Vass shoes arrived

[Guest]

Right, I am cool with her sending the shoes via courier. Hopefully she can select one that will not necessitate the imposition of a $100 broker's fee once the shoes arrive state-side. I think her report was that the other courier services like FedEx were much more expensive than the one she selected for me ($90).

[tteplitzmd]

The $90 one worked well for me with no added fees, marked as "commercial sample" which I suppose was actually true, given that I then sent the shoes back to her (I used USPS global express mail, which I highly recommend as it is insured and can be tracked on line).

[uppercase]

http://www.herendherald.hu/016/eng/main ... =lifestyle

Here's a blurb on Vass.

[RWS]

Thanks, uppercase, for pointing us to an interesting (even if inexpertly translated) article, one sentence of which particularly interested me as one who appreciates the quality of execution but not the shapes of lasts to be found at Vass:

"While the ready models are done on five different types of bootlasts ('Peter', 'R', 'Banana', '3636' and 'Budapest'), shoes of specific sizes are manufactured on unique, personalised bootlasts."

I think that this indicates that Vass will indeed make fully bespoken shoes; however, I'm told by completely reliable authority that Vass does not: that the company will merely adapt standard lasts. Did the writer (or translator, if not a machine-driven program) instead intend to imply that a range of sizes is developed for each last or family of lasts?

[tteplitzmd]

For whatever it is worth, my so called bespoke Norweigan's have now come back after relasting (whatever that is). The left shoe is snug but OK, the right shoe still too narrow around the fourth and fifth toes. In this regard it doesn't matter whether my lasts are bespoke or modified stock, the fit isn't very good. Blessed are those souls whose soles fit RTW in my opinion. It would seem my only option is another investment stressing further modification. An expensive hobby.

[uppercase]

tsk, tsk....and I thought that nirvana was found in bespoke shoes!!

[TVD]

When I came to collect my first ever pair of bespoke Cleverleys from the shop, I encountered another customer in the tiny shop in Royal Arcade who was also picking up his new shoes: some patent leather pumps. He was having them pencilled.

I was trying on my shoes to make sure all was well, when he asked: "Are they comfortable?" His voice confirmed his very much U appearance (he wore an exquisit suit shouting town and man of leisure at the same time). Attempting politeness and not wanting to dwell on the fact they fitted somewhat snuggly, I replied that they were indeed comfortable. To which he bellowed (with an evil glint of contempt towards the shop asssitant): "Comfortable? What? Comfortable! Throw them away! They are no good! You do not come to Cleverley to get comfortable shoes. They must be elegant!"

Indeed I had.

As I later found out, this very man was well born, had lived the high stakes life of a rake and gambler, and made a fortune. He is one of the few truly well born people I know of to be enobled in the last few years.

One needs to get one's priorities right: I for one agree that I want my shoes elegant.

[Will]

I agree with the objective.

Oddly, I ordered my first pair of shoes from Tony G. because my Cleverleys were comfortable, but not elegant. Tony delivered elegant shoes that are slightly uncomfortable. All is well now.

[uppercase]

So, gents, what's the message and experience here?

One has to put up, and suffer with bespoke shoes to be elegant?!

[TVD]

That depends entirely on the shape of your feet. But a certain amount of discomfort, at least initially, as your foot gets used to the new shoe is entirely to be expected. It really depends on the objectives you agreed with your bootmaker.

[tteplitzmd]

Why would anyone want to work with a bootmaker who did not at least strive for a comfortable shoe? Same problem with bespoke suitmakers: you may get elegant, you may get comfort, but common sense suggests the maker and the customer would strive for both.
Elegant but uncomfortable suggests a maker unable to provide comfort wittingly or unwittingly (read: rigid house style and unfamiliarity with modifications necessary)

[TVD]

Dear Dr. Teplitz, for 90% of feet and 90% of customers I agree with you.

However, there may be the odd foot which is rather unshapely, and there may be a few customers whose views on elegance are so strict (i.e. who want a narrow, long, elegant last, with a small toe box etc.) that no perfect compromise can be found and a certain degree of discomfort must be accepted. But I should stress that this should be the exception.

Another observation I made is that "elegant" shoes need to give me blisters once. All leather will give, and if the shoe is too comfortable to start with, it will be too big once the leather has stretched. I walk a lot, and sometimes will do five or ten miles in town in a day, even in the most elegant town shoes. Doing this for the first time in a pair of shoes, I will get blisters. These will heal, and next time I wear the same shoes they will be fine, no matter how much I walk. The feet will have grown hardier in the right places, and the shoes will have stretched a bit where required. No gentle amount of "walking in" can replace this crisis point. It will just delay it.

I would never advocate to continue wearing shoes that remain painful after this treatment.

By the by, I heard stories, and I am not sure this is true, but the late George Cleverley would design lasts which forced the little toe to sit on top of its larger neighbour to make the toe box more elegant. I am sure Rolf knows much more about this than I do.

[Concordia]

And now, George Glasgow firmly rejects the notion that I should wear chisel-toed shoes: my feet simply wouldn't accomodate that style. My Cleverleys have round toes with a decent amount of vertical wiggle room, and are supremely comfortable. They also look, to my eye, very light and elegant, even if they are nothing like the long, narrow shoes that Tony G highlights on his photo pages.

[lancepryor]

For many feet, the challenge of making a narrow or chisel toe is to make it look good while not clipping the toes too much. If you look at most shoes, the center of the toe is pretty much lined up with the second toe, or at the most extreme at the space between the big and second toes. For a narrow-toed shoe on the typical foot, this circumstance necessitates a bit of clipping of the big toe and often, depending on the shape/angle of ones toes, the little toe. While a last can be made with the center of the toe being located more toward the inside of the foot/toward the big toe, this creates a rather odd-looking shoe to most eyes. A discussion of lasts is going on presently on a bootmaking site, and this type of last is said by one acclaimed bootmaker to result in a boot that "looks like you're going two directions at once."

Of course, another alternative is to make the toe longer, so the shoe can be wide enough at the toes yet narrow at the toe; however, this look may not appeal to the aesthetic sensibilities of most on this site.

There are also two related decisions that some lastmakers make to increase the attractiveness of the finished shoe -- to make the shoe a bit narrow through the joint and waist, and/or to put a fair amount of curvature on the bottom of the last (which maintains girth/circumference while reducing the width of the last). Either strategy, if overdone, can result in a reduced level of comfort of the finished shoe.

For those who sacrifice comfort for appearance, you may have a small bit of appreciation for what most women experience as they wear high heels and pointed-toe shoes!