Kirby Allison appreciation thread

‘How to smoke a cigar at Davidoff, London.’

I look forward to the video of Kirby and Waynetta Slob discussing cigarettes. What, what, what!
 
‘How to smoke a cigar at Davidoff, London.’

If you watch that video will see Kirby come up with a posturing of a high grade movie star. It is about 2/3 of the way through (I think) and he talks about having a cigar with friends blah blah. The way he does it is brilliant and is his best moment on youtube by far. His words are measured and hits the right tone. It's his golden moment.
 
If you watch that video will see Kirby come up with a posturing of a high grade movie star. It is about 2/3 of the way through (I think) and he talks about having a cigar with friends blah blah. The way he does it is brilliant and is his best moment on youtube by far.

It's gone beyond mere satire. I'm increasingly convinced that it's some sort of performance art project.
 
It's gone beyond mere satire. I'm increasingly convinced that it's some sort of performance art project.

Yes.

and ole Kirbs models his $700 bespoke Wil Whiting casual shirts. See from about 14:46 - end.

and of course the classic overcoat scene. Quite similar to the dramatic Huntsman scene.
 
Despite Kirby talking about gemming failure at John Lobb and knowing about how hand welted is a life long construction, he still continues to avoid this subject completely when talking about hand welted shoes. He seems to be very selective in the information he gives. Same goes with leather outsoles, he recently mentioned the word "Bakers" but usually avoids that word like the plague. Kirby can be like a news program, he can give you part of the story/information but not the full information because he leaves important parts out. I wonder why he avoids mentioning certain things.

 
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A very enjoyable interview.
 
Looks like Kirby is not on speaking terms with Cleverley anymore. I am not really surprised.

 
He’s a funny one, sitting there in a white shirt without even removing his jacket and then polishing shoes.

It is not exactly a great video either so I would not bother to repeat the exercise.
 
Shoe Shine Livestream | Kirby Allison - YouTube - Mozilla Firefox 2020-03-20 14-25-12.jpg
 
Wasn’t he a Cleverley shill? He must have more than 10 pairs from them. What happened?

That mob have lost a lot of friends in recent years, and for good reason. Their top last maker and various top shoemakers have also jumped ship. These excellent craftsmen had so much integrity in their work that they had no option but to get out imo, they were the smart ones.

Looks like Kirby has finally woken up to a few cold realities too, he was always naive. Lots of people have. The firm is different now, and many want nothing to do with them anymore.

Yes, Kirby has 10 pairs and he promoted the firm, but that doesn't earn respect or friendship, he would be considered `small fry' with no pull with the firm. The firm have this society shoemaker image that they trade off, and they aggressively pursue business, and they certainly don't need Kirby. Sadly some people in the firm are running it into the ground IMO, they are businessmen, but lack integrity, and their lack of professionalism is earning the firm a bad name with numerous clients. Numerous people are glad to see the back of them. I won't go into the dirty talk.
 
Which makers have left Cleverley so far? There is Dominic Casey who is on his own and there is Teemu Leppanen that's now at Lobb, who one else?
 
Which makers have left Cleverley so far? There is Dominic Casey who is on his own and there is Teemu Leppanen that's now at Lobb, who one else?

their star shoemaker (Japanese man) has also left. He was a really great bottom maker. I think they made the right decision to leave.
 
their star shoemaker (Japanese man) has also left. He was a really great bottom maker. I think they made the right decision to leave.

Just found his name on the forums, it is Yohei Iwasaki. He is really REALLY good! As good as anyone you would ever see.

The two Cleverley stars: Teemu Leppanen and Yohie Iwasaki...the good old days.
Cleverley - Yohei Iwasaki 1.jpg
Cleverley - Yohei Iwasaki 2.jpg



Btw, if you want to see Kirby's latest celebration, check this out, should be good listening. Haven't had a listen yet, but l will in a week or two when l have more time.
 
So it appears that Kirby put together a "group made to order" (GMTO) between his business and Carmina. The GMTO was for boots in Russian calf (basically a replica of the famous, or infamous, Russian leather that was taken from the wreck of the Metta Catherina off the English coast).

