The Tod's Gommino is a driving shoe first and a loafer second, and most disappointment with it comes from forgetting that order. Bought for what it does, at a fair price, it is one of the most comfortable shoes a man can own.
The anthracite nubuck pair is now $357.62, down from $1,117.57, 68% off. At that number the case for it gets much easier.
What the Gommino is
The Gommino is a soft moccasin made in Italy, with rubber pebbles set through the sole and up the back of the heel. The name comes from the Italian for those small rubber nubs. The upper wraps under the foot and is stitched closed on top, moccasin style, which is why it bends from the first wear with almost no break-in.
There is no stiff heel counter, no welt and no heavy sole. That is the appeal, and it is also the limit.
The sole: for driving, not for walking the city
The pebbles exist to grip a pedal and to keep the heel from wearing through as it rests on the floor of a car. They do that well. What they do not do is protect your feet over distance. There is very little between your foot and the ground, and on a cobbled street or a concrete sidewalk you feel all of it.
The pebbles also wear. Walk a few miles a day in them and flat spots appear within a season, and a resole is not the routine job it is on a welted shoe.
Treat them as a shoe for the car, the boat, the terrace, a carpeted office and the short walk from the garage to lunch. For an airport day, a city weekend on foot, or anything past a couple of miles, wear something with a real sole.
That limit is also the argument for buying them on markdown. At full retail you pay a great deal for a shoe with a narrow job. At 68% off it is priced like what it is.
Sizing: true to slightly large
Tod's generally runs true to size or slightly large. The common advice from owners and sellers is to go half a size down if you fall between sizes. Treat that as a starting point, not a certainty, since lasts vary by model.
Confirm which scale the listing uses. Italian retailers often list men's shoes in UK or EU sizes. A UK size is generally one below the US size, so a UK 9 is roughly a US 10.
How they should feel on the first day: snug, close to tight across the top of the foot, with no gap at the sides of the opening. The heel should sit down in the back with only a slight lift as you walk, and your toes should not touch the end.
Moccasin leather relaxes, and nubuck relaxes more than polished calf. A pair that feels roomy in the store will be loose in a month. These are worn barefoot or with no-show socks, so size them on a bare foot.
Nubuck: what to expect and how to look after it
Nubuck is leather sanded on the grain side to a fine, velvety nap. It is softer and more matte than smooth calf and takes color differently. Anthracite, a deep charcoal, is the practical shade: it hides dust, it does not show the light scuffs that tan nubuck shows, and it goes with gray, navy, white and olive.
The care routine is short:
- Spray with a suede and nubuck protector before the first wear, and again every few months.
- Brush with a soft suede brush after each wear to lift the nap and clear dust.
- Use a suede eraser on marks. No water, no soap.
- If they get wet, stuff them with paper and let them dry away from heat, then brush.
- Store them on cedar shoe trees. A soft moccasin collapses without them.
Avoid rain when you can. Wet nubuck darkens and can stain at the waterline.
What to wear with them
The Gommino belongs with clothes that share its softness. It looks wrong under a worsted suit and right under almost everything relaxed.
A knitted or long-sleeve polo is the natural partner. The Corneliani long-sleeve cotton polo in gray is $126.12, down 80%. Gray over anthracite makes a tonal, quiet outfit, closer to Milan than Miami. Wear it tucked into a light chino or a cotton trouser with a slightly cropped hem, so the shoe shows and the trouser does not pool on top of it.
Wear a belt. Cognac calf against charcoal nubuck is the classic contrast. The Velasca Cinta belt in cognac smooth calf is 35 mm wide and made in Italy, at $90 (40% off). That width is right for trousers and chinos. Anything much wider belongs with denim.
Then sunglasses, because a driving shoe without them is half the idea. The Viola Milano Como sunglasses pair an Italian acetate frame in brown tortoise with silver details, at $91.20 (55% off). The brown softens a gray and charcoal outfit.
Trousers: white or stone chinos in spring and summer, mid-gray cotton or light wool in autumn. Bare ankle or a no-show sock. Never a white athletic sock.
The verdict
Buy the Gommino if you drive a lot, want a shoe for summer evenings and weekend errands, or travel somewhere warm and want one pair that packs flat and goes with everything. Skip it if you need a single shoe to walk a city all day.
In anthracite nubuck at $357.62, it is a fair price for an Italian moccasin with a known name and a color that works year round. More Italian pieces at markdown are on the Italia page and in the deals. For where Tod's sits among the big Italian names, and which ones deserve full price, see Italian menswear brands worth the money.
The pieces
The best markdowns, before they sell out.