The London Lounge

Hello!

I've been a silent reader of this board for quite a long time and I think now is the time for my first posting.

I took a couple of pictures of bespoke shoes I own. All of them were fabricated by small shoemaking companies located in Austria. This first posting covers the pictures of a pair entirely handcrafted, dark brown "Winston", which were made of chamois leather. Additionally, I've ordered a belt fabricated of the same leather and color, which is also shown...

Thumbnails:



Pictures:
http://members1.exnet.at/ll/winston_and_accessoirs.jpg
http://members1.exnet.at/ll/winston-four_directions.jpg

HighRes-Pictures:
http://members1.exnet.at/ll/shoes_01a.jpg
http://members1.exnet.at/ll/shoes_01b.jpg
http://members1.exnet.at/ll/shoes_01c.jpg
http://members1.exnet.at/ll/shoes_01d.jpg
http://members1.exnet.at/ll/shoes_02a.jpg
http://members1.exnet.at/ll/shoes_02b.jpg
http://members1.exnet.at/ll/shoes_02c.jpg
http://members1.exnet.at/ll/shoes_02d.jpg
http://members1.exnet.at/ll/shoes_02e.jpg

What do you think?

Kindly regards,
star314.

Dear Star,

I think you are the happy owner of a beautiful pair of shoes! They are Holzgenagelt, aren't they? A bit of a rarity...
The chamois looks excellent and I am sure it will acquire a great patina with time.
They look carefully crafted and I like the last, too. The belt looks nicely made, as well - if you have any use for it

Last but not least, I am impressed by your neat presentation - it does much justice to the work of the artisans. Who are they?

Hello Star314 - A wonderful pair of shoes, beautifully handcrafted; wear them with pleasure. I especially like the shape and proportions of the belt buckle.

Star314 - They are new presently? Have you walked in them and how does the curved heel affect your gait, if at all?

Lance

Dear Costi,

Costi wrote: I think you are the happy owner of a beautiful pair of shoes!

thank you very much!

Costi wrote: They are Holzgenagelt, aren't they?

Yes they are "wood-pegged".

Costi wrote: The belt looks nicely made, as well - if you have any use for it

I'm not able to wear trousers without braces or a belt.

Costi wrote: Last but not least, I am impressed by your neat presentation - it does much justice to the work of the artisans. Who are they?

Thanks again! These pictures represent the start of a photo series I took (for myself) of my bespoke shoes. In particular, this pair have been made by

http://www.camlots.com

Kindly regards,
star314,

Hi Lance!

Lance wrote:A wonderful pair of shoes, beautifully handcrafted; wear them with pleasure.

Thank you very much. Yes, I wear them with pleasure.

Lance wrote: They are new presently? Have you walked in them and how does the curved heel affect your gait, if at all?

They were almost new at the time when the pictures have been taken. Meanwhile, I spent quite a long time wearing the shoes. The fit is IMHO perfect and "no" the curved heel does not affect my gait.

Kindly regards,
star314.

Thank you for the link, Star! The site is very essential, but the blog seems interesting.

star314 wrote:I'm not able to wear trousers without braces or a belt.

I assure you it is perfectly possible

I eagerly look forward to seeing more of the pictures you have taken!

Welcome to the London Lounge Star314:

The shoes look absolutely magnificent, they're perfect in every way. Also thanks for posting the source of the maker, and now because of that I've got a new blog to read. There is nothing like a well made pair of suede shoes, and when they're bespoken in the manner in which you've had them made they'll not only last a lifetime, but influence the way of classic style for the future.

Again, welcome to the LL and I hope you've learned a great deal here and continue to be educated and inspired.

Best Regards,

Cufflink79

Dear star314,

Welcome to the LL and thanks for sharing the pictures!

Just because a shoe is labeled Camlots, does not necessarily mean that is was made by Camlots, does it?
As far as I know from Maftei, at least some shoes for Camlots were made by Maftei - http://www.maftei.at .
The fact that the shoebags shown in the pictures seem identical (apart from the writing of course) to the ones you get with Maftei shoes, might be an indicator that those shoes were also made by Maftei.

Other than that, I was wondering why you choose a curved heel over a straight heel which is regularly found on most (even bespoke) shoes?

Regards, le.gentleman

Lance wrote:………how does the curved heel affect your gait, if at all?

le.gentleman wrote:........I was wondering why you choose a curved heel over a straight heel which is regularly found on most (even bespoke) shoes?

It is called a ‘Thomas heel’ and is quite common in orthopaedic shoes. (Alden uses it in their orthopaedic “Foot Balance” range). The idea is the pulled-up inside supports a fallen arch and/or a heavy patron. (There is even one version where the long side covers almost the entire arch = half of the total sole length.)

