How One Covets a Thing

Apologies to all for the brief hiatus in our usual broadcasting. Tea stocks at the Club house were running dangerously low so our editor-in-chief, brave man that he is, skipped off to China in search of new supplies. I am reliably informed he has just been seen putting back into port at Dover, laden with crates of Oriental provender and accompanied by enough pack-donkeys to cart it all back to Ataraxia HQ in time for elevenses.

We'd better get on with some work before he gets here.

Today I would like to show you an example of shoe design done right, courtesy of those gentleman cobblers over at Lodgers. 'The Hamilton Military' is an exquisite take on the classic Oxford which goes to prove that you can have colour in shoes without compromising one bit on their style or elegance.

Couple with a well-tailored grey 3-piece suit for a razor-sharp image that may well result in immediate job offers from Whitehall. Also ideal paired with a complimentary lightweight tweed when around town. Onlookers will see the care and craft evident in every detail, from the hand-burnished toe to the wine-red sole.

Unfortunately, but inevitably, they are very, very expensive. My advice? Think hard about which of your organs you need the least and sell it to raise the necessary funds. If you're hesitant about sacrifing a kidney for a pair of shoes, it may help to know that bespoke wooden shoe trees, shoe bags and a storage box are all included in the price.

A word of thanks and credit where it's due. This commendable and covetable morsel first came to my attention via Justin FitzPatrick's excellent blog 'The Shoe Snob'.