The first in what may be an occasional series where I call out some intriguing eBay auctions. No particularly scientific criteria at work here, except they are nice-looking shoes that you may want to consider buying, and that my wallet will thank you for buying them (because I am otherwise likely to do so if they are a UK 9.5)
These are just outrageously beautiful (unless you don't like crocodile leather, in which case you may just think they are outrageous). A very elegant pattern, although the scale matching looks much better at the front of each shoe than the back (note that the scales are very small on the right pair's heel, but quite large on the left's). This type of thing is exactly why crocodile is such an expensive material to work with.
I do think crocodile benefits strongly from a simple pattern - too much fuss in the design makes them look frankly clownish, so a pure three-tie derby is a good bet.
Bespoke quality crocodile comes at a price premium though, and with a BIN price of £2,500 you might want to try haggling a bit. I've never bought from the seller so I don't know how amenable they would be. Standard advice around the difficulty of sizing for bespoke pairs applies here too, though the seller has said they are relatively standard proportions.
Also includes the bespoke trees, which are sadly often absent from bespoke pairs. and they do appear to be in essentially new condition. A retail replacement from Foster & Son would run you somewhere from £7,000 - £8,000, so in that respect, the £2,500 asking price may appear a startling bargain.
Gaziano & Girling's most iconic and best-selling model, in the striking but rather versatile colourway of vintage cherry. These also include the premium wood G&G shoe trees. I can also highly recommend the seller, as it's ... me. But it's my blog too, so if I want to put my shoes on I can. Price is £600 Buy It Now.
They are stunning shoes though. I misjudged the width - I tend to find G&G a slightly snug fit so gave the wide fit a go, but there is simply too much room at the heels for me. But my loss is your shoe gain. A detailed review of these shoes will be coming next week, so check back for that.
Yohei Fukuda's RTW are really beautiful - at £1,795 BIN price I think this auction is probably a bit optimistic as that is pretty much precisely what they cost brand new from the maker, but then they are not easy to come by as makers go, particularly for American fans.
These are the Celeste model - a captoe Oxford with a swan-neck stitch by the laces reminiscent of the Edward Green Chelsea. I'd personally be nervous about buying these as I gather YF's instep fitting can be a bit eccentric, and I'd probably expect branded shoe trees for the price too.
An unusual model from Edward Green - these are a shortwing Adelaide brogue in a light tan. I think they are quite handsome and would be excellent for a summer wedding.
Potentially a rather high asking price of £699, but they aren't exactly a commonly seen style. I suspect these are only available via made to order otherwise, so if you do love the style then it might be your only chance to get a pair without paying a lot more. I've bought from the seller previously and can recommend them.
These have been on sale for quite a while now - it's a pretty polarising style I think, a single-strap captoe in dark red leather. The lighting in the photos also does little to flatter them. Darker shoes really do need a lot more light to look nice in photos.
They are an F width, and the style itself is quite chunky, so I can see why the overall aesthetic of this pair stands at odds with what people may expect from EG. A good price at a starting bid of £269 though, and I daresay the seller will be glad to be rid of them having seen the price come down over consecutive auctions.
A beautiful and older pair from C&J, about 50+ years old according to the seller. The quality of the finishing is just stellar - have a look at the listing and zoom in on some of the photos to get a feel. Too narrow for myself (or I would have bought them by now) and at £225 Buy it Now I'm really surprised they haven't been snapped up by now.
I've bought several pairs from the seller and can highly recommend them - they frequently have some really interesting and unusual pairs.
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