The Vass U-last story

[Guest]

I have been dealing with Eva Vass. While I do not at all find her deceitful, the language barrier is a great obstacle, and she has what I thought was an oriental trait: she will never say no, though she most certainly means no.

I want a boot on the U-last. She insists I get fitted with this last before she will send me a shoe or make me a shoe with this last. I am an easy fit. How awful is the U-last? Is it that hard to figure out my size? Remember, I am an easy 42/UK 8/ US 8 1/2. I have never bought a pair of shoes that did not fit me.

All this relates back to the dress boot issue. I think the square toe really makes the boot, hence my attraction to the CJ Villiers. I have seen the various incarnations of the Vass boot and without the square toe, it still looks too "country" to me and not enough "town."

[jcusey]

Good for Ms. Vass. U is a difficult last: it's rather narrow, and many people have to size up a half a size to get into the shoes. Of course, sizing up may mean that the shoe is too long, which can cause it to break at the wrong place on your foot and be uncomfortable. Buying it without trying it on first is a recipe for disappointment, and Ms. Vass probably doesn't want her clients disappointed.

[bengal-stripe]

Or, if you are like me, with a narrow foot, you can go down in size. With all the other Vass lasts, if the circumference fits, they are too short in the toe. The U-last has the additional length I can wear a size 41. (Same thing applies to C & J Handgrade last 337: I can can go down to 7 ½).

Have I confused you even more? That was the idea of the exercise. Book a trip to Budapest (lovely town). Try on all the different lasts. Take notes what fits and what doesn’t. Then you can order by phone or by e-mail.

[Guest]

No, no, I am not that dense, I got it. Now I just have to find a 42 U-last shoe to try on.

[Mark Seitelman]

Vass has landed at Bergdorf's. I do not know if it's strictly RTW.

I'll do some exploring this weekend.

Cheers.

[dopey]

Bergdorf has a U last shoe, David. And resist temptation to order it without trying it on first.

Gabor Halmos, the Vass U.S. rep will be at Bergdorf this Saturday to meet with customers and the sales force to talk about Vass shoes, and I believe he will be taking special orders. On SF and AAAC, this was posted as being a trunk show and I know Gabor will have many models with him, not just the ones Bergdorf carries.

The salesman at Bergdorf told me he would find out whether they would be able to take special orders as a matter of course. He didn’t mention the trunk show, but did say that he would be meeting with the rep on Saturday. That told me me that Bergdorf is not promoting the event for customers, so think of it as a forua exclusive.