The Ultimate Toronto Thread

[partenopean]

Well, to play devil's advocate, those questions are of no practical importance to most people. The shoes are used sparingly enough tht a resole will typically never be necessary. The shoes could be Goodyear welted or Blake Rapid, and it would all be the same to people.

Goodyear welted became a popular selling point in the mind 00s, when English shoe brands became popular, and was mentioned as a sign of quality in all of the copy to signify quality workmanship. If I were a betting man, I would say that most people, including guys interested in fine clothing, would not have been aware of a lot of the construction details that were brought to the higher end customer's attention at around that time, amplified by the then nascent online menswear enthusiasts ecosystem.

It's very easy to imagine an alterna-world, with just slight differences in history, I think that we could all be talking about the Rapid Blake stitch used in many better made Italian made shoes. I know that some knowledgeable people like this construction more @RIDER.

Getting to the point in a very round-about way (sorry, I've written this post between dealing with other things), while there are certain construction methods that are objectively better for a variety of reasons than others, a lot of the value to customers is in story of quality, rather than in the practical need for a certain level of quality. For enthusiasts like ourselves, of course we want Goodyear or hand welted or Blake Rapid, but for the vast majority of people, it's pretty immaterial.

Agreed.

I was brought up to equate Goodyear welted with Church's, although of course, many other brands have them.
I grew up in the UK, so getting your first pair of Church's to start work in the City was a rite of passage. Many of us were told the Goodyear double-welt kept water out, making the shoes watertight, as long as we carried an umbrella and regulary used beeswax! I still don't know if thats true, because even then, I noticed my Blake-welted Tods kept water out too!

Churchs were English-made with a long heritage, so we were told they had to be better than the Italian brands (usually lumped together as "Ferragamos").

The other thing was when you went to the Church's stores in Central London, they were always very full with very loud (deafeningly so) Italian tourists trying on various styles. Whatever they were saying was deafening, and also to me, unintelligellible, as the only English used was to praise Churches as "besa shooz in the wauld!" to anyone nearby that looked their way.

That helped reinforce the dogma of Churchs' superiority.

That was 2005, though, when shoes mattered and casual Friday meant pink Ralph Lauren shirt, blue blazer and loose fitting chinos with brown (not black, brown) Churches. Derbys were the style of choice.
Churchs saw their prestige slowly decline, and today of course, casual Friday is dead because the office is partly dead and casual Friday is black T-shirt or polo shirt and some slim-fitting jeans! Emphasis is on avant-garde coiffes and facial hair!

The fact that Rishi Sunak runs around in Pradas doesn't help things. King Charles now has cancelled all future shoe purchases to lower his carbon footprint or some crap like that....


Edit--- just looked it up, Church's has been owned by the Prada group since 1999! Once again, Rishi Sunak knows things the rest of us don't!

 

[partenopean]

Also "resoling" of course, is a form of rite of passage, because the Chancellor (like the Minisiter of Finance in Canada) only resoles if their is going to be spending cut in the budget!

In other words, of course you can resole your Church's, but only do so if you're broke!

 

[LA Guy]

Agreed.

I was brought up to equate Goodyear welted with Church's, although of course, many other brands have them.
I grew up in the UK, so getting your first pair of Church's to start work in the City was a rite of passage. Many of us were told the Goodyear double-welt kept water out, making the shoes watertight, as long as we carried an umbrella and regulary used beeswax! I still don't know if thats true, because even then, I noticed my Blake-welted Tods kept water out too!

Churchs were English-made with a long heritage, so we were told they had to be better than the Italian brands (usually lumped together as "Ferragamos").

The other thing was when you went to the Church's stores in Central London, they were always very full with very loud (deafeningly so) Italian tourists trying on various styles. Whatever they were saying was deafening, and also to me, unintelligellible, as the only English used was to praise Churches as "besa shooz in the wauld!" to anyone nearby that looked their way.

That helped reinforce the dogma of Churchs' superiority.

That was 2005, though, when shoes mattered and casual Friday meant pink Ralph Lauren shirt, blue blazer and loose fitting chinos with brown (not black, brown) Churches. Derbys were the style of choice.
Churchs saw their prestige slowly decline, and today of course, casual Friday is dead because the office is partly dead and casual Friday is black T-shirt or polo shirt and some slim-fitting jeans! Emphasis is on avant-garde coiffes and facial hair!

The fact that Rishi Sunak runs around in Pradas doesn't help things. King Charles now has cancelled all future shoe purchases to lower his carbon footprint or some crap like that....


Edit--- just looked it up, Church's has been owned by the Prada group since 1999! Once again, Rishi Sunak knows things the rest of us don't!

If you dive deep enough into the Styleforum history, you'll see that some of the earliest discussions (2002-2003) were members complaining that Church's were now crap because of the Prada takeover, and in SWD, that the Prada group was not allowing Jil Sander to use the materials she wanted, because $800 cashmere knits were too expensive and unsaleable, which seems so old now that many top tier brands have basic knits that start at $1K.

The forum actually brought a lot of designers and makers into prominence. I think that Vass were talked about here, since the rep (still a member, and an affiliate vendor now, check out the SARTORIALE thread (www.sartoriale.com)) had sold them to Louis Boston (I tried on a pair during their sales, but the last was much too tight for my wider feet.

