It is quite refreshing to enjoy in spring, wearing something completely different. In the era of sneakers, where the fashion-fascism and dictatorship reached its highest peak: either sneakers or nothing, it is quite refreshing to revisit an old friend: a pair of gorgeous grey shoes with patina… by Bally and Made in Switzerland.
Faguo est une entreprise à mission française créée en 2008. En juillet 2019, elle décide de déménager ses bureaux de Paris à Nantes: Depuis 2019, elle est spécialisée dans la fabrication et le commerce de gros d’habillement et de chaussures. Faguo signifie « France » en mandarin. L’entreprise Faguo réalise une série de collaborations avec de nombreuses maisons de mode (Agnès b, Jean Charles de Castelbajac, Saint James, Cyrillus…)
FAGUO existe pour engager notre génération contre le dérèglement climatique.
Writing about the Viennese Café Hawelka, situated in the very heart of the Old Vienna (Doroteergasse), may resemble very much the title of the famous chanson “La bohème” and we [may] speak of the definite past time(s) and the spirit of the postwar years and the 60s cultural scene of Vienna.
Numerous mediocre printed tourist guides often refer to this place as the “historical” and “famous Viennese Café” and may produce enormous confusion to the (average) tourists, who immediately expect they would see Mozart or Sissi, or at least Klimt’s paintings and the furniture from the period of secession. No! This is not the place with clichés. This is not the place made of the typical kitschy tourist clichés!
This is the place for the visitors who have already some knowledge of the period when this place was the “second home” of the Viennese and Austrian art, literature, philosophy, film and architecture pioneers and giants. This is not the place where one can admire the nobility and the glamour of Vienna and the grandeur of the Empire. There is no gold and glitter inside, nor should this place become fancy! On the contrary, this is the place, which was opened in the horrible and shameful times for Austria, back in 1939 and was closed shortly afterwards.
The “glorious” days of this café take us back to the second half of the 50s – the period after the war. Leopold Hawelka and his wife Josefine reopened the place in 1945. They left Vienna during the war. A short historical footnote important for the context of this place: it was the first Viennese “American bar” (Chatham-Bar) from 1913 with the interior being designed by Rudolf Schindler who studied architecture from Otto Wagner and Adolf Loos. Back to 1945! When Leopold and Josefine Hawelka came back to Vienna, they found the place to be without any damage. In the setting of Vienna from the era of “The Third Man”, the beginning was difficult, but at least they were alive and they came back to their place…
Leopold Hawelka (1911-2011) and his wife Josefine Hawelka (1913-2005) dedicated their lives to this place. Their son Günter, continued the family business and it is now the third generation that actually continues the family tradition. It would certainly not be easy to continue the tradition of this place, which was marked by the presence of the founder and the spirit of the new postwar Austrian society, desperately in need of art to heal from the horrible past.
Viennese intellectuals used to regularly come to Café Hawelka.
Friedrich Torberg, the famous writer, journalist and translator, born as Friedrich Kantor, came back to Vienna in 1951, following the more than a decade long exile in France and the USA, which saved his life. Another important, although controversial figure for the postwar Austrian literature, Heimito von Doderer (nominee for the Nobel prize), with the shameful past in the Nazi party, banned from publishing for three years after the war, was also the regular guest. Hilde Spiel, another Austrian writer frequented the café in the sixties, after her exile from London. Hans Weigel, the famous writer, journalist and theater critic, used to come this place after his exile in Switzerland during the war. Kurt Moldovan, the Austrian painter, illustrator and author, one of the major visual artists in contemporary Austrian art was also one of the guests, just like Oswald Wiener, the famous language theorist, author and cyberneticist.
For decades the wall in the café displayed the posters of the theater plays, concerts, book promotions… And you may still see the old and the new posters, which may bring memories of the old days. On the other wall, there is Mr. Hawelka’s collection of the drawings / sketches of the talented guests.
The Viennese Group (“Wiener Gruppe”) – the Austrian avant-gardists frequented the café in the 50s: Konrad Bayer, the famous writer [“The Head of Vitus Bering”, “The Sixth Sense”…]; Hans Carl Artman (Ib Hansen), the author, poet and translator; Gerhard Rühm, the famous composer and visual artist, Friedrich Achleitner, architectural critic and the famous author of concrete poems and experimental literature…
I would also like to mention other guests, the artists like Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Ernst Fuchs, Arik Brauer, Rudolf Hausner, Alfred Hrdlicka, Walter Navratil and the famous Austrian conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt, or the actors Oskar Werner, Helmut Qualtinger, Klaus Maria Brandauer or Senta Berger and the popular singers like Udo Jürgens, Falco or Georg Danzer, who made a song in the dialect [“Jo schau”], mentioning the place.
The foreign authors, writers, artists who visited Vienna, also visited the Café Hawelka, like the Nobel Prize winner Elias Canetti, Arthur Miller, Henry Miller, Peter Ustinov or Andy Warhol.
The Golden era of the bohemian literary cafés is UNFORTUNATELY over in general, as we tend to live in the virtual world of social networking, but the general idea of the place remained.
