More from Last Week - Great Shoes + Bikini Bottoms?!?

Made some stops at the two Elizabeth, NJ stores + Secaucus this weekend for one last hurrah before I head to Philly. One great find in some shoes that just came in, some decent shirts, and then a huge waste of floor-space in men's bikini-bottoms for summer. Here goes ---

First off, some of the best quality shoes that Daffy's has had in stock in months -- a small supply of shoes from Martin Dingman (made in Italy) were available, both casual and some on the dressy side, all for $98.99. I also noticed one pair from Fratelli Rossetti (see pics) -- if I was a betting man, I'd say that the Dingman shoes are made by Fratelli Rossetti, but that's just a hunch. A few of the shoes had Goodyear-welt soles, and a few had 'Amazonas' written on the bottom (probably indication of a good rubber sole, but I've never heard of that name prior to this). Look for the shoes in orange boxes, with a signature in cursive on it. As always in the shoe department, be sure to check everything and everywhere, regardless - shoes will often be placed in other-brand boxes and the wrong sizes placed on incorrect shelves.

Update (5/10): Noticed a number of the Martin Dingman's are samples marked 'Made in Brazil'. Quality looks the same as those as the ones I saw earlier that are made in Italy.

A few bits and pieces from Luke Simon (made in USA) and Cooper Jones. Luke Simon seems to be an interesting brand - hadn't seen/heard of it before, but it seems to be some laid-back sportswear which is all made in NYC. The Jersey Gardens location had a few shirts in solid-colors -- some nice stitching details as well, and a few pairs of shorts w/interesting patterns (pic to the left is an actual shirt they had at the store for $19.99, I believe the pic is from JacksThreads, a sample sale site for men's streetwear) -- nothing phenomenal, but I'd be interested to see some more from this line. The Cooper Jones stuff wasn't really very appealing -- a few very basic buttondowns that weren't really made or fitted very well, but I'll gladly take it over the Bobby Chan junk they just got in (see prior post).

And finally, a great find like the Martin Dingman shoes would not be complete w/out something else ruining any goodwill I may have had towards the Daffy's buyer for the week. So, with summer coming, it's probably a good play to stock some bathing suits, boardshoarts, etc... But the Secaucus store had a HUGE stock of men's bikini bottoms, including some more 'revealing' ones from apparently well-known labels, Beach Rays, and Ami Sanzuri. For the life of me, I can't understand why anyone would think that American men would buy these things. The only time I've seen/heard of men wear bikini bottoms is in Europe, where it is mandated in some countries for public health reasons. If you want 'em, Daffy's has them. But for the life of me, I can't understand what goes through a buyer's head when they think that someone state-side will buy these things. Perhaps some bodybuilders will get word of this and clear 'em out :P

I mentioned previously, the one major item I desperately wish Daffy's carried were Italian leather bags for men. If they didn't carry crap like this, and about 3/4 of their undergarments section, there'd be plenty of room for that kind of stuff. In the meantime, precious floor-space is being devoted to nonsense like this.