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Austen Heller - My New Go-To Shoe

Several weeks ago I was contacted by Gavin Hoffman, founder of Austen Heller, a very new shoe company featuring a collection of unique, handmade loafers. I was kindly offered the shoes seen here to share with you my take on the Austen Heller brand.

A little about the packaging. The shoes arrive neatly packaged with top-notch shoe trees, as to maintain shape and prolong the wearability of the shoes. A note from Gavin Hoffman is included with each pair, explaining the excellent referral program offered by Austen Heller, through which $50 of referral credit may be earned when a friend or family member purchases his first pair of shoes.

The construction here is superb. Made in Porto, Portugal, Austen Heller shoes are handcrafted to ensure perfect stitching and attention to detail in each step of assembly. Shoes are offered in sizes 8-13, but due to the Portuguese construction, you'll want to consider US vs. UK/Euro sizing here and possibly order a size down. Fortunately, this is made clear to customers under each product description where a size comparison chart is viewable. For instance,  generally wear 11.5-12, but Austen Heller's 11 fits me perfectly. What about width? There are no width options, but the last of these shoes is well designed to fit any foot. I'll touch on style in a moment, but in terms of construction alone, the soles of these shoes are fantastic. This rubber isn't of the flimsy composition you'd find in similar loafers or driving mocs, but rather it's quite sturdy while remaining flexible. This composition also provides plenty of traction, a notion often overlooked by many manufacturers (such as Cole Haan or Florsheim) who put out slick, plastic-like soles.  The innersole is just as special. Too often I hear leather described as supple or buttery. Well, those words are totally appropriate here. Composed of calfskin, the smoothness of the innersole is guaranteed to make you want to ditch the socks each time you wear these. Since my shoes arrived I've been going sockless in my AH loafers as much as possible, despite the near freezing temps., because only my cashmere socks offer such comfort.

Style? Lots of it. I've always hesitated to buy the new stuff from Cole Haan and Nordstrom's 1901 line because I know I'd be buying color, not quality. These AH shoes offer the best of both worlds. For the more traditional among you, brown suede and leather loafers are available with splashes of color coming from the soles and stitching. When picking out my shoes I said screw subtlety, choosing a vibrant red with navy sole, and a bold blue with kelly green sole. I usually keep my colors muted at church and stick to my best lace-ups but the past two Sundays, while I've remained quiet up top, I've kicked it up (bad pun, sorry) with my AH loafers. The result? Not only at church but practically everywhere I've been, nearly every day the past two weeks I've received great feedback about both shoes.

The best part for me is that I can be truly comfortable wearing these. I'm not a sneaker guy and boat shoes can only get so much run, therefore I'm at ease knowing that after walking around in a pair of AH shoes all day, I feel like I've been walking just a few minutes.

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know I'm all about value, shopping on a relatively frugal budget. However, I believe as much that one should invest in quality when possible. These shoes, priced $175 and $195, are a worthwhile investment. Better still, free shipping and free returns are offered with each order. Happy holidays and happy shopping!

Today at the Thrift - Top-Siders

I've been quite fortunate to come across two new pair of boat shoes in the past few months, one from Sperry, the other from Rockport. However today, on a hunch, I visited one of my favorite thrift shops and found these Top-Siders for $2.99. Just my size, they're in great condition with the exception of a few scuffs to the leather. Most surprisingly, the soles still look new and have almost no signs of wear. My boat shoe days are over until spring, but I'm glad to have yet another pair in the rotation when that time comes.

Astounding Amaretto

I have several pair of boat shoes from brands such as Ralph Lauren (the premium shoe line, not Polo), L.L. Bean, Sebago and Sperry. While each of these companies produces quality shoes, nobody makes boat shoes like Sperry. The classic Top-Sider has been in my rotation for years. When my sole ripped and the time came to pick up a new pair, I scoured shoe sites for the best deal and found nothing under $55. I had decided to give up my search until December, when even the classic model is relatively cheap. 

Then, I found this one and only pair of amaretto Top-Siders at Macy's for $16. It turns out somebody ordered these from Macys.com and returned them to the store. Given that this particular color isn't carried in store, the shoes were marked down to $30. Following a coupon and two discounts, I took these home... and I still can't believe it.

Sebago Docksides

 Ugly? Cool? Both? 

What do you think?

Bruno Magli Blues

Blue boat shoes, sure. Blue tasseled kilties... in boat shoe form? Of course. This Italian-made Bruno Magli concoction just came in from eBay at under fifteen dollars and I can understand why. I waited several days to place a bid while I thought of how exactly to pull these off, but I've come to think of them as refined Topsiders. The most interesting detail, of which I was unaware until today, is that rather than leather or canvas lining, terrycloth is present to wick away moisture. Kilties on and jibe ho!

Beyond the CEY

Not saying I'd wear this, but we should all aspire to have such boldness.

From Street FSN at Pitti Uomo.

Splish Splash

The Sebago Boat Shoe Boat. Brilliant. 

 

Next stop... the Bean Boot ATV. Brilliant-er.