Anyway, it's been 23+ years now, and it's fascinating to see how we've had the privilege to have had a small bit of influence on the evolution of the menswear ecosystem (some benchmark stores started through meetings on the forum) and a frontrow seat. I personally feel extremely honoured and humbled.

 

[partenopean]

If you dive deep enough into the Styleforum history, you'll see that some of the earliest discussions (2002-2003) were members complaining that Church's were now crap because of the Prada takeover, and in SWD, that the Prada group was not allowing Jil Sander to use the materials she wanted, because $800 cashmere knits were too expensive and unsaleable, which seems so old now that many top tier brands have basic knits that start at $1K.

The forum actually brought a lot of designers and makers into prominence. I think that Vass were talked about here, since the rep (still a member, and an affiliate vendor now, check out the SARTORIALE thread (www.sartoriale.com)) had sold them to Louis Boston (I tried on a pair during their sales, but the last was much too tight for my wider feet.

Anyway, it's been 23+ years now, and it's fascinating to see how we've had the privilege to have had a small bit of influence on the evolution of the menswear ecosystem (some benchmark stores started through meetings on the forum) and a frontrow seat. I personally feel extremely honoured and humbled.

I have actually heard of Vass! Hungarian shoes!
I met Bernhard Roetzel at an event in 2007 Sept, he introduced them to me.
I didn't know they were Goodyear welted.
I remember them being way outside my price range, like John Lobbs!

Herr Roetzel is a die-hard fan of English shoes with goodyear welts! Absolutely intransigent to any reasoning otherwise. Go figure. Something about how their bulbous shape complements the full fit of classic pants. I remember someone else there rudely remarking that was because Roetzel has a skeleton physique, and slim cuts look horrendous on him...


Do you know, I lived in the Boston area from 2001-2005 and then again end of 2005-2008.
Not once did I set foot inside Louis Boston! Always intimidated me.
I was one of those that was constantly in Filenes Basement, looking for whatever new came in that week...
I scored a Brioni cashmere overcoat that way! You could see "iman Ma" from the bit of the sticker that had torn and hadn't been completely removed!

 

[BlueSteel]

I have actually heard of Vass! Hungarian shoes!
I met Bernhard Roetzel at an event in 2007 Sept, he introduced them to me.
I didn't know they were Goodyear welted.

Vass are hand-welted (and one of the most affordable versions of a high end hand-welted shoe on the market). I have 3 pairs of their Budapesters and enjoy them a lot.

 

[LA Guy]

Vass are hand-welted (and one of the most affordable versions of a high end hand-welted shoe on the market). I have 3 pairs of their Budapesters and enjoy them a lot.

Their original prices were high though, well over $1K USD at Louis Boston. They are much better priced for the market now.

 

[BlueSteel]

Their original prices were high though, well over $1K USD at Louis Boston. They are much better priced for the market now.

Yes - the prices came down a lot. I bought one of my nicest pairs direct from Vass for about $350USD on one of their web sales in 2021.

 

[Simon Chambers]

Yes - the prices came down a lot. I bought one of my nicest pairs direct from Vass for about $350USD on one of their web sales in 2021.

When I went past the Vass store in Budapest last year the prices were about $400USD. Sadly, the shop was closed both times I had time to visit because it was Sunday both times.

 

[BlueSteel]

When I went past the Vass store in Budapest last year the prices were about $400USD. Sadly, the shop was closed both times I had time to visit because it was Sunday both times.

Very nice pricing...great quality for $400USD! Sad they were not open - I'd gladly pay a bit extra to be able to try the pair on before buying!!!

 

[TimothyF]

Is this website a total scam: https://www.aldenshoescanada.com ? Prices are insane, and too good to be true

(But if you do order I'd love to hear about your experience )

 

[partenopean]

Is this website a total scam: https://www.aldenshoescanada.com ? Prices are insane, and too good to be true

(But if you do order I'd love to hear about your experience )

Of course it's a total scam.

This is the new face of online shopping in the age of Generative AI -- such a website can be made in seconds.

I don't get why Alden was chosen, instead of Bottega Veneto or Jimmy Choo or something more recognizable.

 

[mebiuspower]

Is this website a total scam: https://www.aldenshoescanada.com ? Prices are insane, and too good to be true

(But if you do order I'd love to hear about your experience )

There are lots of Canadian version of American sites lately with a totally different looking web storefront. I did a whois Lookup and their domains are not even registered in US or Canada.

Buyer beware.

 

[suitforcourt]

Is this website a total scam: https://www.aldenshoescanada.com ? Prices are insane, and too good to be true

(But if you do order I'd love to hear about your experience )

2 dead giveaways this is a scam website:

1. Price is ridiculously low;
2. No choice of widths, something Alden is well known for.

If it's too good to be true....

 

[Spaghettimatt]

The prices alone should be a dead giveaway that this is a scam. Alden would never allow a retailer to discount like that.

 

[EmptyPockets]

2 dead giveaways this is a scam website:

1. Price is ridiculously low;
2. No choice of widths, something Alden is well known for.

If it's too good to be true....

Also if you look at the source HTML - you'll see a buncha comments in chinese in the javascript functions.

// 如果达到了规定的触发时间间隔，触发 handler
...
// 实际想绑定在 scroll 事件上的 handler
...
// 采用了节流函数