Proper 'Function Shoes' And How to Dress it up even further

What you see in the picture above is a pair of Loake Lifestyle Patent Leather plain toe balmorals (or oxfords). I bought this pair at PLAL's sometime last year to replace the pair of plain toe black calf leather shoes that were my official function shoes (see the photo below - Batik shirt, black trousers, red shoelaces - I wanted to add more colour down below).

The shoes are by Loake and from the Lifestyle series. It is patent leather and like most 'function shoes' are glued or stuck on in manufacture. This is so that the wearer cuts a slim (even if he is chubby) and elegant profile. Now I could have gotten a pair of Church's or some other higher priced brand, but this is a function shoe and a function shoe is usually made out of shiny, glossy patent leather. Patent leather is usually leather that has been treated (or painted) until is glossy and shines. It is plasticky and one does not need to pay a heap of cash for such a shoe. Hence, a Loake would suffice.

Now if you look at the photograph properly you will notice that the shoe laces have been changed from the usual stringy laces to silk ribbon laces. This is what one should do to your 'black tie' event shoes as it takes you one step closer to those patent leather pumps which usually come with a bow on top (which actually look like a pair of shoes that wouldn't look out of place if your wife wore them) but one that wouldn't make those who aren't willing to go that extra step. The ribbon laces makes the shoe even more dressier and more suited to formal occasions. No. Not girly. Trust me.

Actually, in this region, this would be considered as extreme as most men end up wearing the same shoes they go to work with for the dinner functions.

This is now the pair of shoes that I will wear to those dinner functions. I actually do not attend many functions as I am no socialite or party goer. But a gentleman should be prepared when such an event may arise.

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 Seiko "Fifty Five Fathoms"

Before I carry on, I have to state that the Fifty Five Fathoms isn't an actual Seiko model. This watch is actually a Seiko 5 100m Sports 'diver' model SNZH57/55/53K1 (the 57,55, 53 is actually the watch with either a black, blue or some other color dial, hands and bezel combination). The Fifty Five Fathoms moniker is derived from the fact that it looks like a Blancpain Fifty Fathoms diver's watch. The SNZH comes with a 23 jewel non-hackable, i.e non-winding, automatic movement with a see-through case back so that you can admire the cheap, unadorned, unfinished movement. Hey, it isn't a RM36,000 original Blancpain. So what do you expect.

Shoes for Casual Friday and an Argument for Glued Shoes

It’s a Friday and it’s the end of the work-week. In those days it did not make much of a difference when it came to work attire. People still dressed up like they usually do with their normal office attire; here in Malaysia usually a pair of dark coloured trousers and a light coloured long sleeved shirt. The shoes, which is something that most Malaysians do not care a whole lot about are the usual pair of black slip-ons or if they are not lazy, a pair of laceups made by Bata and shoes of the similar kind.

Since the 1990s however things have suddenly changed throughout the world. With the advent of companies like Microsoft, Apple and other technological based companies which were started and run by college grads (or dropouts) things became more casual. And casual Fridays were invented so that employees could feel less stuffy and more at ease in their work surroundings.

I too have casual Fridays. But while my work environment allows me to dress casually every day of the week I choose to wear ‘business-like’ most of the time. Even down to the shoes. Which may be dark brown, chocolate brown or chestnut brown laceups, monk straps, double monk straps or tasseled loafers at the very least. Except on Fridays.

Casual Fridays is when I do wear an even more relaxed pair of leather shoes. This means one that shoes that have a more relaxed air to it. One that shoes more ankle and a plain upper devoid of any decoration. I usually choose a pair of penny loafers (in brown/burgundy/tan) or this pair of Venetian loafers. Black is a very formal colour which I refuse to wear with the exception for funerals and formal functions. Of course, the young gentlemen beside me, a musician by profession, can afford an even more casual Friday by wearing a pair of converse basketball shoes.

This pair of Italian made loafers that I chose to wear today are from an Italian shoe company called Morandi. This Italian brand has been sold in and around Malaysia over the past few decades as I have seen them being sold since the late 1990s in Kuala Lumpur and you can still get this brand at the Tangs Departmental Store in One Utama.

Anyway, back to this pair of Morandi Venetian loafers. These are normal loafers with stick on or glues soles that have been with me for a good 12 years or so. The sole has been changed once a few years ago and it still looks good.  The leather uppers are still in great condition with no visible cracks and tears.

It boils down to regular care and maintenance. And shoe rotation. Those that argue that stick on soles for shoes do not last do not have enough pairs of shoes to go around. Okay. I have to admit that I am a bad example as I have many, many pairs of shoes to go around. You may have problems if you only have three pairs.

