THE BELGIAN DIARIES: BAUDOIN & LANGE
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. There are many ways to build a smart company but here’s a good equation: Develop a great product, have a generous customer experience, keep trying to improve.
The Sagan Classic, their original shoe, is a modern classic. It has a thin leather sole, and offers more structure than a traditional Belgian. The leather upper is incredibly soft and has a lot of give, so it expands with your foot. It has a slightly short vamp that I think flatters most men (and women, for that matter). I think it’s very handsome and have worn mine with love (below). I’ve even gotten a few pairs with tassels, though the plain top is probably the best place to start.
Spending so much time inside I moved on to the Sagan Lune, their indoor slipper. It just arrived last week and I love it (above). It has a slightly slimmer, longer look. The soft bottom is meant to be worn inside, but I’m going to live dangerously and wear it outside. Like any true rebel, I’ll check the weather forecast first. I think you can get away with that (sort of like wearing a Belgian without the rubber sole).
Over the years, I’ve met Allan Baudoin at Pitti—they always have one of the best booths there. He’s a very enlightened man and I hate to use this phrase but he totally gets it. When you buy your first pair shipping is free and so are returns—they make it easy to get your size right and get in the game. Their store in the Burlington Arcade is lovely and where I discovered black tie slippers, which I have my eye on.
They keep evolving. Their newest shoe is the Sagan Stride with a more supportive rubber sole designed to stand up to extensive walking. I love the look of the green suede, which is next on my list. When smart people make good things the results feel inevitable. But that just hides the difficulty of vision and execution. It takes a lot of work to make anything look that easy.