I have always loved shoe styles with the fringe/kiltie monk strap design. When I first launched my shoe brand, J.FitzPatrick, we added a removable fringe to our Ballard chukka boot. It sold well to the bolder clientele who were not afraid to be different but not well enough to keep it around. So I took away that model, and have never attempted anything with a kilt style since then, until now.
Many years ago, Saint Crispins released a kiltie monk strap that was my favorite of the models in their collection. I wanted a pair but didn’t want to fork out $1500 for one. I thought to myself: One day I’ll make something similar for those who also liked this style, but didn’t have that kind of money to spend.
Church’s then released their famous Shanghai model, which was a play on the kiltie monk strap but done so in a John Varvatos style of being all beat up and old-looking. This shoe somewhat popularized the kiltie monk strap style to the masses being that Church’s was owned by Prada and they used this as a fashion piece. Edward Green also had a very cool version of one with a u-cap. They made that exclusively for Unipair (of South Korea) but never offered it via RTW.
Years went on and I forgot about it, but on my last trip to the factory I work with, I recalled this desire of mine. As no one had made one at my price point yet, I decided to change that. I tweaked some of the details of the design and made two color options for a more ‘affordable’ version of this historical style that we used to see more of when dressing up was a standard and not an exception!
The version I created is called The Camano. Currently, it is being offered as a Pre-Sale model at my site, J.FitzPatrick Footwear. This is actually the final weekend and a choice of last comes with every order.
Learn more here: https://www.jfitzpatrickfootwear.com/collections/pre-sales
—Justin FitzPatrick, The Shoe Snob
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