I snuck over to the Rogues Gallery NYC showroom the other day to check out the new collection. When everyone wasn’t paying attention I snapped a few shots of the space and the some SS10 goodies. I really liked the washed knits that were on display, note to self buy washed knits when they hit stores. Just being in the showroom makes me feel like I’m in the company’s shop in Portland. The space is really well done, which is not really a surprise considering Rogues founder Alex Carleton’s taste. (RIP Men’s Vogue.)

In other news if you haven’t heard, friend of ACL and all around gentleman Aaron Levine has left his post as design director for Hickey to become the creative director of Rogues Gallery. This is a coup for the fellas at Rogues and I can’t wait to see what Aaron has in store for us.

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How can you improve on an iconic shoe? That is exactly what Mark McNairy was tasked with when creating his new co-labeled collection of Bass Weejuns. Obviously the shoes had to be made in Maine and from high quality materials like Horween Shell Cordovan and real alligator. And naturally the shoes had to have a twist. What Mr. McNairy (who is also the J. Press creative director and has his own English made shoe collection under his name) accomplished is nothing short of genius. Granted I’m biased, but there is not one pair of shoes in his collection that I don’t want to steal. When I first found out about the new collection I was so happy that Mark was going to be designing everything — I couldn’t think of a better man for the job. What is pictured below is about one fifth of the special Weejuns collection. (The full range will be at Capsule next week if you are a store and want to buy / see the line. The shoes hit retailers come SS10.)

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Made in America | Hand Sewn Shoes from Maine from Michael Williams on Vimeo.

Made in the USA | Hand Sewn in Maine II from Michael Williams on Vimeo.

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Good things come to those who wait. Back in April I went up to Maine on a top secret mission that I am finally ready to reveal (in two parts) today and tomorrow. As you would guess my mission was shoe based, to go to a factory specializing in hand sewn shoes and document everything while my friend worked out the details for a very special collection of shoes that I will reveal for the first time tomorrow.

I have gone to lengths to show as much of the play-by-play as I could without giving away what brands were being manufactured. (Out of respect for the factory owners who were gracious enough to allow me to poke around.) It was my first time in a shoe factory in Maine and the workers seemed either curious as to my presence or decidedly ambivalent. The shoe making process from start to finish seems fairly straight-forward, workers prepare the leather and operate the pneumatic press to cut the various components. Those pieces and parts are shuttled down the line on wooden racks to a series of people who assemble sections until the shoes start to take shape. Eventually the leather parts make their way to a group of hand sewers who work diligently and skillfully to guide their three-inch needle back and forth until the signature moccasin toe is complete. After the hand sewers are finished, the shoes are attached to their soles — either with adhesive or sewn on — touched up, inspected and packaged. It looks fairly simple, but the process requires a great deal of skill and leather experience. Photos of the shop and some seriously good looking shoes after the jump.

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I’ve been meaning to post these photos from my top secret mission to Maine a little while back. The state has so much to offer even visiting for just two days and we met a lot of interesting people and saw some top notch Americana along the way. I was living the dream drinking the High Life, eating lobster and talkin’ shop. Check out my photos below.

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