My shoes have storied pasts. They've taken quite a beating from pounding the NYC pavements, scaling the vertiginous hills of San Francisco, and clomping through the cobblestone streets of Georgetown. My shoe guy always shakes his head in bewilderment every time I come in with yet another pair in sorry state, begging him to give them another chance at life. He's done countless heel transplants, painstakingly polished vintage leathers in hard-to-match hues, and performed emergency surgery on many a battered sole that had nearly danced itself to death. His greatest miracle was probably the readjustment of a pair of beloved Missoni wedges, when one shoe became inexplicably shorter than the other by a whole 3/4 of an inch.
Though I'm extremely grateful to him for resuscitating my most treasured footwear and will continue to run to him in a panic, there's also something I love about the look of a well-worn shoe. There's a certain richness and character in an old leather boot that's wrinkled with age and creased with wear at the instep. A flip flop with the grooves of a foot worn in conjures up a feeling of lived-in comfort. And most interesting of all are the sneakers, their skins faded and discolored with the passing of seasons, shoelaces frayed by the frazzle of life, treads worn down to smoothness.
The process of breaking in a pair may take several years, but if you like the look and are too impatient to do it the natural way, these come pre-dirtied for your convenience.
Diesel Men's Magnete Exposure Low in overdyed grey, $90 @ S|Sense.
No comments:
Post a Comment