Everyone knows [or should know] how I love my Pskaufman boots [I have these glorious wingtips].  Below is a feature on Paul Kaufman, designer of Pskaufman, discussing not only his own range but his ties to hipster favorite NaNa and how that related to Chloë Sevigny’s collection with Opening Ceremony.

Watch, erryone! You’ll love ze shoes.

Spiked and studded loafers get me far too excited, so when I saw new designs popping up under designer and high street labels, I caught a bit of a flutter.  These are all black leather pieces, with appropriate detailing – let’s go!

When it comes to the designer vault, we find the second wave of Christian Louboutin’s loafer, the bigger spiked Rolling. While not exactly priced for the average buyer, these are clearly the highest quality, most durable flat of this kind you can find at the moment. Alternatively, Giacomorelli’s style run about half the price, and evokes memories of Louboutin’s original Rollerball.

For the high street, we have Steve Madden’s Melter in black or silver studding, which I can confirm look much better in person than they do in the photograph.  My favorite pair of all due to style and price are Unif’s Hellraiser, available in mens sizing as well.  The Unifs are made from lambskin, and fully beefed with all over spikes for $165 US.. what’s not to love?!

Preview images from Germany’s Bread And Butter show.  We’re seeing loads of floral printed fabrics, some tapstry-like weaving and very modern boots with piping and nautical coloring.  The navy pieces appear more in the vein of a collection of Sperrys in a Band of Outsiders lookbook, though that’s probably what they were going for.

What do you think of these styles? I’m really liking the 8 hole tapestry and 8 hole navy piped boots.

If you’re looking for new summer kicks to brighten (or darken, whichever you prefer) your summer days, have I got the sale for you.  These Y-3 sneakers are for men, but if you can translate the sizes to your lady size, these are perfectly andro.  Studs, metallic leather – what else could you want for casual summer kicks?!

Find them at Privé right now.  Need an invite?

Boat shoes have been a hyper popular style for over a year, but what styles do we go for this year?! There are always the typical patent or matte colored leather styles, but those are dated at this point.  It’s all up to neutrals and multi colored pieces to pick up the slack this summer; these five pieces below are excellent choices that all happen to be quite affordable.

For the $70 – $80 mark, we have three pieces; Boutique 9′s Bronson, Sperry Top-Sider’s Bluefish and Sebago’s Spinnaker styles.  For a slight price increase, Frye’s Quincy neutral is a lovely choice, though [surprisingly] it’s Fluevog’s OBO that wins my tastes overall.

Chelsea boots are the perfect androgynous go-to boot throughout the seasons. Chelseas are classic, and have been the go to boot for hip humans since the swingin’ 60s.  Hell, even Star Wars storm troopers even wore a Chelsea boot, only theirs was stained white to go with the rest of the outfit.

I love tall Chelseas for wearing over skinny jeans or trousers; they make legs look skinny, and streamline the leg with their tall boot shaft.  Taller Chelseas also have more of a military rather than civilian feel.  Aim high with YSL, Balmain, Frye’s Emmett, ASOS’ house pair (on sale at the moment) and Jeffrey Campbell’s stacked heel Area.  If black isn’t your thing, brown can be just as effective a statement maker.  Dolce & Gabbana has a distressed pair, while Mezlan’s polished version is more refined.

Shorter tends to be a dressier choice, unless you’re Topman’s creased pair; they’re perhaps a wee bit cheekier than one may want to take into your weekly meeting.  Both Barneys CO-OP and Prada’s pairs are delightfully polished pieces, and reasonably priced for the amount of wear you will beat out of them.

If you’re wondering what summer 2011′s top trend for men’s footwear is, look no further than the espadrille weave at the base of your favorite sneakers, loafers and chukkas.  They are easy to style; simply swap out your typical summer plimsolls with a pair of these, and you’re set and far more on trend.

For the sneaker set, Topman’s Mallorca pricing can’t be beat. River Island and Hudson’s both hover at quite a reasonable rate for those respective brands, though the detail orinented buyer will want the Filippa K design.

There are a number of espadrille loafers on the market, though steer clear of the tie dyed, hippie flavoured designs in favor of a piece like Kenneth Cole’s Par Dune Me.  Buy them a bit darker and you’ll also have a longer lasting wear as they’re getting soiled; think of how horrid a sky blue would be after sand and dirt scuffs!

Cut outs, slashes, rips.. they’re all in the trend train of SS11 and after all, what better way to stay cool in summertime than to have a bunch of holes in your clothing!