The Carmina thread on SF is filled with complaints about Kirby. It seems that there were some delays in production, probably due to the COVID-19 coronavirus, but that Kirby entirely failed to provide updates, failed to respond to e-mails, failed to even advise when the boots were finally being shipped out, and then shipped some pairs to the wrong people.

Here's just one example: https://www.styleforum.net/threads/...ice-sizing-etc.241469/page-2243#post-10343931

After asking for my tracking number from KA for the Russian MTO I received an email back that informed me they were sent to the wrong customer and the package was intercepted and on it's way back to Texas to be re-shipped to me. The email did say there were issues with the leather which was part of the delay (in addition to Covid). Then, the email indicated there were numerous mistakes at the KA re-ship. It will be interesting whether or not I have boots next week. Definitely an adventure - not to mention a lesson in a very poorly run business in KA.


There were also a number of snarky comments about how Kirby's time would be better spent responding to e-mails from actual customers, rather than making another YouTube video.
 
‘Russian calf’ is like catnip to an iGent. Some of them also love one-off, MTO group purchases. Much more exciting than simply going into a shop, trying a pair on, then deciding whether or not to buy them.

I had a look at the thread and was disappointed to see the boot in question is just a simple chukka boot and not a particularly stylish one either. I had hoped for the sort of flashy, Victorian-style boot favoured by the likes of RogerP. A button boot would have been even better.
 
Button boots = cosplay. Expect to see the midget security guard who wears tails to the ice cream shop wearing that sort of thing.

I saw Crompton had a pair of Russian monks made at vast cost. It appears that the leather that everyone is drooling over is prone to breaking down at stress points like the buckle straps. So what exactly was the attraction if the things don’t hold up, besides internet bragging rights?
 
I saw Crompton had a pair of Russian monks made at vast cost. It appears that the leather that everyone is drooling over is prone to breaking down at stress points like the buckle straps. So what exactly was the attraction if the things don’t hold up, besides internet bragging rights?

Yes, that's my experience.

About a decade ago, I was given a cardholder made from genuine Russian leather from the Metta Catherina as a gift. It had a bit of a smell to it, but not too bad. The colour and texture of the leather were nice.

It was quite weak and only lasted a year or two before it started to tear at the corners. I tossed it in a drawer and went back to using the same calf-leather wallet that I've now been using for the past couple of decades.
 
If you hurry up, you might be able to nab Chenner's book. Exclusively available from Kirby with a free hanger for the first few customers.

 
If you hurry up, you might be able to nab Chenner's book. Exclusively available from Kirby with a free hanger for the first few customers.

A book crying out for reviews from team Russell Street.
 
He should make the world a favour and hang himself from his overpriced dildodish hangers.

Period
 
If you hurry up, you might be able to nab Chenner's book. Exclusively available from Kirby with a free hanger for the first few customers.


This is an ad copy warning that they had the intern working on the blurb ''outrageous black comedy...'' Read: the dull, cliched work of a hack.
 
Boring.

I want to know more about the pizza they have after shooting. Does Kirby have a special pizza for himself, or do the crew all share the same standard menu options?

I posted it for 2 reasons.

1). It shows Kirby has gone all in.
2). The light/umbrella thingee tickled my fancy. Kirby is so serious about it all.

image_2021-01-11_235645.png
 
Kirby strikes me as being serial killer serious about absolutely everything.

I'm glad he had the falling out with Georgie Glasgow, if for no other reason than I don't have to keep looking at those bizarre "classic" slip-ons he would keep ordering.
 
That is a softbox. How does this fellow make his money to afford this? Youtube ad-rev?

He is one of those privileged few where he just lives his life and does what he wants without thinking about money. So many think about money, but it is refreshing when one doesn't care about it. Kirby didn't always have money, as a young bloke he could only afford Grensons etc, but he obviously came into money at a certain age.

Kirby has talked about his online store paying for all his cameras and youtube videos, and probably wages for staff too (about 1:07:00 of video). Obviously he doesn't need to work.

 
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