for the love of shoes: my friend earle

My friend Earle Sebastian is, to say the least, multi-faceted. He is a filmmaker/director extraordinaire, creative director, father and a "shoe freak" (his term, not mine) who hails from across the pond in London by way of South Africa. I learned that he has hidden away in his Brooklyn apartment, is a vast shoe collection. Not only that, he's also studied shoemaking. How many people have you met actually know how to MAKE a pair of shoes?! Needless to say, I needed to dig deeper. I've known very few men who can speak about shoes and style as passionately as he does. In fact, at a dinner party I hosted late last year, he asked to see the pair of pumps I had on from across the room. Then he held them and studied it's every angle for a good several minutes (a pair of black patent leather Giuseppe Zanotti pumps with a wooden stiletto heel). I learned then of this deep love of shoes.

This keen interest in shoes, fashion (and feet too, I might add...) is long-standing. His grandfather from South Africa said to his father —and in turn to him— three very important rules to live by:

1) Never be first at the dance

2) Always make sure you have a clean hanky in your back pocket and

3) No matter what you wear or how poor you are always make sure you have the best shoes on.

So lovely! An elegant man his grandfather must have been.

A little while ago he let me come and photograph his beloved collection...

Several versions of the *proper* British brogue

Loved these.

Only part of his collection...

A Japanese magazine featured him and his collection a couple of years ago.

Earle's newest acquisition. Lovely.