Japanese Shoes: Bespoke & RTW Super Thread

[mcl911]

Any recommendation for rtw under 150k in Tokyo? Don't think there will be enough time for bespoke fitting shoe etc since I am only stay for four days.

I really love Yohei Fukuda's shoes, but my girlfriend is going to kill me if I order from him.

 

[Jacke]

Any recommendation for rtw under 150k in Tokyo? Don't think there will be enough time for bespoke fitting shoe etc since I am only stay for four days.

I really love Yohei Fukuda's shoes, but my girlfriend is going to kill me if I order from him.

If you go as cheap as possible at Hiroyuki-san you can get away with MTO shoes for 140k, but you have to wait approximate 6 months to receive them.
http://hiroyanagimachi.com/en/images/order-system/order-lineup.pdf

But it is hard to not go up in price. The price for my shoes did go up more then I expected but I can't wait until i receive them

If you don't want to spend so much money I would really recommend Union Imperial. I have nothing bad to say about there Premium range. Great price for a great shoe. If I remember correct the price for the Premium range was 46k.

 

[Journeyman]

If you don't want to spend so much money I would really recommend Union Imperial. I have nothing bad to say about there Premium range. Great price for a great shoe. If I remember correct the price for the Premium range was 46k.

Yes, Union Imperial sell good, made-in-Japan, ready-to-wear shoes for around JPY40 000 or so. From what I remember, quite a few of their models have closed-channel soles and flat, waxed laces, which you typically wouldn't see on shoes in that price range (at least, not English shoes). They've got a few lines - Prestige, Country, Premium and maybe one or two others.

The same manufacturer also makes a line of shoes called "Soffice & Solid" which were featured in "Last" magazine and in the Rake magazine, too. They have some interesting designs.

 

[HighToned]

Small article about Il Micio di Fukaya Hidetaka in Openers.jp

http://openers.jp/article/934275

 

[j ingevaldsson]

Had the pleasure to meet Mr. Hiro Yanagimachi at Skomaker Dagestad in Oslo, Norway, yesterday, which he visited to have a fitting survey of his new last made for European and American customers. Hiro and the pattern maker and closer Nobuko who was with him were both very kind people, and the shoes were superb. In pics Hiros shoes can look a bit bulky to me, but in reality they are actually quite sleek and looked even nicer.

The new last is longer than his normal japanese lasts, and with a tighter back part of the last. Hiro made an interesting comparison of feet and faces, where he meant that Japanese heads are round and the faces flat, while Europeans and Americans heads are oval and with much shape differences in the face. Feets are the same, Japanese feet are round and quite flat, while European and American feet are longer and with higher archs etc. It's of course a bit of a generalisation, but interesting take nonetheless.
The new last worked very well for me (you can read why in an image caption below), and I'm leaning towards an order of an MTO of the same split toe model in the same color as the sample shoe pictured below but with a bevelled waist.

First four sample shoes, these are made on his regular Japanese lasts. The split toe is 90% handmade with machine made sole stitch, the others are fully handmade:













Square waist:



Bevelled waist:



Fiddle waist:




A couple of close ups of the bevelled waist, which is a "real bevelled waist" with blind welt:






Hand stitched apron and split toe seam:




The closing was very neatly done:






Heels on the models with bevelled or fiddle back waist had tapered heels:




These are sample shoes made on the new last for European and American customers. He used the measurements of Skomaker Dagestad employee Stefan Ravnanger as a base to create the last, and the funny thing is that he and I are more or less feet twins, so the last fits me very well. The arch support were better than any RTW/MTO shoe I've tried before:








Derby version of fitting shoe:




Hiro measuring a client:




Hiro takes A LOT of measurements, maybe 20-25 different ones, and all both with lose and tightened measurement tape. He has during the years come to realise that this is the way that works best for him to achieve as good fit as possible:




For MTO shoes you can use different sock lining pieces to modify fit slightly:






Hiro and the pattern maker and closer Nobuko:




Hiros shoes:




Nobukos shoes:




And a bonus pic of Stefan Ravnangers bespoke pair from Marquess:




.

 

[Stefan88]

Nice pictures and nice write-up. Looking forward to the article at manolo @j ingevaldsson

 

[j ingevaldsson]

Nice pictures and nice write-up. Looking forward to the article at manolo @j ingevaldsson

Thank you, and thanks for hosting the event!

 

[nutcracker]



Had the pleasure to meet Mr. Hiro Yanagimachi at Skomaker Dagestad in Oslo, Norway, yesterday, which he visited to have a fitting survey of his new last made for European and American customers. Hiro and the pattern maker and closer Nobuko who was with him were both very kind people, and the shoes were superb. In pics Hiros shoes can look a bit bulky to me, but in reality they are actually quite sleek and looked even nicer.


.

Excellent writeup!! Glad to see all the positive responses!!

I`ve tried Hiro-san`s magic sock linings before, they work wonders to tweak a fit!

 

[j ingevaldsson]

Excellent writeup!! Glad to see all the positive responses!!

I`ve tried Hiro-san`s magic sock linings before, they work wonders to tweak a fit!

Thanks Nutcracker! Yeah it's a clever way to make minor adjustments.

 

[PCK1]

Koji Suzuki bespoke

 

[jerrybrowne]



Koji Suzuki bespoke

Looking good! Any other pics?

 

[PCK1]

Looking good! Any other pics?

Hope to have more pics of the double monks soon...

 

[PCK1]

My other pair of bespoke by Koji Suzuki.

 

[Dannefalk]



My other pair of bespoke by Koji Suzuki.

Absolutely stunning!

 

[Jacke]

I think it's time to bring this thread alive. So here is a picture of the Union Imperial Prestige shoes I bought in Tokyo: