Images relating to Pope Benedict's dress sense, including the latest images of a cobbler who has made a pair of shoes for him. At least one pair was handmade by Antonio Arellano in a tiny cobbler's shop in a narrow back street off St. Peter’s Square where a steady flow of customers come to get their shoes re-soled.

His fondness for reviving costumes unseen for generations and a range of flamboyant hats prompted the Wall Street Journal to ask "Does the Pope Wear Prada?" Esquire magazine named him "Accessorizer of the Year", praising his red leather loafers.

The coverage eventually earned a rebuke from the Vatican newspaper which called such reports "frivolous". "The pope, in summary, does not wear Prada, but Christ," wrote l'Osservatore Romano.