grips. I’m going to get either leather grips or cork grips to replace the current childish ones.
I also have a few other bike-related purchases coming up now. I plan on getting a new messenger bag from Archival Bags for when I’m out with my bike for the day. My current bag is way too large to wear over the shoulder comfortably. I also need some new shirts for biking, because it’s been 90+ degrees in NYC lately and madras shirts just aren’t cutting it.
June 24, 2010
Summer watchbands – J. Crew NATO straps
I never thought leather on my wrists would actually bother me on a hot day, but hey I was wrong. Now I have my Omega and Seiko watches on J. Crew NATO straps, which are much more comfortable.
May 30, 2010
Vintage Florsheim Shell Cordovan Longwings in burgundy
I’ve been looking for a pair of shell cordovan longwings for a while now. A few months ago I bought a pair of Church shell longwings in burgundy off eBay that unfortunately did not fit me, so they had to go. I stumbled across these Florsheim longwings last week though, and had to get them.
The uppers on these are in near perfect condition, it looks as though someone tried these on and then never really wore them afterwards.
For those who don’t know, Florsheim is an American shoe company that today produces very cheap quality shoes. In the past, Florsheim shoes were very high-end and were on par with shoe companies like Alden today. Some even say the build quality is above and beyond Alden, which is saying a lot. They even used the same Horween shell cordovan that Alden (and many others) use in high-end shoes. At some point the ownership of Florsheim decided to change strategies though, and started making low-end shoes that really aren’t worthwhile. Fortunately a lot of vintage Florsheim shoes are still out there either lightly used like mine or legitimate deadstock. This is sadly the case with many other American shoe companies, such as Bostonian, French Shriner, and apparently Allen-Edmonds might go the same way. There are pretty amazing deals out there if you just look for shell cordovan shoes by these companies.
April 28, 2010
Brooks Brothers Glen Plaid Spectators
I like shoes a lot obviously. I got these about a month ago but haven’t worn them yet, though I plan on wearing them a lot this summer. I love the glen plaid used for the contrasting portion of the shoe.
Vintage Navy Omega Seamaster
I recently retired my Seiko automatic and put the shell cordovan band on this vintage Omega Seamaster. This has been one of my ideal watches for a while, and I was fortunate enough to find it in navy. I love the face on this, it has a deep purple shade to in most light. I’ve tried dating this watch but haven’t been able to find any precise info just yet. Right now from what I’ve found online it seems this was made in the 1970s.
April 15, 2010
Summer shoes: Quoddy for 3sixteen Deck Chukka
I just got these in Navy and they’re my new favorite shoes. I haven’t had many opportunities to wear them just yet, but I’m sure I will get a lot of wear in these as the weather warms up in NYC.
Quoddy hand sews these for 3sixteen in Maine from Horween Chromexcel leather. There have been a lot of collaborations with Quoddy lately by a lot of larger retailers (J. Crew, Urban Outfitters) and some smaller companies, but these are my favorite that I’ve seen so far. I love Sperry but these are far better in terms of quality, appearance, and comfort, definitely worth it if you want something that will last.
BrownBoots 