I thought I knew a lot about men’s shoes, and then I met Bill White of Scarpe di Bianco.

Bill, a refined gentleman, fellow Canadian and all-around great guy has been manufacturing handmade luxury footwear outside of Naples since 2009 and already has some of the finest shoes on the market.

The best part is, if you visit his NYC showroom you can design your own custom pair by choosing from over 50 leather/suede/exotic swatches and combining any of the details found on the 60+ pairs on display (broguing styles, medallions, burnishing gradients, sole compositions, welt constructions, fabric blocking etc).

I am officially addicted and in the process of designing my 7th pair. Although nobody, of course, has a larger collection than Bill himself.

So we followed him for a week last month to get a taste of what a real shoeman has on his feet.

Monday

“Texture in Context. These loafers in finely stamped calf skin are a perfect example of how pebble grain is not only for old-school advocates, but can be brought up-to-date with a little help from a lighter tone contrasted with dark burnishing on the toes.”

Bonus Tip: A monochramatic look always let’s you draw a little attention to some rich footwear.

Bonus Tip II: Grey & brown, as I’ve been preaching. I think we’ve established that charcoal and chocolate works (and is relatively easy), here Bill takes it up another level with light heather and cognac.