The All-Inclusive Shoe & Boot Thread

actually, I wasn't aware you tried buday also. obviously, you gave rtw a shot.

what makes me scratching my head. you mentioned, you have more wrinkles with open lacing than closed lacing, which should be the opposite. just a rule of thumb. care to share?

shookt said:
Thank you, Buday made em. Fit is not as nice as Attila, since last wasn't adjusted. Those ain't balmorals haha, just ordinary quarter brogue oxfords.
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Thruth said:
They are comfy. W walker did a great job figuring out my fit. He also taught me how to fine tune things with swapping in/out different sockliners and I can have my cordwainer make them for me.
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good to hear you got something out of my voodoo-portfolio, just kidding.

fun fact of this particular story: the typical i-gent on styfo is strictly against measures for fitting issues. literally, a shoe has to fit or it is bullshit and you have to swallow your loss. imo, this is a very degenerate mindset but it explains, that even worn down i-gent favorites like E.G., G.G., Alden etc. still shoot more on the secondary market than a brand new pair from Buday, Attila, Vass, etc. considering that the english brands are a machine made piece of junk from a automatized production line, it tells a story, imo.

well, they do tongue pads, which is a big no-no from an orthopedic point of view. despite it is cheapskate, it is also counterproductive and can cause trouble in the long-term usage.
 
walker said:
well, they do tongue pads, which is a big no-no from an orthopedic point of view. despite it is cheapskate, it is also counterproductive and can cause trouble in the long-term usage.
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I am not a fan either, however Kirby got fitted with a tongue pad for his G&G bespokes.
 
walker said:
actually, I wasn't aware you tried buday also. obviously, you gave rtw a shot.

what makes me scratching my head. you mentioned, you have more wrinkles with open lacing than closed lacing, which should be the opposite. just a rule of thumb. care to share?
Click to expand...

Yes I visited Buday on the same trip where I was measured at Attila but they had stopped all MTM and were only trying to clear existing stock and were offering clearance discounts.

When I’ve tried derbies from rtw of the same and last size as oxfords, the lacings often are looser and theres more space between my foot and vamp due to my flat foot. So there’s more unsightly wrinkling patterns. Not sure if that makes sense?
 
shookt said:
Yes I visited Buday on the same trip where I was measured at Attila but they had stopped all MTM and were only trying to clear existing stock and were offering clearance discounts.
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so Buday is rtw only nowadays?

shookt said:
When I’ve tried derbies from rtw of the same and last size as oxfords, the lacings often are looser and theres more space between my foot and vamp due to my flat foot. So there’s more unsightly wrinkling patterns. Not sure if that makes sense?
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of course it does, as said before once, you've the typical low profile asian foot, which has different crucial points for the fit to be adressed than e.g. an european foot. generally speaking the deceiding factor is the volume over the instep and the width, which is required in the forefoot.
 
well, Lobbster would you kindly explain, what makes you poop? many thanks

walker said:
good to hear you got something out of my voodoo-portfolio, just kidding.

fun fact of this particular story: the typical i-gent on styfo is strictly against measures for fitting issues. literally, a shoe has to fit or it is bullshit and you have to swallow your loss. imo, this is a very degenerate mindset but it explains, that even worn down i-gent favorites like E.G., G.G., Alden etc. still shoot more on the secondary market than a brand new pair from Buday, Attila, Vass, etc. considering that the english brands are a machine made piece of junk from a automatized production line, it tells a story, imo.

well, they do tongue pads, which is a big no-no from an orthopedic point of view. despite it is cheapskate, it is also counterproductive and can cause trouble in the long-term usage.
Click to expand...
 
The Shooman said:
I am not a fan either, however Kirby got fitted with a tongue pad for his G&G bespokes.
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In all seriousness, if I was paying G&G bespoke prices, I certainly wouldn't want to have to wear a tongue pad for my shoes to fit properly.
 
[QUOTE = "The Shooman, publicación: 235197, miembro: 616"]
Kirby realmente está fuera de su alcance cuando trata de explicar qué hace que un shoo soldado a mano sea tan especial. Él pierde el punto por completo. Que embarazoso.

