A clear case of marketing to the Emulator segment of society: it's outrageously expensive and therefore is the ultimate symbol of wealth and status right behind the Rolex Daytona. Quite ghastly really. I suppose if you need to buy 80 pairs in seven years they are not up to much are they?

If I remember right, even Mafoofannieannie only had six pairs of Alden Longwings.....each in black and #8. At least if you buy bespoke John Lobb, they are going to last half a century with a number of refurbishments thrown in.

There is a common denominator in all of these ugly and grotesque shoe trends, and isn't traditional English shoemakers.

^Aye, no good for me then Shooey.

Surgeons get rock star money. Its a dirty job, but someone's got to do it. Glorified plumbing someone in the profession once told me.

And my considered position, is that those shoes are marketed for the striving emulator demographic; they're going to be purchased by people who can't really afford them, for all the wrong reasons. Of course, there will be a few really rich who buy them on a whim, but it will still be a whim with no real depth to the consideration in the purchase.

Seems a lot of people who come from sketchy backgrounds love to collect shoes.



http://www.forbes.com/sites/raquellaneri/2010/11/17/bernie-madoffs-shoe-fetish/

http://blogs.I'm being a wanker at the mocom/rick_green/assets_c/2010/11/madoff%20shoes-thumb-550x438-thumb-550x438.jpg


http://www.bloomberg.com/image/ifZVhrCI9reU.jpg

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-14/madoff-footwear-to-footstool-auctioned-ring-goes-for-550-000.html


For men, part of being well dressed is enjoying the comfort and quality of clothing, which means consuming them and watching them grow worn on you. There is a certain price to pay for that sort of quality and luxury but above that it's merely cachet or exclusivity. Exclusivity is good until you get to the point where it's too exclusive and then it is meaningless.

If Nino Corvato charges $5,000 for a suit which is not only handsome to observe but is familiar to A-Listers in NYC, then that is good but if you spend $25,000 on a suit made by a label so exclusive or even custom made but far away and no one can tell the difference, that's not so good.

Of course, there is the peace of mind that accompanies owning something you think no one else has or can have. The problem is whether the item itself is the wrong item to do that with and whether you are actually getting something nice. If one pays $25,000 for a suit which basically looks like a ready to wear suit or has slick, cheesy details which cause concern in the circles you frequent then it's a bit of a waste of money. Designing one's own cloth may sound great but if no one understands what you have done, why did you bother? If you are like me and feel you've done everything else and are bored, then OK but if you are getting your third suit and feel there is nothing in any cloth merchant's book, then that is a bit unfortunate.

The English attitude generally of the same suit cloth tailored and detailed in different ways sending a host of signals is actually more valuable than a cloth no one else has because no one else might know. And trust me, I have agonized over shades of navy, only to realize that unless someone else knows the cloth books, no one will be able to say, you should have gotten the darker shade. And if they do know, I probably dont want to be around them anyway.

The trick is to get something that you like and which registers positive reactions for what you want to do. Which is why being a wardrobe engineer (Or whatever they are called) is important.

First you need to decide what your environment is, how you want to be perceived and what items on their own and in combination will accomplish that goal. It takes a lot of focus, research and talent to choose clothes that send the exact messages you want to send to observers. If you can do this well, you probably dont have to spend all that much to have a comfortable, effective wardrobe. If you simply want to consume, and some people do, then so be it. I heard the Bartman Chicago CUbs baseball was bought for a $100,000 and then publicly destroyed to end the curse f the Billy goat.

@the_shooman....I attempted sending you a message, however, your inbox is full.

I was hoping to send you a msg regarding some information I needed