holy greyl.

grey is a color that switches positions on trend charts with predominant fall favorite colors such as brown, camel and burgundy. it's there to soften the dark palette, but hardly has a life of its own. i do recollect a couple of times when grey was the new black, but compared to other pantones, it seems rare.

grey is the safe color in addition to navy that older men go for. it's less imposing than black and seems less demanding on surface structure. although black is always in fashion, grey comes and goes – unless you ask grandpa.

my inner gramps shares a peculiar fondness with gentlemen prone to nose and ear hair that even the most grey loving fashionistas steer clear of: grey shoes. shunned by many, the grey shoe is an antithesis to sharp and clear lines that many a shoe fetishist believes form the basis of great footwear.

some claim that black shoes are always stylish and go with anything and others think black is always a safe option. from my point of view they understand neither style nor grasp ensembles and, moreover, have never set their eyes on finsk wedges. but that's beside the point. the point is, usually when black shoes are no longer a necessity, people opt for color. but not grey.

grey reminds us of dullness, dirt and decay, an in-between state from clarity to doom. most people find it ugly, especially in shoes. it's a color that wants to blend in avoiding the brightness of white or the strength of black. grey is the color for people of the unimposing kind.

my love for grey shoes expresses itself in a myriad of ways from high heels to casual gear. i've posted several here; if i remember correctly, at least prada patent wedges, crumpled zara heels, suede zara booties, alexander wang boots, martin margiela elf shoes and my newest acquisition, sperry top-siders in patent leather.

another quest for the perfect grey pair came to an end in san francisco: after seeing grey dr martens in the ad campaign for comptoir des cotonniers, i did not realize they were a limited edition collaboration and tried to get my hands on a pair for over a year. now, finally, there was a pair on the shelf of a small shoe store at haight-ashbury and it didn't take a moment's hesitation to pack them up.



after cherishing my many pairs i cannot help but wonder how anyone could think grey was not beautiful... what do you think of grey shoes?