[URL unfurl = "true"] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqdQ5LoSo0Y [/ URL]
[/ CITAR]
how sorry I don't understand everything he says
 
The Shooman said:
Kirby really is out of his depth when he tries to explain what makes a hand welted shoo so special. He misses the point entirely. How embarrassing.

www.youtube.com

What Makes A Hand-Welted Pair Of Shoes So Special? ð | Kirby Allison

In this video, Kirby Allison goes through what makes a hand welted pair of shoes so special, by looking in detail at the inner workings of these beautiful St...
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com
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Truly terrible. Reminds me of what these silly South East Asian brands do - synthetic insoles, glued on 'welts', but hand sewn - completely misses the point of handwelting. I feel sorry for Stefano Bemer! He doesn't do justice to their shoes.
 
Snagged another pair recently of the BIG John Lobb. I have only polished them for 4 hours with many hours to go over the next few weeks, but so far so good.




I am always chasing the perfect shine. I haven't reached it yet, but l think l will soon. I've ordered special high shine `boot black' products with special acidic polish water, and I am going to get special 180's cotton fabric from Alumo (finest cotton in the world) and l am going to freeze my special polish water and go for the finest shoo shine i've ever done. I've done 20 hour shines numerous times to try and get that perfection, but l still haven't made it to the top when it comes to brilliant world class shines, but l am going to give it my best shot and go all out with nothing but the best water, cloth and polish products and l am going to polish and polish and polish until those shoos shine like diamonds.

This super shine is going to be a project that is going to take weeks, but l know l am up to it. I am going to try to achieve the Mt Everest of shoo shines and have the highest of highest shines.

Late edit: I did another 30 minutes and the toe cap now looks like glass.
 
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Has anyone ever purchased from Loding? Looking at the Goodyear oxfords and I am kind of taken aback by the price--they seem inexpensive. I am wondering if there us some quality issue that I don't know about. Even so, at under $300 CAD for a pair of Goodyear-Welted Box Calfs is a minimal investment.
 
sorry for kidnapping your request, but I'm curious what happened to your plan trying the bespoke maker in the neck of your woods?
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loding - just a theory - loding is a low budget brand, which mainly caters to the french and/or mediterrenean market. e.g. in france and/or italy people have the habit to spend less on their shoes, particularly the fashion items, but "a lot" on the patina. in other words, they rather don't risk an expensive pair for a patina experitment, than a entry level piece. there is the point where brands like bexley, loding and some other native french brands chime in.

this business model was introduced to me by a patina atelier in geneva(switzerland) about a year ago. tbh, I forgot which brand they used, but as a starting point they offered a pair around 160 sfr and they were roughly asking the same for their patina service, which makes a bill between 320 - 400 sfr for their starter package.

Ryan Owens said:
Has anyone ever purchased from Loding? Looking at the Goodyear oxfords and I am kind of taken aback by the price--they seem inexpensive. I am wondering if there us some quality issue that I don't know about. Even so, at under $300 CAD for a pair of Goodyear-Welted Box Calfs is a minimal investment.
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1573122381543.png
 
walker said:
sorry for kidnapping your request, but I'm curious what happened to your plan trying the bespoke maker in the neck of your woods?
____________________________________

loding - just a theory - loding is a low budget brand, which mainly caters to the french and/or mediterrenean market. e.g. in france and/or italy people have the habit to spend less on their shoes, particularly the fashion items, but "a lot" on the patina. in other words, they rather don't risk an expensive pair for a patina experitment, than a entry level piece. there is the point where brands like bexley, loding and some other native french brands chime in.

this business model was introduced to me by a patina atelier in geneva(switzerland) about a year ago. tbh, I forgot which brand they used, but as a starting point they offered a pair around 160 sfr and they were roughly asking the same for their patina service, which makes a bill between 320 - 400 sfr for their starter package.
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Thanks for the information. I hadn't realized that. As for the cordswainer, it turns out after a little bit more digging I found out he closed up shop. I can't seem to trace him down either, meaning I have no means of seeing if he would consider doing a job on the side of whatever he does now. I am disappointed, but I suppose it has saved me a considerable amount of money (or, at least, allowed me to invest in some other pieces that were probably more depressingly urgent in my wardrobe).
 
well, it is literally too bad, that his business didn't survive or whatever happened to him. I admit, that proximity is a key-factor when venturing into bespoke territory the first time.

but, I'm also on the side of people, who think that shoes are the most important pieces in one's wardrobe. no other item is more responsible for the feel-good vibe, imo. e.g. like our fellow member here:

shookt said:
I’m learning that in terms of bodily comfort, shoes are the most urgent thing! Big life improvement.
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good luck finding the right footwear for you and your demands, fingers crossed.