In order to understand and love this place, you have to carefully search for the traces of past, for the spirit of time and you have to be familiar with the history / history of Austrian art, but above all, you must be emotional, openminded and at least slightly nostalgic…
I am very much satisfied with these gorgeous suede navy BOGNER sneakers. The leather is of good quality. The model is made for both – (long) walks and going out. They are comfortable and match perfectly well with the casual and not only casual styles. You can easily match them with navy deconstructed blazer and blue jeans. The orange accents contribute to the beauty of the lines. They belong to the Bogner sneakers’ family of PORTO shoes. These are MADE IN PORTUGAL and run true to size. I would warmly recommend BOGNER sneakers for long walks on the Corniche or a break in a Cafe or for going out, for relaxed moments and even the less casual occasions. Versatile and contemporary, classical and perfectly constructed.
The famous Parisian brand JONAK, originating from St. Germain, founded in the sixties, whose core values are described as love (for it all started in the family), freedom and creativity, finally showed up with the HOMME collection of loafers – mocassins, chunky – very trendy loafers, boots, derbies and derbies with buckle.
This was a longtime awaited move of the Parisian brand. Finally, something fresh, new, trendy, but classical, classy but optimistic in the world of the footwear for men! The collection is designed in black, dark brown – marron and caramel glazed leather with the casual soles – robust or chunky, but neither extreme, nor exagerrated.
These shoes come as a lovely surprise predominantly to the men cultivating the Parisian style: elegant, but effortless; “nonchalant” and “léger” but with the attitude; intellectual, but relaxed. This capsule collection, which comes as the pure exclusivity of 12 models (designed and styled in Paris and made in Italy) inspire and bring optimism.
One can easily match the loafers with the corduroy trousers, the classy duffle coat with the oversized sweater and a long scarf, matched with the leather bag and gloves to remain chic in the literary cafes of the Bd St. Germain. On the other side, jeans and leather jackets would also fit well. All in black for intello(s), or in the colors of autumn for the trend-setters, or matched with the strong and pure shades of the basic colors for optimists, would certainly be some of the options to wear these refreshing shoes. Apart from men, ladies would certainly find the right way to match them with the wide trousers celebrating the freedom and the spirit of the rebellious seventies in a sophisticated way.
The shoes are still not available (August 2022), but are expected in the JONAK shops all around Paris and France. The online shop, which is completely reliable and works perfectly well, makes them available in the whole world.
The only weak point is the fact that they come only in the range from 40-45 Italian sizing. A hint to the producer – add 46 (IT) to this range and more men would be happy throughout the world. Including me.
Anyway, I strongly congratulate JONAK, famous for ladies’ shoes on this brave and smart decision to introduce the new collection for men! Bonne chance! I hope this will become the new tradition!
A toast to you! A ta santé et à ton bonheur ! From Vienna with love! In the very heart of the Viennese 1st arrondissement, from the terrace of the French restaurant LE BOL at Neuer Markt, with a glass of Chablis with my favorite meal “Monsieur Seguin”, considering a cup of coffee and the famous lemon cake… Enjoying my lunch and my free time!
Eyewear: LANVIN Polo: VERSACE JEANS COUTURE EDT: Hermès H24
At LE BOL, they actually have this excellent CHABLIS ‘La Pierrelée’ from Bourgogne [Burgundy], which has this pale gold color. Limpid and brilliant. The bouquet opens with light spices, white orchard fruits with a fresh mineral touch. Good aromatic persistence! Fresh and full mouthfeel with delicate mineral tension! Long mineral finish… a very beautiful Chablis with great character!
For the end of this post, Patrick Bruel’s song: A la santé des gens que j’aime! A special toast, with a bit of nostalgia and a lot of emotions! A ta santé!
Souvent inspirée par la beauté des contradictions, CAMPERLAB explore le style et les chaussures sous un angle différent, proposant des collections qui reflètent l’esprit de son île d’origine par le biais d’une esthétique surréaliste et d’un sens de l’humour sophistiqué.
Chaussures en cuir noir avec épaisse semelle extérieure et renfort en caoutchouc au bout… Très tendence.
One day, in the very heart of Brussels, a pair of suede loafers in a shop window, brought my immediate attention [although it wasn’t my shopping day], and I simply couldn’t resist to those basically brown suede loafers with yellow and orange details and the bold silverware. Those tri-color shoes seemed like an ideal unexpected summer shoes to break with the usual beige, navy, brown, black or even red loafers… These shoes were produced in Spain for Salamander France and came to Brussels in very limited number – probably a pair in each available size, so they were quickly sold out. Frankly, I’ve never ever seen this model in this or similar shops of the retailer anywhere else in Europe.
Another day, in the very heart of Milan, as I walked near Il Duomo, I accidentally saw a shop window with the usual stretch belts for summer, which exist in the usual boring colors and among them, there was this orange Renato Balestra stretch belt, [proudly] produced in Italy, which has the flag attached to the inner part and it seemed like a nice surprise to match the belt with the shoes and at least, the the two LACOSTE polos, which are the classy, classical experience ever since my childhood. All in all, unexpectedly, I managed to make the sunny shoe + belt match for the lovely sunny days… Unexpectedly!
Necessities 