thrillist

The pairing of high-class and mass can yield impressive results: a simple Caesar can get swanky with some ahi, and without Ben Kingsley, The Love Guru would've just been a trite comedy. For another pairing of the high and low(ish), check out Florsheim by Duckie Brown.

Launching exclusively at Confederacy on Thursday, Duckie Brown by Florsheim's a line of upmarket dress-ish footwear that's -- who saw this coming? -- a collab between Duckie (a pedigreed, limit-pushing NYC-based high-fashion house) and Florsheim, a 100+ year-old, family-run line of nice, affordable, populist dress shoes you didn't even know were on your feet at this very moment. Basically, Duckie took classic Florsheim styles dating all the way back to the '20s and maniacally jazzed them up with high-end materials (calf leather, premium suede, etc), hand-detailing (off-color stitching, etc), and fun, unusual colors like the lush brown "cognac" the way-bright "electric blue", and don't-pinch-me-on-St.-Patrick's-Day..."green". Designs available at launch include the all-grey, slipperlike suede Loafer, the glossy Plain Toe dress shoe, the leather-lined, two-tone Saddle (in brown/black, or grey/cognac), and the heavily detailed Laceless Wingtips (Duckie's saving lace).

Thursday, Confederacy's having an open vodka-bar party for the launch; they'll be the only shop in the whole damn country carrying the kicks 'til August, when a nationwide drop'll include a leather boot version of the American flag -- a shockingly patriotic model which'll make you little more than a trite comedy.

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Click here for the flier with all the party info