Ryan Owens said:
Thanks for the information. I hadn't realized that. As for the cordswainer, it turns out after a little bit more digging I found out he closed up shop. I can't seem to trace him down either, meaning I have no means of seeing if he would consider doing a job on the side of whatever he does now. I am disappointed, but I suppose it has saved me a considerable amount of money (or, at least, allowed me to invest in some other pieces that were probably more depressingly urgent in my wardrobe).
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walker said:
drum roll - kirby at its best and finally I have the stupid face of this soto guy on screen.

www.youtube.com

Kirby Allison and Elegant Oxford Restore These Allen Edmonds Together!

Today, Kirby Allison is joined by Preston Soto, from The Elegant Oxford to work together to restore a pair of old Allen Edmonds Graysons that were purchased ...
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com

btw, they got ripped, 50 bucks for an AE loafer in 12b is robbery, check.
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well you can watch him again for another 45 minutes because he makes another appearance.
www.youtube.com

Kirby Allison And The Elegant Oxford Shine More Shoes ð | Kirby Allison

Today, Kirby Allison is joined by Preston Soto, from The Elegant Oxford to shine more shoes, as they sit down to discuss Preston Soto's history, the story be...
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com

However tomorrow i'll have something for Grand Potentate Grand Potentate . It is a special occasion and Kirby is going to be done up really fancy in his dinner suit again. Hey Rambo, lets both watch it and see what he has bought. 🤩
 
An Edward Green top draw waist.


Having said that, l have some BIG fish to fry in the shoe world soon. I am thinking of getting the big daddy, the biggest grand old daddy in rtw.

Stunning George Cleverley bespoke:
 
shookt said:
Interesting...
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It is very interesting indeed, and a very close cut waist that looks quite different to the usual bespoke waists of similar ilk. Seems like there is no room to slide a curved awl through, but obviously there must be a tight squeezing place given all the scratch marks. They must have really squeezed it in there! A curved awl.

Now word is that Hilary says the shoes are hand welted, but the conversation l had with her this morning didn't reveal any such things. In fact Hilary didn't appear to know. :o

Now comes the investigation. I wrote to the Edward Green factory to see if these $5,200 rtw shoos are hand welted with pictures etc so no confusion is made. I hope they are at that price. I was thinking the top draw would be 3K tops, but l nearly fell over when l found out how much they really were. Maybe they hand welt them these days...i'm gonna try and find out! Even if they are handwelted, maybe it's better to go the full hog and save another 5k and get the Berluti bespoke . Hmmm...big bucks, but what magnificence!!!

anyway, i've got much bigger fish to fry than Edward Green top draw. I have a BIG fish eyed off. :omg:
 
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My RMW Lachlan’s arrived from the UK. Replacing the old Gardeners as my casual (denim) boot.

6708D448-7D48-4517-A787-533E0B62DCC2.jpeg
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H is EEE.

The Tambo is even wider. E4?


The Lachlan is the same pull-up style vesta leather as the Gardener (just a lighter shade of brown), with the same thicker comfort sole but in a sleeker Craftsman square toe last. Just what I was looking for.

