[Mr Jones]

Took a chance on these loafers when I saw them at a secondhand shop. The quality seems pretty good, but there are no markings except a short number code on the sole. They appear never to have been worn, so it seems unlikely that branding, codes and size marks would have been worn away. The linings are a soft glove leather, with a soft suede in the heel cups and thin soft leather over the insole. The GG detail in the toe brogueing (how the hell do you spell that?) piqued my interest. If someone was trying to produce a fake Gucci, wouldn't they plaster the logo all over the place? It seems like the target market for a knockoff would be disappointed by such subtle branding. (I once overheard someone critiquing a plain - but genuine - Burberry shirt by declaring "if I'm gonna wear Burberry, it's gotta say BURBERRY on it!")

Anyways, what are your thoughts? It's probably nothing, but I just thought I'd ask...

 

[Mr Jones]

First off, those are almost certainly replacement soles.

I have no idea as to the make. They may well be Gaziano & Girling based on the toe medallion.

Re: soles. Nah, these are new shoes. I own many, many shoes and know a resole/recrafting when I see one. There's no imprinting inside and no creasing on the vamps.

As far as the G&G thing... I don't think it's theirs. They tend to have a really dramatic elongated spade shaped profile, where these have a toe that's more rounded. But... England might be a good place to look. I just did some more searching for the "Phillips Special" combination heel and found an old Styleforum post where someone had similarly marked heels on a pair of Trickers from the 1980s.

I'll keep digging, thanks for your input.