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The moccasins everyone wants
By Michelle Zhang |
August 29, 2010, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
LIKE most women, I have an insatiable craving for shoes, especially anything gorgeous and designer. There is the popular misconception, however, that expensive heels are automatically more comfortable than inexpensive ones, which, from my personal experience I can say is not always the case. Some of them are nose-bleed sexy but feet-bleed impractical. They are made for the catwalk and the red carpet. And they hurt too.
I have two pairs of Gommini moccasin from Tod's, the luxury Italian leather goods manufacturer. As I am writing this, the shoes are right behind me on a shelf, and when I look at them, I'm happy. They put a smile on my face. I am not exaggerating. I am writing about my favorite shoes.
For those who don't know about Gommini, here is some background. In the late 1970s, Diego Della Valle, current chairman of Tod's and the founder's son, created a signature shoe with a distinctively modern shape, hand-sewn leather and 133 rubber pebbles on the sole.
It was originally designed as a driving shoe. He called it the Gommini. In China, people tend to call it "Dou Dou Xie," which literally means the "bean shoes" because the rubber sole studs look like beans.
The first pair I got in Florence is made of soft suede in light gray with sophisticated lacing details. The other I bought in Seoul earlier this year is made of calf leather in beautiful lilac tone and features cute handmade leather tassels.
They are my favorite shoes in spring and fall, whenever it is not raining (when it rains, the rubber pebbles may add the danger of slipping.) I love walking around in my Gommini. They are so comfortable and they look just right either matched with casual work wear or sometimes even formal dresses.
Gommini's timeless style has withstood fashion's fickle ways for more than 30 years. Many women nowadays are crazy in love with comfortable but ugly shoes like those from Crocs, UGG and most recently, Worishofer. But can you imagine wearing a pair of any of them with any of your formal dresses? No, you can't. That probably explains why some of them have already proved to be just a fad.
Most recently, I was invited to the Italy Pavilion at the World Expo Shanghai, where a Tod's workshop demonstrates how Gommini shoes are made from scratch.
Three craftsmen from the Italian Marche region on the central Adriatic coast - home to the Tod's handmade shoe factory - cut the leather, hand stitch and polish the shoes right before the visitors.
Antonio, one of the craftsmen from Europe's biggest such factory, also told me a few things I didn't know about Gommini.
It takes several craftsmen about four to five hours to make a pair of Gommini shoes. Each handles one specific part of the manufacturing process. Every year, more than 11 million pairs of shoes are produced in the Tod's factory, including more than 2 million pairs of classic Gommini.
If you take a close look, the pebbles on the sole are of different sizes; the pebbles on the front sole are relatively smaller and those at the forefoot part are bigger. They are designed and tested to make sure the wearers feel the ultimate comfort while making a step.
Each Gommini shoe is carefully handcrafted out of a single piece of leather.
The thread is specially waxed. So when the shoes are "baked" in the oven at 80 degrees Celsius, the wax melts and fills the tiny slots in between. Then they will be sent to kind of refrigerator to cool down to make them "fit and strong."
Every new style of shoes is personally tested by professional shoe testers for at least one week before it is sent to chairman Della Valle for approval. Della Valle reviews every new style before it can be produced.
Antonio the craftsman also suggested choosing leather with clear, bold natural markings because it tends to be softer.
Everything he said has increased my devotion to Gommini and I decided to shop my third pair as soon as possible. Last but not least, they are expensive, but not ridiculously expensive. At around US$400, the purchase is an investment.
To me, buying luxury goods is like dating. You have to try everything before you can decide what you want, what is worthwhile and what is best for you. Some of them make you heart beat at first, but very quickly you get bored and throw them away.
There are very few classic "must-have" items that one would replace when they are worn out. For me, these are the Speedy bag from LV, the heart-shaped silver bracelet from Tiffany, the winter coat from Max Mara, and my favorite Gommini shoes from Tod's.
The daily live demonstrations and exhibition of Tod's leather products runs through Tuesday in the Italy Pavilion.
I have two pairs of Gommini moccasin from Tod's, the luxury Italian leather goods manufacturer. As I am writing this, the shoes are right behind me on a shelf, and when I look at them, I'm happy. They put a smile on my face. I am not exaggerating. I am writing about my favorite shoes.
For those who don't know about Gommini, here is some background. In the late 1970s, Diego Della Valle, current chairman of Tod's and the founder's son, created a signature shoe with a distinctively modern shape, hand-sewn leather and 133 rubber pebbles on the sole.
It was originally designed as a driving shoe. He called it the Gommini. In China, people tend to call it "Dou Dou Xie," which literally means the "bean shoes" because the rubber sole studs look like beans.
The first pair I got in Florence is made of soft suede in light gray with sophisticated lacing details. The other I bought in Seoul earlier this year is made of calf leather in beautiful lilac tone and features cute handmade leather tassels.
They are my favorite shoes in spring and fall, whenever it is not raining (when it rains, the rubber pebbles may add the danger of slipping.) I love walking around in my Gommini. They are so comfortable and they look just right either matched with casual work wear or sometimes even formal dresses.
Gommini's timeless style has withstood fashion's fickle ways for more than 30 years. Many women nowadays are crazy in love with comfortable but ugly shoes like those from Crocs, UGG and most recently, Worishofer. But can you imagine wearing a pair of any of them with any of your formal dresses? No, you can't. That probably explains why some of them have already proved to be just a fad.
Most recently, I was invited to the Italy Pavilion at the World Expo Shanghai, where a Tod's workshop demonstrates how Gommini shoes are made from scratch.
Three craftsmen from the Italian Marche region on the central Adriatic coast - home to the Tod's handmade shoe factory - cut the leather, hand stitch and polish the shoes right before the visitors.
Antonio, one of the craftsmen from Europe's biggest such factory, also told me a few things I didn't know about Gommini.
It takes several craftsmen about four to five hours to make a pair of Gommini shoes. Each handles one specific part of the manufacturing process. Every year, more than 11 million pairs of shoes are produced in the Tod's factory, including more than 2 million pairs of classic Gommini.
If you take a close look, the pebbles on the sole are of different sizes; the pebbles on the front sole are relatively smaller and those at the forefoot part are bigger. They are designed and tested to make sure the wearers feel the ultimate comfort while making a step.
Each Gommini shoe is carefully handcrafted out of a single piece of leather.
The thread is specially waxed. So when the shoes are "baked" in the oven at 80 degrees Celsius, the wax melts and fills the tiny slots in between. Then they will be sent to kind of refrigerator to cool down to make them "fit and strong."
Every new style of shoes is personally tested by professional shoe testers for at least one week before it is sent to chairman Della Valle for approval. Della Valle reviews every new style before it can be produced.
Antonio the craftsman also suggested choosing leather with clear, bold natural markings because it tends to be softer.
Everything he said has increased my devotion to Gommini and I decided to shop my third pair as soon as possible. Last but not least, they are expensive, but not ridiculously expensive. At around US$400, the purchase is an investment.
To me, buying luxury goods is like dating. You have to try everything before you can decide what you want, what is worthwhile and what is best for you. Some of them make you heart beat at first, but very quickly you get bored and throw them away.
There are very few classic "must-have" items that one would replace when they are worn out. For me, these are the Speedy bag from LV, the heart-shaped silver bracelet from Tiffany, the winter coat from Max Mara, and my favorite Gommini shoes from Tod's.
The daily live demonstrations and exhibition of Tod's leather products runs through Tuesday in the Italy Pavilion.
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