Category: Shoes

Masaru Okuyama - the Japan-trained but Hong Kong-based shoemaker - made me this pair of shoes over the past 10 months.  Their relevance is twofold. As a review of Masaru and his work, of course, but also as an experien...

Why should you care about a factory visit?  Why care what the place is like where something is made - compared to say, the quality of it or how to wear it?  Does it matter whether the place is clean or dirty, old or n...

I’m very fond of the cut of this Vestrucci suit, and it is more unusual than I realised when I first received it.  Although many aspects are similar to Liverano and other related Florentine tailors, there are small an...

    Last week, I realised I had worn my Belgravia loafers three out of the five working days.  Ever keen to look after them, I never wear them on consecutive days (the leather will not fully dry out – and we...

So, there was a pair of Retrospecs sunglasses. From the 1930s - originals, as all Retrospecs are. In rolled gold, not the cheaper-looking gold plate. Filigree work around the frame - all of which is different for each...

Over the past three years, Permanent Style has gradually covered more casual clothing in response to requests from readers. Guys want to know how to extend PS principles of quality, fit and simplicity to weekend clothin...

Man, I love the pop-up shop. It's being going so long now that I know exactly what it will be like, and I look forward to the atmosphere, the chats, and the conversations with readers. It's exciting putting your product...

I recently did this interview with Kirby Allison of The Hanger Project, as part of his Shoe Shine Sunday series. It's a little bit meandering (and my shirt seems determined to reveal more chest than anyone would want) b...

If you love clothes, it’s not easy to resist the call of a new season. As much as you know the value of what you own, and want to wear it forever, shiny new things are tempting. The best defence, I find, is to invest ...

Two weeks ago, Deborah Carre of Carreducker and I organised a talk among five very different shoemakers, to talk about how and why men are buying bespoke today. It was scheduled to coincide with London Craft Week, held ...

Last week the weather in London turned from 12 degrees to 22 in a couple of days. It seems that what passes for the English Spring is finally here. Of course, with most shops and brands Spring/Summer collections arrived...

Last Saturday was the Super Trunk Show in London – an event for shoe brands and enthusiasts that has been in London twice before. (It was originated in Stockholm, where the sixth iteration takes place later this year)...

Artisan of the Year 2019: Gaziano & Girling   The Artisan of the Year category in our annual awards is an opportunity for me to personally recognise a bespoke maker, outside of the usual cycle of reviews and pr...

At the beginning of this year, Allan Baudoin and Bo Langeveld introduced their first fundamentally new design since the Sagan in 2016. Allan’s initial concept was a winter Sagan, which makes sense given how dependent ...

  While in Florence last month, we took the opportunity to film some of the practical videos we've produced in the last year, with artisans based in the city. This is the first, with Stefano Bemer, talking about bu...

  The starting point for any decision about what shoes to wear with an outfit, is that they should be darker than the trousers. So with a charcoal trouser, a black shoe or very dark brown. With a mid-grey trouser, d...

  As with the first in our shoe polishing videos, this film is more discursive than most, with context and analysis around both the talk and the demonstration. Most videos on polishing just show one person doing wh...

For the next in our series of practical videos, I wanted to tackle shoe polishing. But, also to present it in a way that was more discursive, and explained rather than just taught. Most videos on polishing just show one...

Samuel Gassmann Last week I was in Paris for two days, catching up with old friends and artisans, and seeing a few new ones. One of the most interesting things was an interview with Lyne Cohen Solal, the new head of the...

A few shoemakers have launched unlined or softer versions of their shoes this year, in order to try and make something more comfortable in hotter weather. Of course, completely unlined shoes with cemented soles will alw...

So, my friend Tommaso Capozzoli has this pair of shoes. They’re bespoke, by Stefano Bemer, and made in their replica Russian-reindeer leather. They seem to go with everything he wears, from grey flannel to cream linen...

Getting out of Naples early in the morning is not easy. Traffic is intense: bumper to bumper around the mountain roads leading out of the city, and through long, dark tunnels. By far the best way to get out is by scoote...

Last week a friend in the industry asked me what aspect of writing Permanent Style I like the most. It is always, easily, discovering a new tailor, cloth or product that is different and inspiring. That journey from dis...

  Travelling to India on holiday this Easter gave me a reason to get the hot-weather clothing out early. It was unseasonably hot even for there, with the temperature pushing 40 degrees. We took the opportunity to vi...

I now have three pairs of Saint Crispin’s shoes: the alligator/calf wing-tips pictured above; brown-suede chukka boots; and most recently a pair of dark-brown suede cap-toes. I have ordered steadily and regularly, eac...