Shoes maketh the man

MARILYN Monroe once said: "Give a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world." Man, was she halfway right. Through the decades, plenty of men have been equally empowered (or distinguished) by their choice of footwear: From the legendary tale of Andy Warhol walking away in a pair of bespoke Berluti loafers bearing the damaged hide of a wayward cow, to Pope Benedict XVI's controversial red shoes. And it seems that more Singaporean men than ever before have come to believe in the pull of a perfectly crafted pair of shoes - at least judging by the spike in new brands and retailers dedicated to shoes for blokes. "We know Singapore is well on the way to establishing itself as the fashion mecca of South-east Asia," says Steven Rogers, founding director of The Blind Cobbler, a new multi-label men's shoe boutique on Club Street. "With that we have seen men's shopping habits change; they are becoming hungrier for fashion, more at ease with shopping and using their disposable income to support that change."

The store stocks formal, casual and contemporary footwear from brands like Grenson, Hudson and Swear London. The Blind Cobbler comes from a turn of phrase, "like a blind cobblers thumb", which Mr Rogers' father - a footwear aficionado - used to describe anyone with a big red nose. His reasoning was a blind cobbler would repeatedly hit his thumb, hence swell and turn red.

Another gentleman recognising that footwear is a stepping stone to sartorial heights is Jonathan Chiang, owner of bespoke tailoring outfit Leong T. Having taken over and revived his grand-uncle's 40-year-old tailoring business, the 30-year-old's vision is to create a one-stop emporium stocked with wares for discerning men. Next month, he will host the debut trunk show for Saint Crispin's, a Viennese-based luxury shoemaker, at his new outlet located in North Canal Road luxury barbershop Sultans of Shave.