These new additions, as well as more footwear from Piloti, can be found here in the Petrolicious Shop
If you’re wearing shoes for sport, there are usually just three acceptable conditions for that footwear decision: you’re currently participating in the sport, you’re trying them on to use to play the sport later on, or it’s the 1980s. There are exceptions, but oftentimes wearing gym sneakers or running shoes isn’t the most stylish choice, and when it comes to driving shoes this holds true most of the time as well; if you’re nowhere near a race car there’s no better way to look like a goofball than in a pair of bright, stripy, mid-top driving shoes adorned with a garish mix of primary colors.
Now, those hardcore driving boots certainly have their place, and paired with a Nomex race suit and resting atop a set of pedals, few shoes look the business more than those aggressively-styled-and-colored kicks, but they aren’t what you’d call versatile. It’s the same reason you wouldn’t want to drive a stiff and harsh and low and loud race car on a bumpy B-road—just the wrong combo, nothing more to it.
There is middle ground though, and it is possible to have a shoe that can perform and dance around completely at home in the pedal box while affording you the opportunity to park and walk away without feeling like you’re trackside.
For the typical enthusiast car owner, driving shoes may seem like a frivolity—do I need a shoe that’s a bit better for working the clutch?—but even if they are a bit of an indulgence for street use, it’s just one of those pieces of the overall enjoyment provided by no one thing, but the entire experience of driving. Not only the car and the motor and the mechanical manipulations we engage in, but the textures of the textiles in the cabin, the sounds and smells, really every sensory input taken in while in the car helps in some way to paint the bigger picture. And when it comes to being connected to that experience—letting it envelop you whole—these touch points where you literally connect to the vehicle you’ve already melded with mentally are the most important to get right.
The new Piloti Officina and Primo driving loafers allow for great pedal feel, have just the right dimensions for a fitted and controlled sensation in the car, while also striking the balance between the look of a driving enthusiast and someone with a cogent sense of fashion. These are two pairs of shoes that are equally in their comfort zone stabbing at and rolling off of the clutch, gas, and brake as they are walking from the curb to the cafe after you’ve parked following a spirited drive. Shoes of all trades.
The Primo, pictured below, is offered in our shop in a choice of two colors, black or grey, and the soft and pliable suede uppers are paired with Piloti’s perfected rubber tire tread soles; stylish on top, business on the bottom, sort of a like a shoe mullet, but much better looking. Of the two shoes recently added to the Piloti collection, the Primo is perched on the slightly more formal end than the Officina, but even with the perpendicular band near the tongue, there is still a sense of sportiness imbued in the design thanks to the holes which evoke race-lightened panels and perforated pedals.
The more casual and minimalist Officina shoe, shown below, is similarly sporty on the sole side, featuring separate sections of rubber “pods” for traction and feel in the right pressure points. Also like the Primo, the sole’s heel section is a nice smooth curve that makes rolling on the heel between gas and brake for instance, a very smooth and comfortable process. Stepping out of the car though, the four colors of nubuck fit in with every occasion. There is just enough flair to them without being overbearing, and the timeless slip-on design is always a winner. To give the straightforward outward appearance a bit more zest though, Piloti’s added a subtle red stripe just above the tire tread heel pattern to hint at the performance capabilities of the Officina.
These new additions, as well as more footwear from Piloti, can be found here in the Petrolicious Shop