So there you have it. Casual Fridays allows me to dress down, but not dress badly. And glued shoes? I haven’t any problems with that too

Brightening up the interior of the new Aston Martin Vanquish

One should not sully the carpets of the latest Aston Martin with mere footwear. This is why a pair of tasseled loafers from the house of Ferragamo was used to grace the interior of the new Aston Martin Vanquish. The Vanquish was flown in recently and shown to prospective customers and members of the media at the Aston Martin Kuala Lumpur showroom.

I seldom see people wearing tasseled loafers these days. They do add an air of 'business' to the normal loafers, making them seem suitable for office attire (as it seems to be adopted by American businessmen and lawyers according to men's styling lore). This is the reason I chose to wear them regularly to work.

Kalkitos - Something I Used to do When I Was Young and Now My Kid Gets To Experience It Too

When I was a young lad I used to remember getting my mum to buy something called 'Kalkitos'. It was basically a fad in the 1970s and early 1980s. Kalkitos according to Wikipedia " were a type of art-based children's pastime that was extremely popular in Europe, South East Asia and Central America in the 1960s to 1980s. They consisted of a printed cardboard background image and a transparent sheet of coloured dry-transferables containing such things as people, vehicles, weapons, explosions, animals and so on. These figures were to be applied on to the background scene through a process called chromolithography, accomplished by rubbing the back of the transparent sheet with a soft pencil. Clever part application of transfers could result in such imaginative compositions as a character with an arrow sticking out of his head, or people dismembered by explosions."

I loved buying them and making my own composition from them and now, after all these years it is available again. I was at Amcorp Mall and I happened to stop by a shop selling vintage toys and curios on the second floor ( if I am not mistaken) and it sold some Kalkitos. You could buy it online through Kalkitos' website too. These used to cost three to four Ringgit but now it costs RM23.50. A great jump in price even though it is now manufactured across the Causeway in Singapore instead of Europe.

I bought the above background image for my 8 year old daughter to do. The reason I bought it is so she can experience a little of the days where we didn't have playstations, smartphones and other electronic gadgets to fill our time when we were kids. She seemed to enjoy it a fair bit and asked me to go get summore. But at RM23.50 for a piece of cardboard and stickers, I told her she'll have to wait.

Visit Kalkitos' for more details as I couldn't be bothered to write more on this even though it brought back some good childhood memories.

The Age of Bronze - Helson Shark Diver

Bronze is now a big deal with big watches. Ever since Panerai came out with their PAM382, a 47mm Submersible cased in bronze (called the Panerai Bronzo) almost everyone who is into Panerai or Panerai sized watches yearned for it (especially after they've watch The Expendables 2 - five of the limited to 1000 pieces is featured in it).

 The thing with bronze is that is oxidizes fairly easily and it forms a nice patina (more so if you actually took it diving in the sea or artificially aging it) that only something made out of bronze will have. This material, like silver will turn its colour and have a certain warmth to it. This is unlike stainless steel or gold, which shines and glitters. What bronze does it have various textures and allows a more vintage look to an item. It also makes a watch into something that came out of a steampunk storybook. The look is more machine or device than a watch.

I have procured a Helson Shark Diver 45mm Bronze simply because it is stunning in the flesh. It costs less than a Panerai Bronzo which now costs in the region of RM70,000+ and you can buy about 15-17 of the Helson pictured herein. I also think that the Helson is the best of the other bronze beasts out there. Here you can see it whooping a Rolex Submariner in terms of size and presence. It is actually slightly larger and higher than even a Panerai Luminor 44mm. The thing is massive. It also allows its wearer to dive to a depth of 2000m where its wearer gets crushed to a pulp if not in a diving bell while it survives the sheer pressures of the deep sea. And I like it.

The Italian brand Anonimo has a few pieces in Bronze that can be bought at less than half the price of the Panny, but it uses a different sort of bronze that somehow allows a more uniform patina than the Panerai or the Helson. Sometimes you need a lot more patina and the Anonimo does not give this to me. Aside from that, bronze is the 'In-thing' when it comes big watches these days. I personally do not think that a small 36mm dress watch cased in bronze would be pleasurable to wear as the smallish case would not allow one to show off its patina.

I have handled a Panerai Bronzo. I totally am in love with it. Except for the price. If I bought one I'd have to sell an arm and a leg. Or a car or two. Or mortgage my house. Or save and starve. It's as simple as that.