In the hopes to always shed light on those that might have a hard time doing so themselves (those of course who deserve some spotlight) as well as seeking out something new for all of you to appreciate, allow me to introduce Allan Baudoin, creator of these fantastic loafers that you see in front of you. I believe that this is now my second time writing about him, but I am not sure how set up he was to take proper orders the first time around.
For those that don’t know, Allan is a young French designer and shoemaker, living in London and doing his best to grow his business one pair at a time, literally. You see Allan only really makes around 1 pair of shoes a week and that is because his shoes are handmade, not always with a handstitched sole or welt (this is the choice of the client), but always hand lasted with hand cut soles and clicking and the rest of the initial stages of shoemaking. And he can make anything you ask him, whether it simply be an MTO styled shoe or a fully bespoke one. You can have them cemented, blake stitched or handwelted. The choice is yours. Of course the price will vary based on what you ask for but from what I have seen thus far, he makes a very nice shoe.
Now, a more recent project that he is working on is the RTW style production (still by hand, but in larger quantities than 1 a week) of this slipper/loafer that you see before you. With the style basis of the Belgian loafer but leaving out the little bow tie that some may or may not favor, I must say that he has done a good job with this one. I happened to see it in person yesterday and took a fancy to it myself. I thought about how cool one would be with a black crepe sole. Let’s see about getting one now!
Anyway, Allan is a talented young man who I believe will go far and if you like what you see, check out the rest of his stuff at his website at
Sincerely,
Justin, “The Shoe Snob”
Interesting & intriguing 😉