American Style
My favorite shoes
Good taste doesn’t cost a lot. Great style never goes out of fashion. Flashy is for other people.
A family friend I’d see at holidays and birthdays wore the same loafers year after year. Plain, leather, hand-sewn. From a respectable New England cordwainer. His loafers developed the most wonderful patina, the soft leather fitting his stride and personality. In the absence of a better word, they were best described as cool.
He was of remarkable perspicacity. A man everyone admired. I tried to understand his cool disposition and viewpoints from the ground up. Starting, naturally, with his taste in shoes. His chosen manufacturer had skedaddled to foreign production, but Kenny Sherman had several options.
I balked at the price, Kenny danced a bit around the subject, but always came back to quality. Now over eight years old, my Alden suede loafers, hand-sewn in New England, have proven to be the MOST comfortable shoes on the planet. And value? Even at today’s list price, divided by years owned, they’re cheap.
My depth of personality is still under review, but the concept stuck. Well-made items last longer and provide far more enjoyment of ownership. My kickers, closing in on a decade old? Just getting broken in. Cheers!
American Toolbox 