Ralph Lauren's Purple Label Ranell
I rarely branch out stylistically from my sweet-spot when it comes to footwear: full-brogues, semi-brogues, a loafer or some suede here and there. Saddle shoes are a classic style that I've never been able to work into my shoe rotation. I love the look, but normally the saddle shoe is two-toned which makes the shoe more casual to my eye, and harder to match as well.
So when I came across Ralph Lauren's version of the saddle shoe, it appealed to me on several levels. For one, I've always been a big fan of Edward Green's calf leather in edwardian antique. The burnishing of the leather is always beautiful to behold, and I have a pair of well-worn Edward Green/RLPL Barksdales in edwardian antique that have aged quite nicely. To find a pair of saddle shoes that avoided the two-tone trap by going all-in with edwardian antique is almost too much to ask for.
Second, I'm still a broguing addict, so the fact that Ralph Lauren tweaked Edward Green's Westwood model by adding broguing at the captoe and along the saddle had me hooked at first sight.
Third, the 888 last in a blucher/open lacing front seems to fit my feet particularly well. The toe box is elegant but sufficiently roomy - its a very comfortable shoe.
The other point worth mentioning is that I don't recall seeing a pair of Edward Green shoes with such a lightly-colored leather sole (matching the light wood-colored sole edge and welt. Of course, this probably won't matter much after the fourth or fifth wearing, but I'm always intrigued by an aesthetically pleasing sole.
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