2F25F93E-D080-42F6-B852-C74EFDC998F9.jpeg
 
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Rambo said:
Shipping shoes is such a pain in the ass
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Shipping is easy when you know your size. Returns suck if you are trying to dial that in by mail though. Looks like they don’t have a store in Florida yet.
 
shookt said:
www.youtube.com

CARMINA Shoe Review | Shoes are Taken Apart and Reviewed

In this video, we take apart a brand new pair of Carmina wholecuts. While we have them apart, we give our thoughts on the quality of the materials, the craf...
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com

Teardown of new Carminas. I guess this is as good as it gets, construction wise, for GYW factory produced shoes.
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They only tell part of the story. I know guys who got them in their shop and swore to never get them in again. Actually none of the local higher end shops (three) have ever got them in again after stocking them once. When l first saw them l was shocked at how low quality they were. Why? skimping on stuff where eyes can't see. Skimpy thin uppers. Less handwork where it counts, flimsy shoes. I said to some in the shop that it would not be a nice shoe experience, and they said that was exactly their experience and they would never wear them again. Carmina is o.k for the price, but certainly would not create a great shoe wearing experience that one gets at a certain level. Carmina would be an average mid end shoe experience...why...because it lacks the guts (handwork and quantity of the materials used) of the better goodyear shoes.

The cobblers don't tell the whole story. It is not just about materials used in the bottom of the shoe, it is about how the entire shoe is built, so their analysis is off the mark.
 
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I will say that things have really taken off since l was a young bloke. Once in Oz one was lucky to find a goodyear welted shoe, but these days so many brands have put out nice looking goodyear welted shoes, and many now have antiquing and decent looking lasts. The internet has really developed men's taste in shoes and styles have completely changed now. In the last 12 years shoes styles have gone from extremes to classic tastes, and many companies have also adapted to the classic styles again. The street styles are completely different now, the extreme lasts have vanished. The blogs and forums have changed everything, and it all started with Style Forum. Hardly anyone had pocketsquares and wore classic shoes once, but now everyone on the telly have p.s and many on the street wear classic things because Style Forum inspired blogs, and the rest is history.

Once cheap shoes looked really cheap and lacked all the hallmarks of better shoes, but now one can get a nice looking shoe for a low price. There seems to be such a big market for this type of stuff.


Becoming famous - being bitten by the bug
All these blokes do mundane shoe reviews online, and people watch them, even l watch them, and these blokes are all getting famous. Everyone is famous these days. Even the common old cobbler is getting famous. I think many love the fame so they keep on putting out videos for `their audience'.

www.youtube.com

My Meermin Saga Update - New Double Monk Unboxing

Meermin: http://thekavalier.reviews/meermf36a6Check out more @ http://TheKavalier.comSign up for my future giveaways or Book Club: http://j.mp/TKmcELMy Brand...
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com


Look at the eyes of Trenton and Heath! They want to become famous too. They want to become like Bedos leatherworks. They are trying and trying to get that fame, and so is the elegant oxford, and they work with Kirby and everyone else all trying to get famous together. Fame is like a bug, once it bites you chase it. Look at their eyes!!!....hungry for FAME!!!
Trenton & heath.jpg



Kirby wants the fame too. He was counting down the time until he got 100,000 subscribers. They all want to link up with Kirby so they get a ticket to fame also. The amercian internet folk love their fame....they want to be like the movie stars in their country. They all start with good intentions, but then they get bitten by the bug and go to the dark side. In Australia we don't do those types of things, we just scoff at such silliness.


I like these videos because l am interested in seeing what people are into and what they think about shoes.
 
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The Shooman said:
They only tell part of the story. I know guys who got them in their shop and swore to never get them in again. Actually none of the local higher end shops (three) have ever got them in again after stocking them once. When l first saw them l was shocked at how low quality they were. Why? skimping on stuff where eyes can't see. Skimpy thin uppers. Less handwork where it counts, flimsy shoes. I said to some in the shop that it would not be a nice shoe experience, and they said that was exactly their experience and they would never wear them again. Carmina is o.k for the price, but certainly would not create a great shoe wearing experience that one gets at a certain level. Carmina would be an average mid end shoe experience...why...because it lacks the guts (handwork and quantity of the materials used) of the better goodyear shoes.

The cobblers don't tell the whole story. It is not just about materials used in the bottom of the shoe, it is about how the entire shoe is built, so their analysis is off the mark.
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I see, so the uppers and maybe the insole is not as good leather as it should be? I'm discounting the finishing etc. since they don't really add to construction although they do, admittedly, add to the wearing experience. Which types of handwork were you referring to? Closing and potentially lasting?

Not that I'm interested in buying a pair of Carminas...just idle curiosity on my part!
 
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