I wouldn’t know, whether the OP needs that heel for orthopaedic reasons or has chosen it on aesthetic grounds. Thomas heels do appear on Viennese shoes (Ludwig Reiter has a number of styles with a Thomas heel.)

But I agree, outside of Vienna it looks a bit odd and…….well…….orthopaedic.

Rolf

Dear le.gentleman,

le.gentleman wrote: Welcome to the LL and thanks for sharing the pictures!

you're welcome, the most important for me is that people hopefully enjoy watching these pictures.

le.gentleman wrote: Just because a shoe is labeled Camlots, does not necessarily mean that is was made by Camlots, does it?

As far as I know from Maftei, at least some shoes for Camlots were made by Maftei - http://www.maftei.at.

As far as I know: "Yes" that's true for some of them but not for all.

le.gentleman wrote: Other than that, I was wondering why you choose a curved heel over a straight heel which is regularly found on most (even bespoke) shoes?

Because sometimes it can be challenging to try something different.

I took also pictures of a whole cut made by another Austrian shoemaker (located in Vienna). Hopefully I will find some time on the upcoming weekend to put the pictures online.

Thank your very much for your reply!

Kindly regards from
star314.

Dear bengal-stripe,

bengal-stripe wrote: It is called a ‘Thomas heel’ and is quite common in orthopaedic shoes.

thank you very much for that info. I didn't know that this type is called "Thomas heel". Now it's memorized and every time when someone will ask me I can tell him or her this common name.

Bye,
star314.

Thank you very much, star314, for presenting the CCM "Winston" in such a nearly professional manner. Maybe you will allow the use of this pictures? There are no pics of our shoes in such a high-resolution-quality in CCM's archives. Of course I will pay for it. In CCM-currency, if you please...

The "Winston" and his brother, the "New Theresian" - same last, same cap toe, but as a Derby - laced Shoe - were the first CCMs I designed with helpful support of my old private Shoemeker in Graz, now retired, who ist also a Master of orthopaedic Shoemaking. Therefore he always insists on the "13er" - Heel, his term for the S-shaped heel on star314's Suede Winstons. "13er" beacuse that was the Number of this heel-construction on his list of heels and soles, espacially for orthopaedic shoes.
"Nutzt er nix, so schad' er nix und schee is er a" he uses to say. ( If I try to translate this Styrian saying into English, it would mean something like : "If there is nothing good in it, there is also nothing bad and nice this heel always looks" )

You're partially right, Raph l.e. gentleman, if You mention Maftei. It is no secret, that the prototypes of CCM shoes than was made by Maftei, Vienna. Do they make bad shoes? I do not think so, I have even changed from Materna to Maftei for the making of the bespoke shoes for my own terrible feet. This so after a decades-lomg connection to the men of our family in terms of bespoke shoes with Georg Materna and previously with its predecessor and mentor, the great Bela Nagy.
In the last two years our range of mto-shoes has grown, but most of the prototypes are still made by Maftei, some by a small workshop in Hungary, some by a very good shoemaker, regularely working for a well known austro-romanian manufacturer. They also help in with their skilled hands, making complete shoes according to our specifications in busy times, when CCM's own craftsmen cannot produce our entirely handmade shoes to the customers just in time, f.e. when there are too many incoming orders after one of my presentations. The upcoming newly designed model "Camlot's Signature" is in development at the small workshop of an imho young rising star on Vienna's shoemakers sky. I do not want to mention his name before I will have seen the first results of his work for the new design. The making-of this new CCM-model will be shown on http://www.camlots.blogspot.com .

BTW - especially for l.e. gentleman - wine red is a colour very often used for bags, labels and so on. Ours are mostly beige, with our wine-red label with gold-embroidered Camlots Scripture on them, as you can see. And if you know Maftei's shoes, then you know how their soles are made. Different.

Hello Camlot,

thank you very much for your reply featuring a lot of interesting and additional comments. Now I know much more about my shoes.

Camlot wrote:Thank you very much, star314, for presenting the CCM "Winston" in such a nearly professional manner. Maybe you will allow the use of this pictures? There are no pics of our shoes in such a high-resolution-quality in CCM's archives. Of course I will pay for it. In CCM-currency, if you please...

All pictures have been taken - let's say - just for fun, so feel free to use them in any way without having to pay for it, i.e., they exhibit no copyright. Of course, the same is valid for everyone else. The most important for me is that people enjoy watching these pictures.

Hopefully I'll find some spare time (tomorrow or on Sunday) to put some nice and decent pictures of another pair of shoes online. So stay tuned...

Kindly regards,
star314.

Maybe this little story : http://camlots.blogspot.com/2009/11/okt ... imini.html brings a bit more of information about star314's latest CCMs, especially 'bout the bespoke belt.
At least it's nice to read something about Italy's shores in autumn and to view the pics, i hope.

Camlot