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Highend gyw build v's midend build - more handwork and materials v's less

The single brick house

ALDEN
* Little handwork, less skill in cutting and piecing together strategic goals to make a shoe more solid. Typical midend guts, not built like a tank inside.
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R.M.Williams
* Little handwork, much less skill needed, and no real guts
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CARMINA
* Little handwork and no guts, and typical Carmina skimping on materials.
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Double brick houses

BONTONI
* More skilled handwork - cut leather bits and piecing it in ideal places. GUTS. These little things makes a big difference and improves the shoo experience. Sturdy strong shoos. Notice where it is placed....same with G&G. Extra layers strategically placed. Take note Sammy Ambrose Sammy Ambrose .
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GAZIANO & GIRLING
* More skilled handwork - cut leather bits and piecing it in ideal places. GUTS.
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this is very cool. No EG?
 
How do you guys maintain your shoes? What products do you use?
A range of Saphir “nugget” occasionally but mostly Collinol creams. I use furniture leather conditioner on them too mainly when I put them away for a while. Some leather soles I haven’t put Topy on I give them a drink of Dubbin on the sole every now and then.
 
Very nice. A bit of info on the shoes would be interesting. It's only Shooey whose shoo genie has visited all the factories and catalogued them all for input into Shooey's brain as he sleeps or potters around in his shed.
They are Zegna fatte a mano which puts them between their Couture (XXX) and their regular grade. I find all Zegna to be overpriced at retail but good value on discount, which these are. First impressions, leather is not as soft as Lobb or EG. Nice fit and finish. One of the best fits right out of the box. For reference I am pretty much a US 9 and these are UK 8 so pretty our for the 1 size down conversion. I have narrow heels and these fit very snug in the heel. Good width and I suspect the wide foot crowd would feel constrained. Enough volume to not bother my chronically inflamed toe knuckle. I believe they are Blake constructed since the Couture is Goodyear.

Reason I bought them was for the Dainite half-sole construction which makes them winter-friendlier for my winters over leather soles.
 
I rather like these side zip boots. They look a lot nicer than the Butteros that were popular a while back.

Not a fan of this style, but the leather looks beautiful.
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I would prefer their chukka:
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Interesting things from this producer.
 
How do you guys maintain your shoes? What products do you use?
I have a wide range of shoe creams and few waxes, including Saphir Creme Surfine, Saphir Medaille d'Or, Famaco Creme de Beaute and Famaco Creme S.ublime. Waxes include Saphir Medaille d'Or, La Cordonnerie Anglaise Bees Wax Shoe Polish and Famaco Baume Intense. I very seldom use waxes.
Moreover I have Saphir Reno'Mat for the removing of stains and excess of cream and wax, Saphir Renovateur and Famaco Creme Delicate.

Famaco has a huge range of colours and is at least as good as Saphir.
 
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I have a wide range of shoe creams and few waxes, including Saphir Creme Surfine, Saphir Medaille d'Or, Famaco Creme de Beaute and Famaco Creme S.ublime. Waxes include Saphir Medaille d'Or, La Cordonnerie Anglaise Bees Wax Shoe Polish and Famaco Baume Intense. I very seldom use waxes.
Moreover I have Saphir Reno'Mat for the removing of stains and excess of cream and wax, Saphir Renovateur and Famaco Creme Delicate.

Famaco has a huge range of colours and is at least as good as Saphir.
No surprises here. Low to mid end shoes and well stocked on igent shoe care products. You’re a complete tool. Nvm.
 
No surprises here. Low to mid end shoes and well stocked on igent shoe care products. You’re a complete tool. Nvm.
You are instead the perfect troll: you never say anything positive or constructive and never post something of your wardrobe, you just provoke and deride other posters. Your contributions are totally useless, appreciated only by like-minded people who instead of discussing placidly and objectively have the arrogance to teach other people how to feel, behave, dress and write.

By the way I have 13 pairs of John Lobb and 9 of Gaziano & Girling, but it won't change your point, as you are just here for trolling. :troll:
 
I want to buy one for the patina, but the sole/welt features of the shoe puts me off. Looks cheap.

Beautiful Bontoni
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but couldn't bring myself to buy them because of the crude making, ie, big wide welts near the waist and the crude looking soles. They might be good shoes, but they lack the refined features.

Cheap looking soles, so not paying $1,300 USD for those.
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Make a nice refined waist and nice sole, and build `em like Big Johnny Lobb and i'm on board!
I'd like to know what kind of clothes you need to wear with these heavily patinated, museum shoes. I've a pair that turned out like that by chance and they rarely get worn.
 
I'd like to know what kind of clothes you need to wear with these heavily patinated, museum shoes. I've a pair that turned out like that by chance and they rarely get worn.
Never been a fan of "museum" leather, nor of patinas, the heavier the lesser. I like a uniform colour, the good old box calf, if anything with some decent "burnishing".

This said, I don't see particular issues in matching museum tones with other garments.
 
You are instead the perfect troll: you never say anything positive or constructive and never post something of your wardrobe, you just provoke and deride other posters. Your contributions are totally useless, appreciated only by like-minded people who instead of discussing placidly and objectively have the arrogance to teach other people how to feel, behave, dress and write.

