Last post was in 2021? Wow, I didn't even realise. Site update, people think I make or sell stuff in this blog and Mario Minardi shoes over in Singapore

IT HAS been awhile.  I suppose this is due to the fact that the pandamic lockdowns has made me reflect more about life and I started chilling out more instead of writing. 

Anyway, I am still around but writing has slowed down. But if you have been following my Instagram or following the Motoring Malaysia blog, you would know that I am still active and doing fine over here in Malaysia. 

Video Review: An Impromptu Review of Fortuna Shoes' Tasseled Loafers aka Jalan Sriwijaya Shoes

I actually shot this video at a Starbucks in Ara Damansara, Petaling Jaya. My friend, Azidi just got back from Bandung, Indonesia and he bought this pair of tasseled loafers from Fortuna Shoes there. If you guys have been following shoe forums here and there, you may have heard of them. PT Fortuna could be one of the best shoes ever produced by Indonesia in terms of quality and overseas exports.

The Pair of Ferragamo Shoes That Had Disintegrated Soles Have Been Repaired

I am back for a short article folks! I have been busy with my Motoring Malaysia blog and its YouTube channel. We have been testing lots of cars over there and if you like cars, trucks and buses you should head over there. But here is a follow up post on the pair of Ferragamo shoes that basically died due to its rubber sole deteriorating. I've got them fixed.

First Video Review - A Comparison Between Santoni and Magnanni

I have been neglecting this blog a little. Well, maybe not a little but a whole lot. So let me make it up to you folks who occasionally pop by to see what's new with the blog and what have I been up to aside from doing lots of automotive related things. Some of you may notice that I have been extremely active over at my motoring page - motoring-malaysia.blogspot.com. Anyway, I have made this video review, my first ever shoe review - A Comparison between a pair of Santoni and Magnanni double monk strap shoes.

Favourite Boat Shoes Wear Out - Blucher Mocs As Replacement & The Differences Between Boat Shoes, Camp Mocs and Blucher Mocs.

My favourite pair of knock about shoes, a pair of Marks & Spencer boat shoes has finally worn down a fair bit. The leather upper part has some cracks at the sides of the vamp, and the sole has started to disintegrate. The non-stick rubber sole has started cracking on the right shoe and water actually enters if you step into a puddle. 

More Fugashin Saigon Shoes

A close friend of mine was in Ho Chi Minh City recently and he actually bought two pairs of Fugashin Saigon shoes. From these two photos of the shoes he sent me I must say that they are impressive.

Santoni and more from my Instagram

A comparison between an entry level high quality dress shoe and something slightly higher up.

The Loake Spectator / Co-respondent shoes you see here are from Loake Shoe's 1880 line. These are the top of the range shoes when it comes to buying Loake. Now Loake is considered the most affordable way to acquire proper dress shoes. They are actually reasonable price with a decent set of quality controls in place. I should know as I own a couple of pairs and so did my father before me.

Another comfortable pair of warm weather shoes

I love these pair of loafers from Italian shoemaker Fratelli Rossetti (in English Fratelli means Workshop...so Workshop Rosetti). These have a woven leather outer with perforated leather inner liner. So they allow air to circulate through them...really allowing the feet to breathe in the hot and humid Malaysian weather. Summer all round remember?

Shoe tips: Why you should not wear really generic, cheap shoes...and photos of some decent ones

If you want to go out and buy cheap mens shoes the first thing you should know is that you shouldn't. If you still do, make sure that they are made out of leather. These last a whole lot longer than synthetic stuff. But that being said, I once experimented on buying those cheap leather shoes from BATA and even with stuffing in shoe trees and regular polishing the leather gave way after about two years or so. The over processed and stretched too thin leather could not take the usual twice a week usage I put them through. Then the heel was also plastic instead of impact absorbing stacked leather or wood. There was a lot wrong with it except the style of the shoe. It was an ordinary looking brown cap toe derby.

Patina & Why Cheap Italian Shoes Are Useful: Part II

I wrote an article awhile back about Patina or shoes and why cheap shoes are good as practice for home made shoe patina. Anyway, according to the webpage analytics, it is one of the most popular posts in here. Not that this blog is popular in the first place but it does get a majority of the hits herein. That article is here.

Anyway, the shoe is still alive and kicking even after being used for almost a decade at almost once a week (7-8 years old shoes). Why so? Because it isn't blake stitched or goodyear welted but only stuck together with glue. Of course occasional gluing of its sole helped. But it has lasted this long. So much for those that say glued shoes do not last. 

Exotic leather shoes - Something to indulge after you have owned the basics

Fratelli Rossetti Crocodile Balmorals (l) and Teju Lizard Derby shoes (r)

What every working man should have are shoes to rotate so that the shoes do not die a premature death. I had suggested that working men have at least two good pair of shoes to rotate every other day. They should then build this up to at least five pairs of dress shoes and about two or three good pair of casual weekday shoes as well as a pair of patent leather oxfords or formal patent leather slippers/pumps for those black tie functions. With this outlay, it is easy to ensure that the shoes you have invested your money will actually last a decade or so with proper maintenance and care.

So many shoes, only two feet

 (Top, Left - Right - Campanile 4 eyelet blucher, Salvatore Ferragamo L.Originale Fringe Monk Straps, Morandi 4 eyelet blucher. Bottom, Left-Right Loake Lifestyle Patent Leather plain toe balmoral, StefanoBi Brogue, Kulitkraf Black Brogue)

I haven't worn these yet.

The Reason I Fancy Italian Shoes A Tad More....

...than English ones is the fact that they're slightly decadent, slightly over the top and slightly flamboyant. I do have a few pairs of English made ones, but these days, every time I end up buying a new pair of shoes it ends up being Italian.

Take this pair of StefanoBi. It may seem like a typical pair of dark brown brogues, but the madness is in the details. The antiquing, while not as rich as the ones on the pair of Santoni I featured earlier is quite good. The shoelaces have a little knot at the end instead of crimped plastic makes it a tad more playful than the usual straight laced brogue. And then we get to the sole of the shoe....Or soul of the shoe.

Now this is usually a place where no one would actually see, but it still is beautifully embellished.  The sole is dyed/coloured a nice brown/green. It basically is patina for the sole of the shoe. The narrowest part of the shoe has a fiddled (or beveled) waist and is beautiful to look at. I have to apologise for the photo as I am couldn't find the correct angle to capture this detail. Anyway, add some strategically placed nails to the front and on the heel and everything comes together (It's those the little details) and the final outcome is pure decadence. Well maybe not as decadent as some other shoes out there. A Silvano Lattanzi or a Branchini (who used to own StefanoBi before selling it off to LVMH) comes to mind for something totally outrageous. Or if we add the French custom patinaed shoes  .....hmmm. But these would cost a kidney or a leg in this part of the world.


 Of course there are those that say Italian shoes aren't as well constructed as some British goodyear welted ones (these are Blake stiched) and may not last as long. But one cannot help but indulge in some flair as you only live once. So who cares if it does not last 285 years or so. It will look stunning for at least 15 years which is quite a decent time for a pair of shoes, like this pair of Bruno Magli monkstraps that are a part of a larger, non-weekly shoe rotation lineup of mine. 

In fact they could last another decade or so. One can never have too many shoes.