My favourite shoes are my new 4 pairs of C&J Audley in black (3) and Dark Brown Antique Calf (1). Breaking them in was actually quite painful, thanks to my weird boned feet - after 2 weeks they fit like bespoke shoes.

Shooey...

Here's the post on Fedora Lounge I found while trying to figure out more about the Santoni's I had bought (turned out to be Limited Edition... as are your tan pair on the botttom).

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?13214-The-Shoomans-highend-ltalian-shoo-photos&highlight=santoni

This is THE post that got me interested in shoes.  I searched the site and found your pics of those gator & suede u-tips you have posted above.  From there it was Love & Addiction!

Uhm... this is where I get off. 


Just kidding.  I mean, spectators aren't my cup of joe, but I can surely admire and appreciate them.

Almost every day I alternate between 2 pairs of gunboats. It's a lot of wear, but they still always get over 24 hours' rest. They have trees of course and I clean and moisturise when I have time. Occasionally I'll wear another pair e.g. cordovan gunboats for special occasions, loafers or desert boots for hot weather, black gunboats when one of my big 2 are at the cobblers or for funerals or interviews, boots for seriously inclement weather, sneakers for sports.

That's a hell of a lot more wear to my big 2 than any of you guys would consider, and it's a matter of finances rather than choice. But in many respects I consider it a superior habit, as it really shows what the shoes are made of. If the shoes are of a sufficient quality they should be able to withstand many years of hard wear (although wearing every day would be going too far imo), and this is what I am subjecting them to. Imo it works fine, because both pairs are of decent quality, and they always have rest time.

I just hope I will have sufficient funds to replace with a similar quality when they finally bite the dust. One pair does have a crack that I thought might mean the end is nigh, but I showed them to a high end shop and repairs place and the gent informed me that they still have many years of life left in them. (He then pointed out that the pair he was wearing had worse cracks - they were top quality cordovans which did indeed have 'more crack than Harlem' and still looked superb.)

Photos to follow.

Last edited by Yuca (2015-03-13 02:29:42)

Last edited by The_Shooman (2015-03-13 04:25:38)

^^^ Thank you WM, this is my first pair of Rancourts and I love them.

Thanks WM