New Bespoke Shoes : A Blind Tasting

[~ Monsieur Xu ~]

~ Monsieur Xu ~
Interesting pics, and a great opportunity to compare them side by side. I know they're in their raw state so the finish cannot yet be compared. However, how did they feel on? Any discernable difference in the comfort and feel between them? Is there a noticeable difference in the quality of the leather?...thanks. Your boots are very fine, by the way..Rowly.

The Cleverleys look extremely refined in finishing and last shape, both my pair and the ones on display, contemporary and vintage. I suppose if Lobb St James's is the Rolls-Royce of shoes, then Cleverley would be the Aston Martin. But I am keen to try a Bugatti soon...

As to the "feel", the Cleverley felt slightly closer a fit, but again that is their hallmark and they have the advantage over Edwin of having an in-house lastmaker. I wore the shoes for three hours during the party at the trunk show and at the end there was some binding at the joint area, which the Cleverley guys noted. For Edwin's pair, some tightness had been identified at the trial shoe stage, and at this point, the finished boots feel as perfect fit as I as a bespoke layman can tell. They did not require breaking in and were comfortable to wear intensively (every other day or so) from the get-go.

Another difference is the gap between the laces - the Cleverley pair seems to have almost none, whereas the Edwins have a small, straight, uniform gap which should close up once the leather gives. I know shoemakers are split into two camps in that regard.

I do find that with all my ready-to-wear shoes, there is inevitably some pain and strain at the end of the day, whereas with the Edwin boots, there is utterly none. That is enough to convert me forever to bespoke for shoes, although I'm not sure how many others also experience this, as I gather that bespoke represents only a slight improvement in comfort for many.

There is no discernible difference in the leather quality, but I am no expert. Edwin does click just one pair of shoes from each hide which as far as I know is pretty rare even in the rarefied world of bespoke shoes. He also uses JR in- and outsoles, and veg-tanned stiffeners etc.

Thank you, I find myself more and more satisfied every time I wear them!

B

[~ Monsieur Xu ~]

Thanks for posting these. I hope you will post a full report on the umbrella maker.

Interestingly, I have gotten some PMs about the umbrellas. I should be visiting them sometime in the next couple weeks, and would be happy to commission some extra brollies if any members are interested. They do have some umbrellas in stock, though most have Chinese “mountain and river” art or other such motifs, which may not be fully appreciated by some, along with the solid scarlet brollies seen above.

Last year, I visited an artisanal fan-maker in Henan province, reputedly the best in China, and commissioned a few fans - a "lady" fan as a Valentine's Day gift with a hand-painted portrait (all fans sold in commercial markets in Chinese cities are computer-printed and produced en masse) and a bespoke classical poem, a "scholar" fan for myself with the "Four Gentlemen" motif, and an immense decorative fan for display in the hall. For my troubles the owner was generous enough to sell me for a nominal sum a museum quality feather fan made from Tibetan vulture, dating back to the last dynasty. According to him, there are only two in China... well, now just one.

It's a real shame that the world thinks of the Middle Kingdom as the default place for the el cheapest, rubbish-est industrial-made drek, when China has had such a long history of fine artisanal production. After all, it was the Europeans that hankered after and exported a great deal of porcelain from Dehua and Changnan (the mispronunciation of which led to the West terming porcelain as "China"), as well as Longquan celadon and the Song dynasty Ru ivory celadons, all great centres of porcelain production with their individual styles and traditions, that eventually led to their imitation in the various European kaolin centres - Wedgewood, Limoges, Meissen etc. And let us not forget silk and the Romans... but enough history for now.

[Frans]

It's a real shame that the world thinks of the Middle Kingdom as the default place for the el cheapest, rubbish-est industrial-made drek, when China has had such a long history of fine artisanal production.

Thank you for your interesting postings, Monsieur Xu. It is not because China has been industrialized for the last decades, that its history is forgotten. At least I learned about the silk road and the rush for porcelain. I am sure many pupils and students still do today.

Now that we are talking about umbrellas, Austria-Hungarian school etc, my great-uncle became an umbrella maker in Vienna a little more than hundred years ago. Due to the popularity of the department stores (and their machine made products) he was forced to find another profession. World War 1 did not make things easier...

I admit I have not had an umbrella for many years although I walk and cycle a lot in a rather wet sea climate. I must be a barbarian

[Cocteau]

Hello,
Could you tell me about the selection of leathers and their quality you can get at edwins workshop? I'm curious If you can get a quality similar to European makers in Singapore?
Cocteau

[~ Monsieur Xu ~]

A little preview of the next pair already in the works...

[NJS]

~ Monsieur Xu ~
Interesting pics, and a great opportunity to compare them side by side. I know they're in their raw state so the finish cannot yet be compared. However, how did they feel on? Any discernable difference in the comfort and feel between them? Is there a noticeable difference in the quality of the leather?...thanks. Your boots are very fine, by the way..Rowly.

The Cleverleys look extremely refined in finishing and last shape, both my pair and the ones on display, contemporary and vintage. I suppose if Lobb St James's is the Rolls-Royce of shoes, then Cleverley would be the Aston Martin. But I am keen to try a Bugatti soon...

As to the "feel", the Cleverley felt slightly closer a fit, but again that is their hallmark and they have the advantage over Edwin of having an in-house lastmaker. I wore the shoes for three hours during the party at the trunk show and at the end there was some binding at the joint area, which the Cleverley guys noted. For Edwin's pair, some tightness had been identified at the trial shoe stage, and at this point, the finished boots feel as perfect fit as I as a bespoke layman can tell. They did not require breaking in and were comfortable to wear intensively (every other day or so) from the get-go.

Another difference is the gap between the laces - the Cleverley pair seems to have almost none, whereas the Edwins have a small, straight, uniform gap which should close up once the leather gives. I know shoemakers are split into two camps in that regard.

I do find that with all my ready-to-wear shoes, there is inevitably some pain and strain at the end of the day, whereas with the Edwin boots, there is utterly none. That is enough to convert me forever to bespoke for shoes, although I'm not sure how many others also experience this, as I gather that bespoke represents only a slight improvement in comfort for many.

There is no discernible difference in the leather quality, but I am no expert. Edwin does click just one pair of shoes from each hide which as far as I know is pretty rare even in the rarefied world of bespoke shoes. He also uses JR in- and outsoles, and veg-tanned stiffeners etc.

Thank you, I find myself more and more satisfied every time I wear them!

B

I am not sure that John Lobb is the Rolls Royce of shoemakers; although, maybe, in pricing: all the remaining great British bespoke makers are very similar, except in relation to last-making and fitting: all of them share a small pool of out-workers for much of the rest of the work. Foster/Maxwell; Cleverley; Gaziano & Girling and Eric Cooke all have very distinctive last-making styles. Lobb, in terms of styling, is more middle-of-the-road (like Henry Poole for suits); unexaggerated. However, the finished product of most of them (most of the time) can favourably compete with anything else in the world.
NJS

[shredder]

Rolls Royce, the John Lobb of motor cars.

[~ Monsieur Xu ~]

A comparison of cross-sections...

x.JPG

y.JPG

Is it obvious who made which?