The London Lounge

Friends,

I am about to order my first pair of Oxfords in eight years from TLB Mallorca. I tried a pair while stopping over in Hong Kong and was extremely impressed at the price point.

One option is to add J Rendenbach soles, for an upcharge which does not concern me.

I am likely to apply a Topy or similar regardless of the increased durability of JR (I'm in Australia and the courier costs to have shoes factory resoled is prohibitive), so I've been told that going with JR soles would be redundant. But, I am interested nonetheless if they add comfort (I'm a runner, and a big motivation for new shoes is to keep my feet in better shape and avoid pain).

Could anyone comment on whether they find JR more or less comfortable than other leather soles? In particular, I have heard that they are somewhat stiffer/less flexible. I also wonder if they are heavier.

Thanks in advance!
Bird

I have observed a peculiar feature on offer as well, a single row of stitching at the seams rather than the usual double. I had never focused my mind on the latter being the norm until I saw this, but now cannot unsee it:

https://www.tlbmallorca.com/products/ox ... -black-290

The proprietor, Tony, assures me there is no loss of durability as a result. It is simply a matter of style. The more I think about it, the more I like it. Thoughts?

The shops that offer Rendenbach seem to think it is better than the rest of what they could sell. I don't know if it is actually the best. But perhaps this is an occasion to trust the wine steward re his recommended match for the dinner.

There is a video of a factory tour of Rendenbach where they go into details of the benefits of their tanning process.

Someone would have to buy two identical pairs of shoes with Rendenbach and regular soles and wear them in identical conditions to really find out.

Until then, consider that automobiles don't use leather tires, so if you are concerned about durability, then the choice is clear.

Did General Motors really lay off 5 billion cows to improve the performance of their cars?

Now Jim McFarland, the US agent for J.R. and who was the one who first announce the information that the tannery were to close down, went out in some social media groups yesterday and presented the latest news in this saga. The fellow German tannery Kilger have bought the recipe and rights to J.R. branding, and will produce the same type of oak bark tanned shoulders and bends. Kilger is located in Viechtach in east Germany, close to the Czech boarder, and also was an oak bark sole leather tannery back in the days. They moved over to veg tanned leathers for furnitures, car interior and other leather products, and has not produced traditional pit tanned sole leather for several decades. Now they will return, at least partly, to their roots.

https://shoegazing.com/2021/11/23/news- ... r-tannery/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAQfrP9GjFE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZHDYcshFyo