The Bespoke Shoes Thread

[Stefan88]

Why is the fitting barefoot with no socks? And in shorts!?!?

Why not? Japan is all about cool biz and no-show socks in August.
For the record, I'm not wearing shorts.

Maybe you prefer this? (edit: spoiler button found!)

Spoiler: Don't click if you're eating

Picture taken from Edward Greens IG

 

[dieworkwear]

@dieworkwear, now, especially with all the comments about bespoke GYW and everything else (K.A. says quality was fine, just an end to the relationship), I’m kind of worried.

IMO, when there's smoke there's usually fire. If you can get your deposit back, I would just go elsewhere. I've had great experiences with Nicholas Templeman in terms of the process and shoes. GC almost feels like MTO by comparison. I was able to get exactly the toe shape I wanted by sending Nicholas photos and talking with him on the phone. Whereas with GC I just picked from a range of styles, choose a leather, and gave some vague instructions. I can't imagine working with GC as closely. The only thing you miss by going with Nicholas is the prestige of a storied name, but I think that ship has mostly sailed (meaning, all the glamour associated with names like JL, GC, and A&S).

If you can't get your deposit back, I would pray to the bespoke shoe Gods (the ghost of George Cleverley himself) and ask that your shoes go down the right outworker direction. So far, we have three outworker lines: one where shoes come out well, another where they rock back and forth, and a third at Crockett & Jones.

 

[dieworkwear]

@dieworkwear, now, especially with all the comments about bespoke GYW and everything else (K.A. says quality was fine, just an end to the relationship), I’m kind of worried.

There's so many stories and weird things around Cleverley, to be frank. I've been trying to get answers from them for years now, but they delete comments, block me from their insta account, etc. and George Glasgow Jr. state that he can explain it all and answer questions in a phone call, something I've been trying to get for six months now with mails back and forth with him and his secretary with no success, now he switched over to wanting me to come over to London instead to answer my questions, I've said yes and asked for a date, but no reply since...

I have the perfect solution for both of you.

Shackletonian switch places with Jesper. The first gets his deposit back, the other gets a meeting with GC.

 

[gte872h]

Christmas today at The Hanger Project... just received two pairs of bespoke shoes ready for unboxing. A pair of Foster & Son's where Jon Spenser did the lastmaking (he's now with John Lobb) and Jim McCormack did the making!!

And my pair from Dominic Casey!

View attachment 1203813

Cannot wait to see them. Particularly the Dominic Casey pair. Love the toe shape on that pair.

 

[dieworkwear]

Now it's about a particularly studied indifference

This is thread sprezzatura

 

[DWFII]

This is thread sprezzatura

From certain quarters more snark than sprezz. That why I said what I said about "studied indifference" and parvenus.

 

[usctrojans31]

GC AC are made by EG (as confirmed by multiple sources - both Factory visits, and workshop visits where boxes have been seen lying around) - and the other normal GC by various other factories - C&J amongst a few.

Thanks. This sets things straight.

 

[shackletonian]

I have the perfect solution for both of you.

Shackletonian switch places with Jesper. The first gets his deposit back, the other gets a meeting with GC.

For as much as I am worried (anxious?), I am also still excited for a few reasons and have had nothing but stellar experience with GC so far (for a variety of items and the other products), so I'm hopeful that the trend holds. On the other hand, I think it would be a great experience to work with Nicholas Templeman; his shoes are stunning, even in styles that usually aren't my preference. If he's not a perfectionist, he's damn well close with high QC standards.

 

[dieworkwear]

On the other hand, I think it would be a great experience to work with Nicholas Templeman; his shoes are stunning, even in styles that usually aren't my preference.

I only have two pairs of shoes from him, with a third pair being made right now. I think they're pretty different, even though they're both Norwegian split toes. The first pair, which is made from a pebbled leather.

One of the strange things for me, at first, was seeing the split-toe seam not totally centered on the toe, but as Nicholas explained to me, it's because the facings are somewhat asymmetrical to follow the line of my foot. So if you draw a line from the facings down to the toe, it's straight, even if the toe seam isn't centered.

For the second pair, I went with another NST because I lack imagination. But this one is modeled after JM Weston's hunt derby. I like my first pair above, but wanted something more casual and rounded. The Weston hunt derby, however, is really chunky -- like huge and almost comical, at least for my wardrobe. But I also liked the rounded shape, stitching at the quarters, and sort of more casual look.

The main challenge for this order was getting the flat seam apron right. I didn't want another pie crust apron, I wanted something like the hunt derby's bumpy apron. But that kind of apron required a very thick leather, at which point I wind up with the actual hunt derby. Nicholas went for a thinner leather, but the leather ripped every time he tried to do the apron. So he came up with this unique solution: he made a wholecut NST. The apron here is just decorative, and then scored at the top to make it look like two pieces of leather. There's also a separate piece of leather on the facings for visual effect.

Inside, the tongue has a thin piece of deerskin leather to stop water from dripping into the shoes from between the facings. Which obviously isn't really necessary for my lifestyle, but I like the detail.

