Wait, I think a good shoe repairman can grind a cut or scuff out of a shoe. Ive done similar things and has the leather ground and polished to as good as new.

When I was in school, I bought a pair of Allen Edmonds Boar skin shoes with a tred sole and two minutes after putting them on stepped in a huge pile of dog stuff. So big that it wrapped around the upper of my shoe and touched my sock. Plus being a tread sole, it was impossible to get out. Had to find an outdoor hose to rinse it.

Brand new brown suede tassel loafers from Brooks--first time wearing them at a garden party and a big blob of grease from the big blob of grease I was eating dripped right onto the toe, size of a half-dollar. Stained forever, no known remedy.

No, just the sole type and material. I wasn't expecting the Chelsea pair to be resoled and tipped. It really was a small rip on the sitching. Pretty sure the soles were that colour when I purchased them. My first shoe trunk show and I was really surprised how much EG can change on the last for a better fit. Though the standard 202 is a really great fit for me so just went with it as is. Lots of options for the shoes but I don't think the colour of the sole was one of them.

The rep was from England. Sounds like a different guy because this rep, Antony, was super helpful. The customer who was selecting a pair before me had an alteration on his chosen last. If I remember correct Antony said the company holds a lot of standard lasts with slight alterations.  I thought there were some odd looking shoes as well at my trunk show. Some very strange looking Dovers out of mixed leathers, perhaps done to show off variations EG can do.

I think it must be automatic choice with the sole and edge. I can't remember being offered a choice on that but it was about four months ago now.

Have you seen their London grain leather? Quite nice I thought.

A little cyberstalking for 'Antony Edward Green' reveals a bald guy from London, that's definitely not him. His pronunciation of Cadogan or Beaulieu certainly wouldn't have been as creative.

That would've likeley been my choice for a pair. I had my mind on a pair of Dovers or Sandringhams in a darker grained leather with a slightly thicker sole. Well, it wasn't meant to be. Come the next trunkshow in November I will have attempted an order for 4 years. They also had these very nice Utah leathers and a sort of needlepoint grain, overall an excellent selection to choose from.

Promenading the Oslo riviera in those while being clad in Ambrosi and Inglese sure sounds like fun. *I was walkin down the street, concentrating on truckin’ right…*

I had something similar by Santoni once and wish they came with a weight limited. They crumbled badly under my 100+kg.

My current line-up is mostly C&J with many others thrown in. Most of those have been resoled one or two times and while a move upmarket doesn't make sense financially, it would stylewise. After a brief encounter with Saint Crispin's I'm mostly looking at EG, J.M. Weston and some Aldens. There is a store called Anatomica in Paris that seems to stock a great variety of Aldens that I'm hoping to visit this year.

Hear, hear! Anglo-Italian flamboyance hitting the cold and reserved Scandinavian soul. One can already see a call to make bunad obligatory in view of being invaded by the sprezzatura army.

You've just described my collection apart from the Brecon boot and some loafers. The Chilterns have died a peaceful death after two resoles and being put on life support by my cobbler for another two years. My first pair of English made shoes ever. The second one was the Norwegian model, I think it's called Onslow. Unfortnuately C&J don't fit me any more, rather irritating but they're either too small or too large.

Still, you're lucky to have Cavour nearby. I've been eyeing their online shop for some time. Thoughtfully chosen pieces and they stock LARGE sizes. Decent shops in Central Europe hardly ever go beyond a 54.