Belgian Shoes are like the Smiths. At first they’re intimidating, impenetrable and alarmingly twee. An older friend, who’s a partisan, likes them and assures you that they are in fact vital, singular and even fierce. Once you accept them into your life you can’t believe you ever had doubts. Or something like that anyway.
Read MoreBelgian Shoes are reassuring—they imply an almost aggressive sense of ease with the world. But they still retain their capacity for surprise: A man in Belgians often looks like he’s getting away with something, and that he’s disproportionately relaxed. One of the great selections of Belgian-style shoes is available at the Rubinacci stores in Milan and Naples.
Read MoreIn the upcoming “Very Ralph” documentary on HBO there are a number of shots of a young Ralph Lauren in 1968 smoking a pipe. I wonder if he generally enjoyed it (he was a cigarette smoker), or if it was just the ideal accessory, as it were. I don’t care what his motivations were, he looked great, as always.
Read MoreIt took me a while to feel comfortable in Belgium. And by Belgium I mean their famous export, the Belgian Shoe. And by famous, I mean a small group of obsessive men. And by obsessive I mean, nearly insane. Glenn O’Brien wore them and insisted they were fierce not foppish. His friend, the artist Duncan Hannah, still wears them and looks terrific. So does designer Aaron Levine. These men provided my Belgian initiation.
Read MoreAdmitting you have too many ties is surprisingly difficult. There’s something to be said for finding the exact right tie when you need it, and as long as that dream exists then the ties will remain. There’s often a story behind a tie, it might be inherited or acquired in some remote country, you might have won it in a game of poker. But there’s also something unsettling about wondering why you’re bidding on a fifth Barbour jacket (even if would be perfect for salmon fishing).
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