A Belgian Alternative

There’s probably nothing in my shodding lineup that I enjoy more than Belgians.  I like everything about these practically impractical oddities only from Gotham.

And I’m a purist, usually looking upon interlopers and poseurs with scorn. Be authentic, be real, be unapologetic and please, have a little swagger when you wear such things.  

Like I’ve said before, you gotta let the Belgians know who's boss or they’ll own you. You’ll look like a fraidy-scaredy-cat walking down the street if your little bow-tied babies sense fear.

The ersatz Belgian attempt captured above isn't worth revealing its source. They are sloppy and smarmy looking. Eurotrash and disco come to mind.

Belgians are destined to degrade quickly. It begins the moment you walk out of the store with them. That’s why you need a half-dozen pairs of the faggy slips. Made by villagers in Belgium and then assembled in a small factory by the good folks pictured above. Lore has it that the uppers are stitched by little old ladies at home and then “turned” at the factory before having the soles attached. Sorta explains why special orders take about a zillion damn years.

I’ve even take great pleasure in leading first timers to Mecca.

And yes, the breaking-in and rubber shrouding process is part of the mystique.

The hard-soled Belgians, leastways to me, always looked a bit too inflexible and they felt that way when I tried them on years ago.

Luca Rubinacci had a few interesting alternatives when I stopped in to see him in London last year. But at several hundred pounds a pair, I decided to leave them right there.

Then I spotted these over at A Suitable Wardrobe. They seemed just interesting enough for me to inquire. And wouldn't you know, Will stocks SouthernRedneckWhiteBoy sizes.

I’ll just say unequivocally that Will has hit a home run with these babies. Colors in black, green and brown suede are just different enough from the Gotham originals to justify me popping for a pair.

I was worried that the supple flimsiness of legacy Belgians would be lost in this leather soled translation. The thin sole on the Willgians offer some stability while allowing the ahhh feeling of barely there slippers to freely preen. Willgians. Yep. That’s what they are.

Nice attention to detail and proportion. An Italian transcription of a Belgian standard. Shut up.

 Scroll on over to A Suitable Wardrobe and grab yourself a pair of Willgians. And yes, I paid the full freight for these babies. People don’t pay me to pimp their products on my blog. These were my gift for the month long project that I just finished.

Oh, and my little Yogini LFG almost flipped over them.

Onward. Well shod in Willgians.

Namaste...ADG II