Boardwalk Empire: The Straw Driving Cap

I've become a fan of HBO's Boardwalk Empire - almost as much for the intriguing storyline as for the absolutely dazzling men's wardrobe pieces that are on display throughout each episode.

Sunday night's episode floored me right from the beginning with this little men's accessory. You just don't see people wearing straw caps very often, if at all, but that was one bad-looking piece of headwear - and I mean that as a compliment. I took an additional screen-shot which, to my eye anyway, showed the intricate weave or design of the straw.

The rest of Steve Buscemi's outfit looks pretty good here too as well.

I'm not sure if I could pull that off at Saratoga next summer. . . then again, I'm not even sure that I could find something like that before next summer anyway. . .

More Vintage Johnston & Murphy: The Handmade 100s Captoe

After posting a few new images of my light brown J&M Handmades here, my friend Meister over at Style Forum was kind of enough to share some pictures of his own pair of Handmades. Its not every day that you see a pair of Handmades - and I still have never actually seen a pair of the captoes in person - and these photos only reinforced the idea that I'm missing out on something. I have to say that I'm usually not a big fan of the wide laces, but they look gorgeous with this pair of shoes.

With his kind permission, I'm posting Meister's images here to share with others who might appreciate the craftsmanship that went into making these shoes, which are another example of American shoe-making at its finest.

The channeled sole with a lovely bevelled waist - I just don't think any American company is producing anything like this anymore. If someone is, I'd love to see or hear about it. Granted, I'm only looking at the photo, but that work looks comparable to what you'd find on a pair of shoes from Lobb's Prestige line, or Gaziano & Girling.

The old J&M Aristocraft stamp, which would probably date this pair to the 1970s.

Absolutely stunning. Many thanks, Meister.

Vintage Edward Green: George Cleverley's "Butterfly" Loafer

This is chronology is a bit of confusing to me, but apparently at some point in the 1970s, the venerable 112-year-old bespoke shoemaker Poulsen, Skone & Co. was taken over by New & Lingwood. From the late 1970s until his death in 1991, George Cleverley -  considered by many to be the greatest master shoemaker of the late 20th century - worked as a design consultant for the company, which at some point decided to revive some of his earlier designs.

The idea was apparently to produce a range of superior shoes under the Poulsen Skone & Co. name. Based on the stamp on the sole, this pair of loafers appears to be an example of the results of that collaboration (there is some fading on the insole stamp, but the inscription reads New & Lingwood incorporating Poulsen Skone & Co.).

This model appears to have been manufactured by Edward Green on their classic loafer last, the 184. That illustrious shoemaker also produced their own model of the classic butterfly loafer with punched apron design, called the Tewkesbury.

Along the way, there have been slight variations - Flusser,  for instance, once offered a model that included the punched apron but which also included punching along the edge of the butterfly design as well. I'm never one to complain about to much broguing, but, in this instance, I would have to say that I like the clean look of the butterfly design sans the additional perforations.

In any event, one would be lucky to own this eclectic design from one of the 20th century's great shoemakers.