The Beefroll Penny Loafer
George Vlagos is meticulously running the pads of his fingers over tanned hides in cherry, black, tan, and navy. Eyes closed, arms outstretched, the buttery soft surface is music to his hands. It's Chromexcel®, or CXL as it’s written in the five story Horween® building. A combination tanned leather that undergoes 89 separate processes stretching over a month, the formula has been around for over a century and arguably produces some of the world’s best leather today. Vlagos takes the navy.
Some fifteen years ago, in a Chicago cobbler shop, a pubescent George Vlagos sat under the skilled hands of his father during Christmas, spring, and summer breaks. It was an attempt to show his son that working with your hands was difficult. Vlagos’s father, a Greek immigrant, wished an education for his son. It backfired...
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Benchmade Tassel Loafers
There is this pomp and circumstance about a benchmade tassel loafer that distinctly says, "I care." Perhaps it's the ornamented aura they induce when you slip them on; or the Goodyear-welted construction and double leather sole; or the full calfskin lining for comfort and longevity (because let’s face it, we’ll rarely be wearing socks). Maybe it's the fact that they're crafted with Chicago's Horween cordovan (arguably the best cordovan in the world today); or that they're kept on a shoe form far longer than today’s standard; or it could easily be the over 200 separate operations spanning eight weeks...
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Alixe Laughlin
Earlier this month Fred was on assignment for Matchbook magazine photographing Alixe Laughlin’s Upper East Side apartment. She credits her exciting job at Quadrille Couture, along with her childhood playgrounds in the Bahamas and East Hampton, for much of her apartment’s vibrant palette. Read the entire interview...
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Bright Colors
To say the Japanese are still taken with preppy style would be to vastly understate their ongoing love affair with our American heritage. Japan’s Popeye magazine editorializes the latest affectation of prep style in their January 2011 edition. Photographed by Junji Hata with styling by Tomoki Sukezane, "Bright Colors" comes together for a smart showing with a playful kick few would dare replicate (count us among the daring)..
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House of Spades
And Kate and Andy Spade’s fingerprints can be found all over their Park Avenue apartment. Though big enough for them and their daughter Bea, it’s not enormous. It manages to be preppy without the whiff of the restricted country club—a little goofy, whimsical even while still feeling familiar. From their framed family photo gallery displayed on an end table to their quirky collections, their stockpile of books to their hand loomed oriental rugs, it collectively emanates an honest version of themselves...
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