As you might imagine, we get a fair amount of middle-aged men that come into our store because their wives told them they need to buy some new clothes. About a third of the time, they’ve been told they need to get something better for work; and, two-thirds of the time, they’ve been told they need to buy some “cooler” clothes. A lot of guys struggle mightily with what to wear to the hip new restaurant in town. and in helping a receptive customer a couple weeks ago, he wanted to get some new shoes to go with his new jeans.

Amidst a number of shoes I like with jeans here, here, and here, he asked about the Spur -- a boot. I was surprised he considered a boot since I, rightly or wrongly, have grown to think that only card-carrying shoe queens like me really appreciate boots.

Since the customer was a trader, I tried to put my thoughts in a way he’d understand, which led me to say: "Boots are pure upside."

It didn’t translate at first, but then I explained: men’s dress boots are rare, I assume, because most men are told they need to own other shoes first: black dress shoes, brown dress shoes, cordovan, a chocolate suede if they know what’s good for them. So a guy has to feel like he owns all the basics before he would even consider a pair of boots. By the time he gets there, his black shoes have worn out and he buys a replacement pair of plain ol' black dress shoes. So if I see a guy in dress boots, I automatically assume he’s a man of means because he’d be crazy to have boots as his primary dress shoes.

So let's say you're walking down the street in those Michael Toschi Spur pictured above, other people are seeing your really nice shoes. Mission accomplished. But then, when you’re lounging in the bar area waiting for your table, legs crossed, your boots reveal their full glory. Again, sadly, most people won’t notice. Those that do, will immediately assume you are a man of style. Pure upside.

I recognize 99.9% of the male population has never put this much psychoanalysis behind a shoe style, but then again, that’s my point: when the one-tenth of one percent see your boots, you’re in the club. And if you’re in my club, the first drink is on me.

If you don't yet own a pair, shop all our boots here. 

Just about every clothing store on the planet tends to go on sale after Christmas, but only the really bold wait till the 7th of January to announce their sale (technically, many items did go on sale on December 26th, we just didn't announce it). Without much further adieu, our SALE is on!

There are a number of returning favorites to the sale: Bills Khakis Limited Edition pants, sportshirts, and outerwear, Agave Denimsmith knits, a few Martin Dingman shoes & belts, and some Ike Behar casual shirts.

Some newcomers include our entire assortment of Fairway & Greene golf apparel, Peter Millar outerwear and some sweaters & vests, some random cigar accessories and leather goods, and select Jan Leslie cufflinks.

If you've participated in our sale before, you know that the discounts will increase over time -- we're starting at 30% off -- but our inventory is very shallow so the availability of items disappears quickly. Wait at your own risk. 

For those in the Bay Area, the San Francisco store does have a number of items that just didn't make it to the website in time, including a dozen styles of Ike Behar shirts, a few Peter Millar sweaters & vests, and some other miscellaneous items worth contemplating. Stop on by. 

Happy Hunting!

With vacant storefronts littering the retail landscape, the stars aligned favorably to give birth to a temporary pop-up store for Michael Toschi just 2 doors down from our store in San Francisco's Embarcadero Center. 

A temporary lease was signed last Monday and by Thursday night, they were open in the space formerly home to Crane's Stationery. For those that like Toschi shoes, or for those that have thought about Toschi shoes but never pulled the trigger, this is certainly the largest number of Toschi shoes under one roof. In fact, it's a 1600 sq ft homage to the brand and the things that Michael likes: beautiful shoes [including the ultra-secret Vecchia Mano shoes], rich leather jackets, belts cut to size, and a Ducati Street Fighter in the window. The only thing missing is the espresso machine, but for that, you can walk 30 feet and visit us. 

The store will be hosting a Grand Opening party on Friday, November 27th from 4-8pm.

Watching some of the St. Jude Classic on Saturday, much of the coverage focused on the leader -- and eventual winner -- Brian Gay. While most golf observers were no doubt taking notice of the rising star (this is his 3rd tour win), I couldn't help but notice his choice of colors: charcoal golf shirt and orange pants. That's right, orange pants.

And while John Daly has sunk to new lows in an effort to prove how obnoxious he can be, Brian Gay just looked confident.

Bringing this post full circle since we don't yet sell charcoal golf shirts or orange golf pants, The ensemble immediately brought to mind the latest color combo of the Michael Toschi GX in Steel & Orange. We've had a few customers already receive the latest release from Toschi, but admittedly, now, they were trendsetters. Now, we'll just expect the orders to start pouring in in 3...2...1...

Hopefully, my friends & family will read beyond the title else rumors circulate on the Intertubes. Pointing out that the post's  itle is stolen from a song from the musical "South Pacific" probably doesn't help, but what can you do? 

My new love is named Luciano. He's Italian, and he was my holiday gift from Michael Toschi. A very sleek wingtip in a deep, chocolate brown which will be a nice alternative to the red-soled Mirco's that I currently wear when brown is required.

All goods European have seen sharp increases in price over the past few years thanks to the weakness of the dollar and the strength of the Euro, and Michael Toschi shoes were no exception. At $725, I probably wouldn't shell out for these given all the money I lost in the Madoff Ponzi scheme and my speculative real estate in Vegas, but members of the cult of Toschi know that they're usually worth it. If you have the means, and you're looking for a "fast wingtip", look no further than my new crush: Luciano.

Over the weekend, the Economist profiled President-Elect Obama's nominee for Treasury Secretary, Tim Geithner. You might assume we liked the article because of this passage: "The current treasury secretary, Hank Paulson, is reworking the $700 billion bail-out plan on the fly" (emphasis ours), but that statement, for reasons that should be obvious, doesn't make us optimistic. Actually, this was the section that caught my eye:

Mr Geithner looks a lot younger than his 47 years (though not as young as he did before the crisis began). He skateboards and snowboards and exudes a sort of hipster-wonkiness, using “way” as a synonym for “very” as in “way consequential” and occasionally underlining his point with the word “fuck”. In temperament he seems similar to Mr Obama: he is suspicious of ideology, questions received wisdom, likes a competition of ideas and is keenly aware of how uncertain the world is.

In our Shop by Lifestyle section, we've had a "Hipster" lifestyle. Some have construed this to mean that we think we have stuff that would appeal to the anti-establishment, trucker hat-wearing, Pabst Blue Ribbon-drinking, vinyl record-collecting, dripping-with-irony "hipsters". That was never our intended audience.

In our worldview, "Hipster" refers to a psychographic profile for a gentleman that appreciates the finer things in life, but eschews many of the traditional rules of fashion or etiquette in order to create a style all his own. Our hipster might be a 40 year old guy who chooses to wear Agave jeans, Michael Toschi SUV2s, an Ike Behar casual shirt, and a vintage watch (for irony). This is a stark contrast to the Old School gentleman that wears a conservative suit, shirt & tie to work, or the Professor who wears a V-neck sweater over a sport shirt with cords and loafers.

From publicly available photos, Geithner's wardrobe is what I would consider an Old School/Wall Street fusion, but we bet he's in jeans & a t-shirt on weekends. If the Economist can refer to a Secretary of the U.S. Treasury as a "hipster", we're in good company.