Vass RTW Shoes

[SouthPender]

Having fairly deep experience with Vass, EG, JL and C&J handgrades, I am quite comfortable saying that Vass is quite easily their equal, perhaps even superior. To pigeon-hole Vass as inelegant or rakish is wholly unfounded. They have different lasts to suit different tastes and purposes. The U, P2 and F lasts are quite dashing to my eye while the more traditional lasts are just that, traditional. Whatever the last, Vass shoes are beautifully constructed and exceptionally comfortable (for my foot at least).

Aportnoy, where can we see examples of the new F last--either a picture of the last itself (which are provided for some of the other lasts) or, more probably and better, shoes made on it?

Happy to oblige SouthPender

Here are some glorious wingtip boots on the F last courtesy of J. Cusey:

Wonderful! They're spectacular, aren't they? You know, the more I look at the foward portion of those boots, the more they remind me of my JLobb full-brogue Westminsters on the 7000 last. I can't tell about the height of the toe box, but seen from directly above, they would seem to have the same (quite considerable) width at the ball of the foot, tapering relatively linearly and gracefully to a gently-rounded toe. This new last would seem to answer any criticisms regarding bulkiness, on the one hand, and over-stylization, on the other. It's clear that there are good things ahead!

[aportnoy]

I've decided to add to my Vass collection and special ordered three pairs. Within the next 8 weeks I hope to have the following new additions:

U last London 3-Eyelet derby in burgundy box calf
U last Oxford Medalion in antique cognac
U last dark brown suede captoe

All three can been viewed on the Vass website at this URL:

http://www.vass-shoes.com/shoes.htm

Click on the Contemporary tab to view them.

I'll be sure to share pictures when the shoes arrive.

[Arpey]

I've decided to add to my Vass collection and special ordered three pairs. Within the next 8 weeks I hope to have the following new additions:

U last London 3-Eyelet derby in burgundy box calf
U last Oxford Medalion in antique cognac
U last dark brown suede captoe

All three can been viewed on the Vass website at this URL:

http://www.vass-shoes.com/shoes.htm

Click on the Contemporary tab to view them.

I'll be sure to share pictures when the shoes arrive.

Very nice & congrats. I will be especially eager to see your pics of the suedes.

[aportnoy]

Very much appreciated Arpey and I promise to share photos as soon as possible. Cheers!

[Richard3]

Does anyone Know if the "New Peter" last and the "P2 last" are one and the same?

[SouthPender]

Excellent question, Richard3. I've wondered about that too, and have assumed that they are--with the "P2" designation being the result of humankind's inexorable habit of reducing all names and labels to a shortest possible form! But let's get confirmation: Gabor...Jcusey...Aportnoy?

[Concordia]

I was recently in Vienna and I visited the very elegant store of Ludwig Reiter whose traditional styles seemed very similar to those of Vass, and having no first knowledge of Vass shoes, I was wondering how they compare in terms of quality?

Coincidentally I am wearing a pair of Reiters right now. In terms of lasts are also styled in the Austrian-Hungarian tradition but - as far as I know - they are basically machine-made shoes and so can`t be compared to Vass. I`d say they paly in the AE/Church`s cutom grade league. The ones I wear right now are about 4 years old but have never become really comfortable (and probably never will ). The AAAC topic also raised my interest in Vass shoes and they`ll defintely be my next pair to buy. Reasearching on the Internet I found a German seller who also delivers to the US. They only have a few pairs on their website but they told me they could deliver any model on any last:

Just click "KONTAKT" if you want further information:

http://www.budapester-schuhe.de/index.p ... ee&PAGE=17

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A shame that the consensus is against the quality/fit of Reiter. Their models, as pictured on their website, have an elegance not quite achieved by Vass. Of course, as far as Wien goes, they aren't the only game in town.