The secrets to a great and wearable shoe are simplicity and comfort.  Look at the TOD’S Driving Moccasin or the Chanel Ballet Slipper.  The shape remains the same from one decade to the next, but lends itself to countless fabrications, colors and patterns produced each season. 

With this theory in mind, Charles Philip Pozzi, along with his BFF/partner Sheila Pitigala, has reimagined the classic “Albert Slipper” (a men’s footwear staple that originated in velvet and take their name from Prince Albert who wore them frequently in the 1840s) in a wide variety of hip and contemporary patterns and fabrics. 

No strange to fashion (his mother, Lizette Hernandez Kattan de Pozzi was the editor of Harper’s Bazaar Italia and Harper’s Bazaar France before becoming Honduras’ Consul General, in Milan), the Milan-born/Boston-educated Pozzi had taken a blue-and-white striped shirt to a cobbler in Shanghai, and in so doing, the first pair of Charles Philip Shanghai loafers were created. 

With their rubber soles, and clever fabrications (including tweed, denim, and suede), CP shoes are great for the on-the-go fashionista.  What’s more, because they are produced in China (something about which the partners are particularly proud), the costliest men’s shoe I’ve come across is a very accessible $150. 

Giving credit where it is due, I was only made aware of these snazzy slip-ons when Jacob pointed them out to me, while perusing that über-cool online men’s store, ParkAndBond.com.

Finally, I no longer need to angrily shake my fist at the shoe gods because nobody uses cool fabrics and colors for men’s footwear, let alone in a stylish manner (let alone at such a particularly stylish price).  Yippee! 

Charles Philip Shanghai
Click HERE for info

 Get into it!