Baudoin & Lange is one of my favorite companies. I think I first read about them years ago on Permanent Style, I’m not sure. It’s all a bit foggy at this point, that’s because I can’t remember a time they didn't exist.
Read MoreI’ve been writing The Belgian Diaries for a while. . Belgian Shoes have certainly a very specific aesthetic. They tend to divide men into rabid obsessives or concerned skeptics. It took me a while to catch up with them. I saw my friends wear Belgians different ways.
Read MoreBelgian 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 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.
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