FEATURED POST
World Championships of Shoe Shining and Shoe Patina 2023 – The Finalists
The World Championship of Shoe Shining and Shoe Patina 2023 will have a Swiss, a Japanese and a Brit in the shoe shining contest, and one from the US and two from France in the patina competition. These are the finalists of the world champs contests taking place during the London Super Trunk Show
Recent Posts
Spats vs Button Boots
We often mix up terminology in the shoe world and one of the biggest mix-ups is the …
Hand Stitching The Upper
Hand-stitched shoes require a lot of work that we might not often appreciate. It is one of …
Santoni SS2023 Collection
I have always had a love/hate for Santoni shoes. Mainly I hate the fact they don’t make …
Stupid Shoes of 2023 – The Fun Continues
Just when you thought stupid shoes could not get any worse (see here the last post), the …
Bad Advice on Shoe Forums
The majority of people don’t know what they are talking about when it comes to shoes. Period. …
Cordovan Week by Carmina Shoemaker
Carmina Shoemaker has just started their Cordovan Week whereby they offer over 50 models of cordovan …
Unboxing Videos
The Shoe Snob – Unboxing Series – Crockett & Jones Benchgrade Collection
Here I an unbox a brand that really needs no introduction as one of the world’s most reputable shoemakers today: …
The Shoe Snob – Unboxing Series – Oriental Shoemaker for Yeossal – The Handgrade Line
Here I unbox two pairs of shoes from Yeossal ‘s latest collaboration with Japan’s Oriental Shoemaker. As they have two collections, Benchgrade …
The Shoe Snob – Unboxing Series – Carmina Shoemaker
Here I unbox a pair of monkstraps from the most famous Spanish shoemaker: Carmina Shoemaker . This is a pair …
The Shoe Snob – Unboxing Series – TLB Mallorca New ‘Van Gogh’ Last
It’s unboxing week here at The Shoe Snob Blog. And believe it or not, I have so many other pairs …
The Shoe Snob – Unboxing Series – Spier & Mackay Wholecut Oxfords
One of my latest supporters in the blog, Spier & Mackay, has sent over a pair for review and I am …
The Shoe Snob – Unboxing Series – Septieme Largeur
? Here I unbox one of Septieme Largeur ‘s new A/W2020 boots, the Moissac. Septieme Larger is a brand I have respected …
Product Reviews
ACME Shoemaker – The Review
*** Warning: Picture heavy post. The pair was gifted with no strings attached. I was never asked to review these but I do so for …
Shoe Review: TLB Mallorca ‘Artista’
For those that do not know, TLB Mallorca is one of the newer brands hailing from Spain but unlike the countless ones made by other …
Herring Boots – The Review
I finally had the time to break out my new Herring Boots for a stroll in the park and weekend excursion to be able to …
Yeossal Shoes – The Review
There is a new shoe brand in town and I am here to write about them as they are most certainly worth being written …
Altan Bottier – The Review
There are many makers you see online that are harder to find in person, many of them Japanese and some of them French. One of …
Fugashin Saigon – Shoe Review
If you mentioned 10 years ago that the Vietnamese would be producing shoes as good as the British, people might have laughed at you. But …
Baudoin & Lange ‘Sagan’ Loafer Review
My friend Mr. Allan Baudoin has come a long way since being just a young computer science student from Paris to launching his own bespoke …
My Saint Crispins Boots – Review
After going to the Saint Crispins factory last year (and writing about it HERE), I worked with Phillip Car (the owner) to have a Saint …
Carmina – The Review
I have always loved and respected Carmina shoes and what they do as a company. While I don’t think that Spanish shoemaking as a whole …
Shoe Care
Handwelted Resoling With Fiddleback By Bedo’s Leatherworks
Dear Readers, Sorry that I was gone for so long without posting. I was away in London for the London …
Video: Educational Series – Conditioning of New Shoes and Shoe Storage
In the world of shoes, there are many ideas of what to do and what not to do. But the reality …
Are Toe Taps Necessary?
As little as ten years ago, few people used toe taps. Like most myths created by people who do not know any …
Tip: Do Not Use Neutral Wax
Neutral Wax is the cause of many issues in the shoe-care realm of the shoe industry. Namely by regular people (i.e. no …
Do Not Wear Brand New Shoes In The Rain
***Warning: I write direct, often crass, with lots of spelling and grammatical errors. I do not write this blog to become ‘an …
Do Not Condition Brand New Shoes
I never understood why people do a full shoe shine regime on a brand new pair of shoes. I can understand wanting …
Popular Articles
Mythbuster Part 1 – Leather Creasing Means Something is Wrong
Leather Creases. Plain and simple. There is no such thing as crease-free leather. Frankly, the thought of people thinking that leather should not crease …
Leather Soles vs Rubber Soles
There is long debate on the differences between leather soles vs rubber soles with regards to comfort/durability/elegance etc. So I thought it wise to …
A Guide To Shoe Trees
There is a lot of opinion/speculation on shoe trees and their importance in relation to footwear. Some well known so-called ‘facts’ in reference to …
Breaking In Shoes – Your First 30 Days
JM Weston Triple Sole Brogue – Hard to Break In!!! When you think about buying shoes, most people probably think about getting the most …
Additions To Your Sole
There is much debate on whether or not one should add things to his/her sole to make them last longer/protect from the elements. Some …
The Importance of Toe Taps
Growing up in America and selling shoes at Nordstrom, I never really understood what toe taps where all about. I had seen the ones …
Understanding The Fit of a Shoe
I had a good question from a reader not too long ago and it was all about fit and how big the gap …
Suede Shoes – The Big Misconception
Why is it that so many men are afraid to buy suede shoes for fear of ruining them? Suede is just like any other …
Managing Your Shoe Purchase Expectations
G&G, the perfect shoemaker. When buying these they should be flawless, but that is what you should get for +£700 I recently had a …
How To Patina Video – An Introduction
Another brief look into the art form that has taken the shoe industry by storm. Here, the basic steps are shown in order to get …
How To
How to Style Button Boots – Casually
In the modern-day, how to style button boots is not as strict as it once might …
A Guide To Dyeing Your Own Shoes
Have you ever been bored of a pair of shoes and wanted to do something about, …
Restoring Old Shoes
A blog reader, in light of the shoe polishing contest, sent it a few pictures of some …
How to Restore Your Suede Shoes – Video
Sometimes your suede shoes can get a bit rough looking, especially after one too many outings to …
How To Restore Your Creased Leather Shoes – Video Tutorial
A shoe is rarely beyond recovery unless you are the type to never use shoes trees, wears …
How To Create The Perfect Polish Cloth – Video
Ever since doing my ‘How to Polish Your Shoes Properly‘ video, I have had numerous people …
How to Button Your Button Boots
Here is a video where I show how to fasten your button boots by hand, as …
How To Become A Shoe Designer
(this will be ongoing until the end of it says “finished”) Part 1: I remember when I …
Polish Your Shoes Properly
I know that for some of you, this has been a long time coming. So let me …