Good grief! It seems that for once in my life I am traveling in the same

direction as the zeitgeist.

“Derb—I made some calls locally – Raleigh, NC – and found out some

interesting stuff. The market has gone crazy this summer for white bucks –

indeed, bucks in general. Most stores are sold out and won’t be getting any

until next Spring. One local store has one pair (10.5 Medium) ($140.00) that

the salesman said you might want to try as a possible substitute. He also

said that sales people that normally don’t talk to each other have joined

together to find these shoes for their customers. Our local guys have gone

from Charleston to New Orleans and there are none to be had.”

Well! Many, many thanks to all who have tried to help with this. I have a

lot of leads. Unfortunately, nobody has yet come up with a wide-fit white

buck in size 10. The best so far is “medium,” which I know won’t do. I

have seriously wide feet (EEEE) — the family joke is, that I can scuba dive

without flippers. For years I’ve been relying on Hitchcock for my shoes; but they don’t do a white buck.

Readers tell me, though, that tony men’s outfitters like Brooks Brothers

might stock these items, so on my next trip to Manhattan I shall explore &

try on anything they might have.