A Fiorentini & Baker's Dozen

I popped into a shoe shop over the December break to warm up and quickly gave it the once over--some interesting Doc Martens lace-up boots with Black Watch lining and Black Watch ribbon laces (I do like a grosgrain ribbon), a Belle by Sigerson Morrison lace-up boot with a 3-inch monkstrap.  They earned a mental fileaway, but didn't merit a try-on.

Then, as I was on my way out the door, I spied, to my eventual preoccupation, the perfect pair of boots.  Made by Fiorentini & Baker, they are the Eternity two-buckle moto model, and come in smooth black leather (and other colors I'm sure) as well as soft grey suede.

I couldn't loosen the two-buckle's hold on my fancy over the next few days, so on Christmas Eve I ventured back to the shop to give them a try.  I selected the grey suede, as its lived-in temperament suits me more than the shiny smooth black leather. 

I'd done my research on sizing, which says that F&B boots run a size large.  This may be accurate for some, but I went a full two sizes down--I usually wear 39 in European sizes, but found 38 too long.  37 was just right.

And indeed 37 was right, sooo right that my right foot was wondering how I could possibly justify making this incredibly right boot mine on Christmas Eve.  It just seemed greedy.  And that's not right.  Right?

The boots I tried were all suede, including straps and heels

But then my mental machinations left the shop, justlikethat!  Because, gentle readers, I tried on the left boot.  Oh, it fit, no problem.  But F&B have a very pretty, leathertooling kind of way of stamping their logo inside the boot.  It was the name surrounded by a scalloped circle that, because of the tooling, made the circle puff up like a fluffy cloud and irritate my left arch.

Sure, I could have asked for another pair, but thought I'd leave well enough alone and pronounce the boots unwearable. But there's always next time. Maybe I'll try a F&Baker's Dozen then.