Great Things Found in Unlikely Places. (A Continuous Lean)
“A lot of folks on these internets have heard about Leather Soul via Guido Wongolini or Tumblr or just through word of mouth, but I think that Leather Soul really doesn’t get the attention it deserves. Tom Park, the store’s founder and owner is too humble to scream the self promotion that some shops do. Tom is more concerned with providing amazing service and dealing in great product available to focus too much on that.”
Grenson: Traditional English shoemaking made contemporary (The Rake)
“In Grenson’s defence, Little notes that it is not alone in its outmoded attitude. “Much of English shoe manufacturing is stuck on an old-fashioned, stuffy presentation, banging on about quality and nothing else,” he says. “They understand craft and manufacturing, but not how to fit the product to the market, because they have grown out of a time when that wasn’t required: men wore black oxfords to work and that was that. English shoe manufacturers need to understand design, and yet most don’t even have a designer. It’s just bizarre.””
A visit to shoe maestro, Pierre Corthay (Om Malik)
“That said, they are no cheaper than any of those fashion brands. The prices will most certainly give you a 220-volt sticker shock. Of course, they do prove the dictum, best things in life are not cheap. Their shoes are simply sublime. From the choice of leather, to the colors to the stitching, Corthay for me are an elite and a real aspirational brand. Not because some magazine says so, but because they just make great shoes and treat each pair like a work of art. Corthay shoes are simply a class apart.”
ESQ&A: Mary Zophres, Gangster Squad Costume Designer (Esquire)
“The 1940s silhouette for a man is very flattering. It emphasizes all the right things, and it’s a silhouette that almost any kind of body type can wear, whereas the most fashion-forward suit now — with thin lapels and a shorter jacket — not everyone can wear that. But men should not be slaves to fashion. I think tailoring is a huge component of looking put-together and handsome. Even if you don’t have broad shoulders, a suit jacket gives you them. And if you tailor it correctly, it can give you a nipped waist, or cover a stomach or a little bit of pudge. I love a man in a suit. And there’s a reason why it will never go out of style: It does all the things that a perfect black dress does for a woman. So if guys walk out of this movie and say, “I’m gonna go get my suit tailored,” that would make me very happy.”
In Italy, a British Outpost (The New York Times)
“Regardless of whose name was on the label, designers here all seemed to have gotten the same Anglophile memo. Savile Row sartorial customs, horse-and-hound sportiness, garments originated or perfected by the armed forces of the United Kingdom, and regional outerwear like Aran Island sweaters exerted an irresistible influence on all kinds of Milanese runways this week. And they made for some pretty unlikely kinship.”