The London Lounge

I am just learning how to post pictures, so I hope this works.

A couple of months ago I took delivery of my first pair of Corthay bespoke shoes. It was a long process. I was fitted in January of 2007 in Paris. I could not make it back to Paris so I met Pierre in New York in October 2007 for my trial pair (in a diferent leather). Then Corthay lost my last. Finally, I received the pair pictured below (if I am successful at posting the pictures) in June 2008.

The wait was worth it. The shoes fit perfectly. This is the first pair of bespoke "exotic skin" shoes I have ordered. I think they are stunning, but now I'm wondering...what would they look best with? Any suggestions?

I have contacted Pierre and have ordered the "Daliet Grande" shoes you can see in the "handmade-to measure" section on Corthay's web site.

Thanks for posting them here. I must say, I saw them at SF, and they look spectacular.

This is the trouble with exotic skins - it's so hard to find the right thing to wear them with. I find I hardly wear mine, as they tend to label the wearer if worn too often. They are more of a casual dress shoe, so a sports coat, even tweeds with go well with the textured feel of the leather.

http://www.cutterandtailor.com/forum

It is a quandry--they look great, but they will always be noticed, so they can only be worn sparingly. I've actually worn them with jeans a couple of times to good effect. They don't seem to stand-out as much with jeans.

The fit and craftsmanship, however, are terrific, so I'll be ordering more shoes from Corthay (in skins more appropriate for frequent wearing).

Mr Corthay did a really beautiful work. Congratulations for your cordwainer and for your own choice, for the model at issue looks quite elegant. I have always heard that crocodile leather responds in a different way as far as fitting is concerned. While calfskin tends to expand a bit over the time, meaning that an otherwise apparently tight pair of shoes may well feel less tight, or just fitting, as it breaks in, crocodile leather will remain unchanged in its size from the very first time one wears them. Was this phenomenon taken into consideration when ordered your derby?

Marcelo, I do not know the answer to your question, though your hypothesis probably explains why these shoes feel perfect out of the box, while my other bespoke shoes (from Lattanzi, Lobb Paris, and Cleverly) have all had an initially tight fit and had to be broken-in to feel comfortable. It's something I'll bring up with Pierre.

BP45, I would be glad to learn what Mr Corthay has to say about the elasticity, or lack thereof, of crocodile leather. But for the time being I would like to pose a less technical question concerning a topic already approached in other posts within this thread, namely the difficulty to coordinate these shoes with cloths and accessories. Do you think it would be aesthetically undesirable to coordinate them with a belt in the same kind of leather? I tend to think that, in this case, one would overstress the presence of shoes which, given their texture, speak for themselves. I would appreciate your opinion in this regard.

whats wrong with wearing them with a dark flannel suit or worsted? pretend they're suede

Ed, good advice. Unfortunately, living in Los Angeles gives me little opportunity to wear nice flannels (though I enjoy wearing them on my east coast trips). But I like the thought--pretend they're suede.

Marcelo, I wear belts which are similar in color to the shoes, but not necessarily the same kind of leather--I have both a crocodile belt and a leather belt in the burgundy color range. Both are understated enough that they don't stand out. And I tend to keep my jacket buttoned anyway.