Cut out footwear is at the forefront of the trend, with Ksubi’s Dusty and Jeffrey Campbell’s Slashed take on their design.  For a more feminine touch, Minimarket’s cut out lace up would be ideal for little dresses, shorts and rompers.

Clothing ranges between the more refined proper cuts as shown in Prose IV’s button up to Ann-Sofie Back x Cheap Monday’s destroyed pullover; they’re going to be torn or properly cut and surged.  It all depends on your style; are you a rebel rouser or a classic down for mind expansion?

Menswear boots for the masses are typically causal or overtly proper. What’s to love about Pskaufman’s designs is that they are easily one foot in each pool; they are traditional brogue and zipper boots, marred with stains and paint to provide a beat in appearance.

Going through the website isn’t ideal; it is not designed as a proper ecommerce site, though the footwear makes it worthwhile time spent.  Favorites are the Interchange Work Chelsea in its worn out glory, as well as the Interchange Wingtip and Interchange Front Zip boots for their neon accents [all boots found here].

All footwear is made with full grain leathers, Goodyear welted construction with a recycled LightTread™ tire outsole on the outer and lined with leather and padded with memory foam (!) on the inside.

These are some serious boots, people! I’m really loving the Interchange Wingtip; boy or gals could pull that off during a neon friendly summer! Oh, I nearly forgot to mention this is the same man that designed the Nana x OC x Chloë Sevigny chelseas demiCouture featured back in December..check it, if you haven’t.

Stockist info: Madison at Fred Segal in Santa Monica, CA, Dungarees in Calabasas, CA,  Rogan in NYC and Johnny Sole in Porland, OR

Doc Martens boots have been the forefront favorite of the style savvy for many recent seasons, especially last summer with their release of floral 8 eyes and the like.  Don’t get too comfortable yet, DM’s boots have officially been usurped by one of their own family – the time of the creeper has come.

The creeps below are some of my very favorites; suede, pony hair, velvet, printed fabric, leather – so many different styles to chameleon.  Spring is a’comin, so get on your brights like the pink Hi Suede and the silver Koram Flash, prints as the floral Tapestry and excellent pony hair Leopardo or perhaps a crop of my most favorite fall boot, the wild card velvet.

Wear these as you would with your favorite brogues, jazz shoes, ballet slippers – just swap these DM creeps in wherever you would wear your favorite flats.

I can’t say I like Jimmy Choo‘s womens collection, but Tamara Mellon has created some damn sleek men’s shoes for their debut.  These are some of the most amazing Chelsea boots and loafers I’ve seen; check out the collection preview photos below.

I’m always there for my boys, especially when it comes to fighting FUggs.  Of course, it was completely necessary to create a lovely list of alternatives to FUgging yourself now that the winter chill has set in and the apocablizzard could hit any day now.

As we learned with the ladies’ boot list, fur lined boots are an easy option for keeping heat in – check out ASOS’ house lined boat boots, Kamik’s Pearson, Neil Tylor’s washed shearling, Ralph Lauren’s Tavin boots, Marc Jacobs’ lined and John Varvatos’ divine ghurka shearling lined boots (which happen to be my pick for design and purchase price!)

The rest of the pack may not be furry, though they’re ready to keep out the cold – check Dolce & Gabbana’s waxed suede, Timberland’s Tackhead and Sorel’s Maverick boot are perfect pieces for your consideration.  They are also varied in price points, since not all of us are D&G budgeters.

I’ve been seeing some disturbing Twitter conversation of late, which includes the consideration of wearing FUggs in Vancouver’s current cold snap to keep heat to the feet.  This is not an acceptable option, since there are so many more functional footwear alternatives to select – let’s check the list (this applies to both ladies and gents, since nobody should be FUgging themselves, no matter their gender)

The key to keeping warm is a fur lining.  Whether you go for the real stuff or faux it moot; it’s that lining that will keep you cozy, even if you have terrible circulation as myself.  The first group are more of the snow friendly; Juicy Couture’s Sarabeth, Dr. Martens’ fur lined Serena and Acne’s Trooper – these are tall, good gripping boots that will do well in super chills.

North American traditionalists will enjoy the designs of Punto Pigaro’s Polo moccasin or Topshop’s Alberry sheepskin boot, which is as close to FUgg territory as you’re going to get on demiCouture.  For the rest of the time when it’s temperature dive time and you want to look like you haven’t stepped out of mukluk territory, Pied A Terre’s Orca, Guiseppe Zanotti’s lined biker boot, Topshop’s Alpaca boot and River Island’s Speedy bike boot are ideal incantations of your warmer weather favorites now made winter ready.

