oxfords

I’m always spotting amazing fashion during my travels. The New York subway system is a constant source of fashion inspiration for me. There is just a constant flux of people getting in and off the train, all with unique and individual ways of dressing themselves.  Last night, I spotted these awesome saddle shoes in contrasting leather and suede. They are by Cole Haan.  So beautiful!

So here is why I love these: You can tell just by looking at the leather that it is a fantastic quality.  The brown leather looks very pliable, meaning it will mold to the shape of your foot the more you wear the shoes.  I’m also really partial to naturally dyed leathers in shades of brown.  Natural dyes and tanning processes in leather create variation in color.  I think these photos show exactly what I’m talking about.  The more you wear naturally dyed or tanned leather, it will scuff or change shades slightly in certain areas.  I love this effect!  It gives your shoes a bit if character.

The green suede is also really beautiful.  I’m pretty partial to green, but this combination is just stellar!  It’s classic, could be worn with lots of different outfits, and mixing different textures on a shoe is almost always a good thing.  It’s just more interesting than a uniform solid color of leather.

I decided to check out Cole Haan’s site for the shoes.  The closest pair available for purchase is the Ellwood Saddle Oxford.  This version has a similar color way (British tan & khaki), but both colors are made of the same type of hand polished leather.  The Ellwood also has a cutout design on the toecap.