Sanguine Shoes

While studying in London this past fall, I was fortunate enough to get up to the Bicester outlets for a day. Whilst there, I spotted a pair of high-polish oxblood austerity brogues at Church’s, and couldn’t look away. The brown suede brogues and black captoes seemed to fade into the woodwork, with only the glossy crimson oxfords staring back at me. I quickly gave into their temptations, and found that were sadly a full size too small, no matter how hard I tried to convince myself that they didn’t hurt…that badly. Crushed, I quickly left the store for fear of committing a costly (but beautiful) travesty against my toes.

I have always found burgundy and oxblood shoes appealing, but until then had never found a pair that completely captivated me, nor had I really thought about how to wear them. Since this epiphany, I have had an insatiable craving for an elegant pair of polished oxblood shoes. This certainly wasn’t helped by the stunning wholecuts I was (not-so-difficultly) persuaded to try on by the ever-helpful Clement at Lodger only a week or so later.

Oxblood shoes have a certain subtle whimsy to them, eschewing the usual boundaries of black and brown for a deep yet vibrant statement that still demands being taken somewhat seriously. Over time, the patina gives them the sanguine quality of their color’s namesake, which while not obtrusive, is hard to ignore entirely and is beauty well-earned. Unlike the also unusual blue and grey shoes that have occasionally held a certain appeal for me, oxblood seems much more versatile/less trendy and might have to be the color of the first really fine pair of shoes I invest in.