By the way I have 13 pairs of John Lobb and 9 of Gaziano & Girling, but it won't change your point, as you are just here for trolling. :troll:
Just check out the posts by Conchita Wurst if you want to see a part of my wardrobe. *Snowflake trigger warning; you may feel that some of the Conchita post are slightly negative/arrogant/provocative/etc.

Please man up a little and stop acting like a victim.
 
Just check out the posts by Conchita Wurst if you want to see a part of my wardrobe. *Snowflake trigger warning; you may feel that some of the Conchita post are slightly negative/arrogant/provocative/etc.

Please man up a little and stop acting like a victim.
Would you like to man up and join me in the MMA cage? I don't usually fight fairies, but I can make an exception.
 
I have around 6-8 Loakes, 6-8 Barkers and 6-8 Cheaney's. I can't tell the difference in quality. I handled a £750.00 pair of C&J's and I couldn't see what the fuss was about. Closed channel stitching and a fiddle back waist for an extra £500.00?
Barker, the shoes of choice for guys with Schizotypal Personality Disorder Symptoms. What’s dr. Levi Holzman analice, Lumpen Lumpen ?

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A good video on how to make ill fitting shoes fit better, but also a warning to those who buy shoes off the internet. If you do what W.I Shoeguy does (buy online) you may end up having to add bits and pieces to your shoes and be stuck with shoes for a lifetime where these bits are added. I couldn't imagine having to live like that, and l couldn't imagine having a thick insole with foam or rubber bottom floating around in there not even stuck down.

Better to find a shoe that fits in the first place and be satisfied with less.

 
A good video on how to make ill fitting shoes fit better, but also a warning to those who buy shoes off the internet. If you do what W.I Shoeguy does (buy online) you may end up having to add bits and pieces to your shoes and be stuck with shoes for a lifetime where these bits are added. I couldn't imagine having to live like that, and l couldn't imagine having a thick insole with foam or rubber bottom floating around in there not even stuck down.

Better to find a shoe that fits in the first place and be satisfied with less.


Better a poor shoe that fits well than a great one that does not fit.
 
A "dicoloured" patina seems to be very trendy, also at Gaziano&Girling. Certainly not my cup of tea.

I am a big fan of the chamelon patina. In fact l ordered a bespoke pair in the same patina. Always been a huge fan of green shoes, especially french green patina. Not a versatile shoe, but worth it if you have a good collection. Purple patina is a great colour for a shoe with bone, white and light gray trousers, and navy blue can work well with various trousers as well. Green is perhaps the least versatile of the three colours, but a must for shoo lovers.

I like a patina shoe when the weather is nice and l am in a good mood. It is not something l wear every day, but it is nice to have the option. I like variety in footwear and l like all the classic styles and most of the colours; my likes are very broad.
Chameleon patina 1.jpg Chameleon patina 2.jpg Gaziano & Girling patina shoo 2.jpg Gaziano & Girling patina - chameleon 2.jpg
 
I am a big fan of the chamelon patina. In fact l ordered a bespoke pair in the same patina. Always been a huge fan of green shoes, especially french green patina. Not a versatile shoe, but worth it if you have a good collection. Purple patina is a great colour for a shoe with bone, white and light gray trousers, and navy blue can work well with various trousers as well. Green is perhaps the least versatile of the three colours, but a must for shoo lovers.

I like a patina shoe when the weather is nice and l am in a good mood. It is not something l wear every day, but it is nice to have the option. I like variety in footwear and l like all the classic styles and most of the colours; my likes are very broad.
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The crocs will not see you coming for them in those, Shooey.
 
Always been a huge fan of green shoes,
I also like green shoes, but rather olive, moss or racing green, not teal or petrol.

I never got this hype for patinated shoes, to me the more uniform the better. I also don't like marbled (museum) leathers. At most I like some traditional English "burnishing".

I don't like patina as I don't like printed fabrics and items dyed after making instead of being woven/knitted in coloured thread.
 

I also like green shoes, but rather olive, moss or racing green, not teal or petrol.

I never got this hype for patinated shoes, to me the more uniform the better. I also don't like marbled (museum) leathers. At most I like some traditional English "burnishing".

I don't like patina as I don't like printed fabrics and items dyed after making instead of being woven/knitted in coloured thread.
One problem with extreme patination is the difficulty of building the shoes into a workable total look. On their own as an individual work of art they might look superb, but on a wearer's foot merely silly.
 
One problem with extreme patination is the difficulty of building the shoes into a workable total look. On their own as an individual work of art they might look superb, but on a wearer's foot merely silly.
Don't cry, Shooey. It must be a great artsy look given the right clothes to go with the reptilian shoos. Can you provide some piccies?
 
I rank the English entry level and mid tier shoemakers as follows:

NPS
Sanders
Grenson
Barkers
Loake
Cheaney
A Sargent
Trickers
Church's
Crockett and Jones

Are there any European brands that you would interpose in the above list?

Carmina, Yanko, Meermin, Lottusse, Berwick, John Spencer, Carlos Santos, Velasca, van Bommel, the endless French brands...
 
I rank the English entry level and mid tier shoemakers as follows:

NPS
Sanders
Grenson
Barkers
Loake
Cheaney
A Sargent
Trickers
Church's
Crockett and Jones

Are there any European brands that you would interpose in the above list?

Carmina, Yanko, Meermin, Lottusse, Berwick, John Spencer, Carlos Santos, Velasca, van Bommel, the endless French brands...
Can we have a penalty shoot out?
 

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