Stefano Bemer, Brown & Pistacchio Balmoral Oxfords

[Acquire from Stefano Bemer]

The Balmoral, with one rule broken on purpose.

Hand-welted in Florence · J last · Museum calf and pistacchio suede

Why it's here

Most dress shoes are variations on a form that settled a century ago. Bemer reversed the curve of the Balmoral's facing, so the lacing opens into the swallow's wing: a signature you can read from across a room without a single logo. Then the workshop set museum calf against pistacchio suede, a colour most Florentine makers would never risk on a formal shoe. We chose it because it keeps every rule of good construction and breaks exactly one rule of style.

The object

Museum calf is finished by hand so its colour settles unevenly, which gives the leather the marbled depth it's named for. The J last draws the toe forward and lifts the instep, so the shoe looks long and quick even standing still. It is lasted and welted by hand in Bemer's Classica construction, and the burgundy shank carries the swallow signature underfoot.

Living with it

Wear it where a black oxford would be expected: navy trousers, grey flannel. The green shows only in daylight and up close. It arrives with lasted wooden shoe trees and a care kit in a wooden box. Keep the trees in every night, and the calf deepens with each polish over the years.

Origin: Handmade in Florence, Italy
Upper: Museum calf and pistacchio suede
Last: J last
Construction: Hand-lasted, hand-welted (Classica)
Includes: Lasted wooden shoe trees, care kit, wooden box

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