If you think you know what Converse is all about, prepare to reboot.  I skipped over to the Red Bull Lounge in Yaletown today, with little inkling of the variance I was about to visually feast upon – new skinny soles, beautiful greys, all over leather sneaks and even some tie ups at the back.

Aside from the Jack Purcell range, these new slim soles are hyper picks for this season and SS11.. if you’re into sneakers, these slim soles are going to be the must have kicks, just wait.

Sperry Top-Sider is the original boat shoe brand, and while your summery deck kicks may now be set in your closet, the style is by no means done with till next spring.

These are the Cloud Logo boat boots; brown suede, mid calf boot shaft and the Sperry details you know and love – all for $140 US.  The coloring, design and overall look of these boots scream fall, and are incredibly comfortable as well.  Forget PVC imitations; a proper leather or suede boot is going to last you so much longer, and look amazing while doing it.

For a long time leathers on Dr. Marten boots have been sleek and glossy, though the tide has turned with two new additions to the Modern Classics collection.  These two new Docs feature soft, pebbled leathers that have no need for breaking in – they’re ready to wear in every sense.

These Modern Classics are available in brown or black, and have the same Goodyear welting process done to create their soles, which means that they’re just as tough as any of the other hard Docs.

Like these babies? Want to win them? Enter the demiCouture x Doc Martens giveaway now!!

When it comes to super hip men’s footwear, it’s difficult to discern what is going to be truly daring choice.  Giacomorelli takes the guesswork away with their FW10 men’s footwear collection; check out the spikes, patent and bucking below.. perfectly eccentric!

My favorites are the electric blue studded loafers.  They look something between a Louboutin Rollerball on acid, after watching a ballad of the Cookie Monster.  Whatever your style, if you’re a brave style lover in search of a stunner to captivate your audience, your search is over.

It’s summer, so your light plimsolls and man-foot baring sandals are officially out – it’s time for the big boy footwear to come out of the closet.  It’s fall, which means tough boots, sneaker hybrids and clever interpretations of the classics are on the male menu.

Boots and brogues are the best best, though you can get the off fabric (in our case, denim) pair of sneaker-boot hybrids.  The most important feature of your footwear is fabrics; if you’re looking for long lasting, go for neutral leathers (no fakers!), but if you’re in the market for a few pairs of shoes than a textile mixture can do the trick.. just make sure you water seal them before wearing out!

Jeffrey Campbell’s new Brit Man boot is incredibly awesome for the cash, and available in brown or black.  A similar city boot is Fluevog’s new Ferlinghetti, a take on the classic Chelsea boot with signature ‘Vog steeze, or you can check out Hudson’s Ellis for a similar (yet grayer) look.

The classic brogue boot never goes out of style, so a buy like ASOS’ style is a sure investment bet with little cash to part with to start! Timberland’s Tackhead is not only functional but super on trend, what with the military style that has resurged within the last few months.

For those dancing to the anti traditional drum, Opening Ceremony’s saddle shoes, Osborn’s denim booties or Hudson’s blue leather boat shoes are super perfect choices for the guy who loves to get a little more creative during his day to day.

Menswear sneakers are tricky things; there are so many things that can go wrong – overly puffy, under designed, hi tops too high… it never ends.

The thing with the Y-3 Honja sneaks is that none of these things come into play with them.. they are perfectly detailed with the lifted Y-3 striping, square studding and a svelte construction  of the leather body.  Each pair of the Honjas are $319 CA, which in itself is quite impressive.

Loafers are the new ballet flats (or brogues for the boys), so let’s peer into a selection of excellent flat slip ons; footwear that is largely overlooked, but no longer!

There are two types of loafers; soft and structured.  The soft is more like a house slipper one can wear out, while the structured will be not only stiffer, but likely a larger width of shoe.  Slipper loafers are the newest hot ticket, so we’ll check those out first off.

Newbark’s dual tone is a slice of flash, while Marsèll’s wrap leather style and Gitanes’ black pair are more laid back styles more akin to not be the main visual event.  Alternatively, the structured group is loud and proud – Giacomorelli’s spiked ponyhair, Beatrix Ong’s velvet and Matiko’s Leila studded loafer are superstars in the loafer world.  Metal and pony hair are the most popular embellishments, so look out where your favorite high street trickle down styles are sold.