Gaziano & Girling Narvell

These suede monk straps are my first shoes by Gaziano & Girling.  G&G is a relatively new English shoe-making company.  Co-headed by Tony Gaziano, who previous worked for the venerable Edward Green, Gaziano & Girling, is a company that is known for making quality English shoes with a touch of modernity and Italian flair.  Some of Gaziano's lasts show his experience at Edward Green, as they are reminiscent of EG's 888 last. 

I particularly love G&G's interpretation of the 888 last, as they have made it sharper looking with a more chiseled toe-box.  Further enhancing the design of G&G shoes is their aggressive beveled waist treatment.  If you look at the picture of the sole of the shoe where the foot arch is, you'll notice it juts out slightly.  This signature waist beveling adds to the overall sharpness of the shoe.  Therefore when I saw that Ralph Lauren was offering these beautiful G&G shoes in the TG73 last, I couldn't help but purchase them.  However, I did have some initial hesitation as I wasn't sure what these brown suede monks would go with, neither was I confident of G&G's quality. 

After several wearings, I am happy to report that the shoes have held up well, and as apparent from the pictures, the suede is still looking relatively new.  I will say my Edward Green's hold their shape better than these G&G's.  But I am happy with these shoes and I hope G&G continues to make beautiful shoes in the traditional English way.

Crockett & Jones Lowndes

A shoe's shape is one of the first few things that one notices immediately about any shoe. Although there is no such thing as an ideal shoe shape, I believe flattering shoes should generally follow the form of a healthy foot. This means a foot that is neither too wide nor too narrow, one that has a healthy arch, and one in which the heel size is proportional to the rest of the foot. Few of us are lucky enough to have ideally shaped feet, therefore, it's important that high quality footwear be able to mask a foot's shortcomings. For example, if a foot is too wide, an ideal shoe should be able to make it look narrower; if a foot has a collapsed arch, a shoe should be able to hide that arch, if a foot looks too long, the shoe should make it appear shorter, etc.

At the moment, I am particularly fond of shoes that are relatively elongated around the vamp with a semi-chiseled toe area. The Crockett & Jones Lowndes is a good example of said shoe shape. When I put them on, they make my feet look both long and sleek. The relatively sharp edges also accentuate the natural shape of my feet.

While shape is Crockett & Jones' forte, quality of construction and leather are in my opinion, somewhat lacking compared with other high-end English/European makers. After each wearing, the shoes lose some of their natural shape and contour so that there is a slight curvature towards the front of the shoe. The leather also wrinkles relatively easily and does not hold a luster as well as other high end shoes.

However, I only say this with the acknowledgment that I have what some would say extremely high standards for shoes, therefore most people would probably not notice the subtle flaws I described above.

Overall, I am very pleased with the Crockett & Jones Lowndes if not simply for their shape. I am sure these will bring me many pleasureful years of wear.

Hermes Parfum

Perhaps it is befitting that I start my blog with a post relating to Hermes. Hermes being a preeminent luxury brand with a storied history dating back to the 1830s, is one of the few global brands today that still maintain a true sense of luxury. Hermes started with leather saddle making, and today makes everything from saddles, to silk scarves, to ready-to-wear clothing.

I read about Hermes' perfume business in Dana Thompson's book Deluxe. The stories about "the nose" or perfumer, and the work and ingredients that he puts into the Hermes perfumes fascinated me. It seemed that every Hermes fragrance was accompanied by a story about the perfume--A Garden on the Mediterranean, A Garden on the Nile, and A Garden after the Monsoon--a story that should lead you to fantasize about the aromas. I wanted to experience the smells of A Garden on the Nile. I was giddy with anticipation while illusions of these smells ran through my head. I daydreamed that I would be transported to the Nile and smell the lotus flowers, the rich earthy soil, and perhaps if I was lucky, a mysterious fragrance that would enchant my senses.

Whatever it was going to be, I was excited. I went straight to the perfume section of the Hermes store and one by one, I removed the caps of all the bottles of perfumes and took whiffs. Grass, incense, wood, citrus, vanilla, each bottle smelled of these different elements. Before long, a sales clerk was politely standing behind me as I took in more aromas from the bottles. I soon started a conversation with the sales clerk by asking him if Hermes sells any colognes being that I am a man. He responded by gently saying that colognes were actually lower quality perfumes, which I immediately remembered reading the difference between perfumes and colognes was perhaps just nominal. It was stated somewhere that if there is a difference in composition, colognes simply contain more alcohol and therefore have the stronger alcoholic smell that we associate with fragrances for men.

The sales clerk asked me if I was seeking a masculine scent to which responded yes. He started off by spraying a mist of Voyage d'Hermes on a scent card. I took one whiff and I liked it. There was certainly a prominent alcohol smell, characteristic of many men's fragrances, but it was not overpowering, and well balanced out by notes that I associate with the ocean, fruits of the northern hemisphere, and a bouquet of flowers. I was told it was Hermes' new scent, which had only been on the market for a few weeks. I could see why--Voyage d'Hermes did not smell unique or particularly natural compared to the perfumes that I would soon be given. This fragrance reminded me of a mix of Aqua Di Gio and CK One. Perhaps Hermes intentionally made this fragrance to be more democratic and in line with all the other mass fragrances of the day. The sales clerk soon pulled out another bottle from a drawer and sprayed. I smelled incense, grass, herbs and leaves. I was transported back to an old apothecary store I entered as a child that sold incense and voodoo magic items. Next up, I smelled something that reminded me of Chinese beef jerky. He seemed both shocked and amused when I told him and said, "let's move on because I doubt you want to smell like beef jerky." This fragrance didn't smell bad. It simply reminded me of weekend trips with my family when they brought along a host of Chinese and Asian snacks.

The sales clerk handed me card after card of fragrances and I smelled everything from tobacco, to pure musk, to roots and plants and everything in between. In the end, I came to love Un Jardin Apres La Mousson. It smelled of fruits of the tropics, sweet delicate flowers, with hints of candy and maybe even a little bit of vetiver. Everything about Un Jardin Apres La Mousson was understated and incredibly refreshing. It also smelled natural, unlike much of the other scents on the market these days. It led me to imagine that perhaps a lush fragrant garden in India does smell like this after a monsoon--when the cool rain waters have toned down an otherwise overbearing cacophony of smells into soft notes of fruits, hints of flower, and delicate vetiver.