I don't think I could have gotten that very, very specific shoe through Cleverley. It just took a lot of back and forth, with me sending Nicholas photos and talking with him over the phone. Nicholas even pulled a bit of leather over the last so I could see how the shape would generally look, even before the shoes were made.

At the moment, I'm having a pair of black side zips made, which should look something like these pull-on boots, but with a hidden side zipper. The style is a little further out from classic men's style -- I'll mostly wear this with a black leather jacket and black jeans -- but I think it shows you can get almost anything from Nicholas.

Finally, after these black boots, I think I'm either going to get a pair of brown side zip boots or a pair of loafers. If loafers, maybe the brown shell cordovans @bengal-stripe posted a long time ago, or the brown crocs below, but with a normal penny strap instead of full penny strap.

I really like my Edward Green Picadillys, so I don't know if I really have a need for brown calf penny loafers. A pair like this shell cordo might be a nice break from the chunkier, flatter looking shape of Alden shell cordo penny loafers though.

 

[gte872h]

I only have two pairs of shoes from him, with a third pair being made right now. I think they're pretty different, even though they're both Norwegian split toes. The first pair, which is made from a pebbled leather.


View attachment 1203969

View attachment 1203970

One of the strange things for me, at first, was seeing the split-toe seam not totally centered on the toe, but as Nicholas explained to me, it's because the facings are somewhat asymmetrical to follow the line of my foot. So if you draw a line from the facings down to the toe, it's straight, even if the toe seam isn't centered.

For the second pair, I went with another NST because I lack imagination. But this one is modeled after JM Weston's hunt derby. I like my first pair above, but wanted something more casual and rounded. The Weston hunt derby, however, is really chunky -- like huge and almost comical, at least for my wardrobe. But I also liked the rounded shape, stitching at the quarters, and sort of more casual look.

The main challenge for this order was getting the flat seam apron right. I didn't want another pie crust apron, I wanted something like the hunt derby's bumpy apron. But that kind of apron required a very thick leather, at which point I wind up with the actual hunt derby. Nicholas went for a thinner leather, but the leather ripped every time he tried to do the apron. So he came up with this unique solution: he made a wholecut NST. The apron here is just decorative, and then scored at the top to make it look like two pieces of leather. There's also a separate piece of leather on the facings for visual effect.

Inside, the tongue has a thin piece of deerskin leather to stop water from dripping into the shoes from between the facings. Which obviously isn't really necessary for my lifestyle, but I like the detail.


View attachment 1203972

View attachment 1203971


I don't think I could have gotten that very, very specific shoe through Cleverley. It just took a lot of back and forth, with me sending Nicholas photos and talking with him over the phone. Nicholas even pulled a bit of leather over the last so I could see how the shape would generally look, even before the shoes were made.

At the moment, I'm having a pair of black side zips made, which should look something like these pull-on boots, but with a hidden side zipper. The style is a little further out from classic men's style -- I'll mostly wear this with a black leather jacket and black jeans -- but I think it shows you can get almost anything from Nicholas.


View attachment 1203977

View attachment 1203976


Finally, after these black boots, I think I'm either going to get a pair of brown side zip boots or a pair of loafers. If loafers, maybe the brown shell cordovans @bengal-stripe posted a long time ago, or the brown crocs below, but with a normal penny strap instead of full penny strap.

I really like my Edward Green Picadillys, so I don't know if I really have a need for brown calf penny loafers. A pair like this shell cordo might be a nice break from the chunkier, flatter looking shape of Alden shell cordo penny loafers though.




View attachment 1203974

View attachment 1203975

Fantastic shoes. Especially the more casual NSTs since they are right up my alley. I have the Weston Hunt in black and have been considering commissioning something similar in cognac calf or deerskin.

 

[ecwy]

From certain quarters more snark than sprezz. That why I said what I said about "studied indifference" and parvenus.

Somehow this phrase comes to mind: "a fool and his money are soon parted"

Sometimes I wonder why you bother trying

 

[DWFII]

Somehow this phrase comes to mind: "a fool and his money are soon parted"

Sometimes I wonder why you bother trying

Well, it's not for the "fools" (although they sometimes provide a good foil). It's for the people who are genuinely interested...and are themselves genuine...who have never been exposed to anything but advertising hype and PR deception.

?

 

[dieworkwear]

Somehow this phrase comes to mind: "a fool and his money are soon parted"

Sometimes I wonder why you bother trying

How are these three purchases working out for you, the red shoes, striped red socks, and big cuff jeans?

 

[ecwy]

How are these three purchases working out for you, the red shoes, striped red socks, and big cuff jeans?


View attachment 1204061

Very nicely thank you. It's a pair of potentially slippery GYW shoes with Japanese denim. Unfortunately, they don't rock on their heels.

If you want to say something, say it out loud else please get a life.

 

[kirbya]

Why not? Japan is all about cool biz and no-show socks in August.
For the record, I'm not wearing shorts.

Maybe you prefer this? (edit: spoiler button found!)

Spoiler: Don't click if you're eating

View attachment 1203817

Picture taken from Edward Greens IG

Yeah. That picture was terrible. Didn’t understand it at all... only reason they posted it was because it was from an Esquire fashion shoot.