The London Lounge

Many readers seem to favor bespoke suits instead of RTW or MTM suits. How about bespoke shoes? Do you wear them? Are they necessary?

Gruto,

You leave no space for Goodyear/machine welted bespoke shoes. There's an old saying here in Ireland, the shoes and the mattress have to be good, because if you're not in one you're in the other!

Personally my first trial at bespoke was a pair of shoes, and every penny well spent, the comfort is amazing. More than a few hours or so in regular leather shoes and I'd be tortured or get blisters. These are bliss. And tellingly my next bespoke piece will be a pair of shoes as well.

cathach wrote:Gruto,

You leave no space for Goodyear/machine welted bespoke shoes. There's an old saying here in Ireland, the shoes and the mattress have to be good, because if you're not in one you're in the other!

Personally my first trial at bespoke was a pair of shoes, and every penny well spent, the comfort is amazing. More than a few hours or so in regular leather shoes and I'd be tortured or get blisters. These are bliss. And tellingly my next bespoke piece will be a pair of shoes as well.

Cathach, that comes as a surprise to me. I have never heard of goodyear/machine welted bespoke shoes before. May I ask, who makes them, and how the process is?

Maybe we should add blake stiched and wooden pegged shoes as well.

Sorry, I erased the votes I will have to ask you to cast your vote again

what do i prefer or what do i wear?

sure id prefer to get bespoke handwelted but at $3k a pair...

i generally buy english goodyear rtw and have 1 italian pair of goodyear and a couple of pairs of rapid stitched italian boots
rapid is a good form of construction if you dont mind the mid-sole..and thats exactly what youre lookign for in a country shoe or boot, but it may make a clunky dress shoe

Merc wrote:what do i prefer or what do i wear?

sure id prefer to get bespoke handwelted but at $3k a pair...

Merc, maybe "favor" isn't the right word. "Prioritize" might be more well-chosen

I have the impression that some people are prepared to spend a lot of pasta on bespoke suits and shirts but don't think it is necessary to buy bespoke shoes, because they find the improvement rather small. I could be wrong. I was hoping that this thread would shed some light on how people prioritize these things.

Gruto wrote:

Merc wrote:what do i prefer or what do i wear?

sure id prefer to get bespoke handwelted but at $3k a pair...

Merc, maybe "favor" isn't the right word. "Prioritize" might be more well-chosen

I have the impression that some people are prepared to spend a lot of pasta on bespoke suits and shirts but don't think it is necessary to buy bespoke shoes, because they find the improvement rather small. I could be wrong. I was hoping that this thread would shed some light on how people prioritize these things.

Indeed Gruto,

You've picked up on something that I've noted too. I'm a follower of Amies when he said that poor shoes would let down the best suit whilst fine shoes would always elevate a poor suit. Or words to that effect. I must say that I do cringe for my poor toes when I read members rave about the latest Edward Green etc. in an E fitting!

For me the difference was immediate and obvious, comfort and more importantly comfort after hours of wear. I have a G-ish foot so normally my shoes would have been up to two inches too long in order to get enough width.

As to the process of machine welting I'm not 100% on this but as far as I understand the equivalent of an industrial sewing machine for leather is used to stitch the parts of the shoe together. Whereas hand-welting involves the welts being sewn by hand with needle and thread.

Gruto wrote:

Merc wrote:I have the impression that some people are prepared to spend a lot of pasta on bespoke suits and shirts but don't think it is necessary to buy bespoke shoes, because they find the improvement rather small. I could be wrong. I was hoping that this thread would shed some light on how people prioritize these things.

Dear Gruto,

your impression might be correct. But in order to find out, you would need to write a more detailed introduction:
1. Explain your assumption properly
2. Explain the purpose of the review
3. Ask all the questions you want to have answered.
My suggestion would be:
- what kind of shoes do you currently have?
- how many of each?
- what have you purchased in the past 3 years?
- what do you plan for next year?
- do you think the price difference between a goodyear welted RTW & a goodyear welted MTO shoe is justified?
- do you think the price difference between a goodyear welted RTW & a hand welted bespoke shoe is justified?

Perhaps also add an option for personal comments (anonymous if possible - you might get better answers).

For transparency, I would recommend you also declare what you are going to do with the results. You can keep them internally to LL (some people could be interested). But you could also sell them to a shoemaker - my recommendation would be not to make personal profit from the data collected and to declare that from the beginning.

Just a suggestion of course.

Best regards, david

davidhuh wrote:

Gruto wrote:

Merc wrote:I have the impression that some people are prepared to spend a lot of pasta on bespoke suits and shirts but don't think it is necessary to buy bespoke shoes, because they find the improvement rather small. I could be wrong. I was hoping that this thread would shed some light on how people prioritize these things.

Dear Gruto,

your impression might be correct. But in order to find out, you would need to write a more detailed introduction:
1. Explain your assumption properly
2. Explain the purpose of the review
3. Ask all the questions you want to have answered.
My suggestion would be:
- what kind of shoes do you currently have?
- how many of each?
- what have you purchased in the past 3 years?
- what do you plan for next year?
- do you think the price difference between a goodyear welted RTW & a goodyear welted MTO shoe is justified?
- do you think the price difference between a goodyear welted RTW & a hand welted bespoke shoe is justified?

Perhaps also add an option for personal comments (anonymous if possible - you might get better answers).

For transparency, I would recommend you also declare what you are going to do with the results. You can keep them internally to LL (some people could be interested). But you could also sell them to a shoemaker - my recommendation would be not to make personal profit from the data collected and to declare that from the beginning.

Just a suggestion of course.

Best regards, david

I was curiouse and I launched a quick poll ... I haven't been thinking much about validity, reliability etc. I believe the votes are anonymous. We will have to ask Costi/Alden about that. I have absolutely no intention of selling the information or anything like that!!!

Gruto wrote: Merc, maybe "favor" isn't the right word. "Prioritize" might be more well-chosen
I have the impression that some people are prepared to spend a lot of pasta on bespoke suits and shirts but don't think it is necessary to buy bespoke shoes, because they find the improvement rather small. I could be wrong. I was hoping that this thread would shed some light on how people prioritize these things.

i'd love to have bespoke shoes particularly because i have a hard foot to fit and struggle with a lot of ordinary lasts to the point of discomfort
i've never had the spare $3,000 or $4,000, particularly as
i put the emphasis (and budget) on tailored clothing

if i didnt have fit issues i wouldnt care about bespoke shoes..they are some excellent quality shoes out there with top aesthetics
but then again it is fit issues which sent me first to 'custom' shirts and then eventually pants and finally suits

Merc wrote:i'd love to have bespoke shoes particularly because i have a hard foot to fit and struggle with a lot of ordinary lasts to the point of discomfort
i've never had the spare $3,000 or $4,000, particularly as
i put the emphasis (and budget) on tailored clothing

In regards to bespoke prices, you will find several shoemakers in Vienna and other Central European capitals who make fine bespoke shoes for much less than the English and French shoemakers, although the finish will often lack a little compared to Delos, Cleverley & co. There was a topic recently about Vienna shoemakers: http://www.thelondonlounge.net/forum/vi ... ers#p56898