Vass discontinuing US sales?

[imageWIS]

I think with my post I have opened another can of worms

Quote:

The idea that a business based on small, individual orders 'would not be welcome' is confusing to me.
Special orders would be welcome through a retailer, who stocks some styles, but we can't merely build a business on custom orders, unlike some English makers, who visit the states twice a year and charge $3200 and up for a pair of shoes, that is about 4 times more than our starting price (and that is a direct sale, with no retail store involved). Although I am looking into a possibility of a custom order program, not internet based.

If you want to sell stock than you need to have stock here; and in depth

Ron, you know the business much better than I do, but I know one thing, none of the companies on Vass' level stock the shoes in depth, no Kiton, no Lattanzi. We do not have a few styles every season, the stores can choose from hundreds of variations all the time, which ones to stock? We do not require store buyers to buy ten styles; a shop can start out with 2-3 types.
Gabor, thanks for posting. It's great when representative of companies take time from their busy workdays to post on the forum. Jon.

 

[globetrotter]

Marc there is a fourth category. You mentioned expensive and famous (e.g. Savile Row), less expensive with pseudo-fame (minor SR, off-Row), expensive and less widely known, but there are also those who are neither expensive nor widely known (Hong Kong tailors for instance). They provide good value to those who cannot afford a Kabbaz shirt.

Mathieu

bingo,

as a matter of fact, until I fond this forum, I thougth Vass to be in this catagory - I had nver met anyone outside of a few people who traveled regularly to Hungary for work who had ever heard of Vass.

Unless specifically asked, I never talk about the sources of my clothes. I can't imagine bragging about my bespoke clothes with pretty much anybody I know. I buy what I do because I enjoy the quality, and the fit, and I pick the sources that I can afford without bankrupting myself. that simple.

 

[LA Guy]

I think that Johnnynorman3 (JN3, is that the official abbreviation now?) has articulated my opinions much more eloquently than I could have, so I'll let it rest at that. However, alex writes:

NO. Not even one. Not even 1%.
Do I claim to know the motivations of each and every bespoke shirt client I have? Yes. Completely and absolutely. That is the responsibility of a true artisan.

I didn't realize that becoming a true artisan gave you Jedi mind-reading abilities. (Is there a special school on Corusant for this?) If this is in fact true, than I must admit my naiveity about bespoke clothing.

 

[johnapril]

I think that Johnnynorman3 (JN3, is that the official abbreviation now?) has articulated my opinions much more eloquently than I could have, so I'll let it rest at that. Â However, alex writes:
Quote:

NO. Not even one. Not even 1%. Do I claim to know the motivations of each and every bespoke shirt client I have? Yes. Completely and absolutely. That is the responsibility of a true artisan.
I didn't realize that becoming a true artisan gave you Jedi mind-reading abilities. Â (Is there a special school on Corusant for this?) Â If this is in fact true, than I must admit my naiveity about bespoke clothing.
less mind-reading, more hubris

 

[tdial]

I would like to add one more thing about going bespoke, and I will use Kabbaz as an example (though I have not yet enjoyed the pleasure of working with Kabbaz). One of the great benefits I derive from going for a bespoke garment, and more specifically, working with a bespoke artisan, is that I know, time in and time out, that I will get extreme product excellence as well as extreme service excellence.

I haven't used a bespoke shirtmaker, but I don't think I would need to be fitted more than the first couple of times to get the patterns correct. After that, I'm just placing orders based on my style choices and fabrics, which actually saves time over the life of my shirt purchases.

For my own bespoke tailor here, I don't have to get fitted over and over again. I just go in for the first fitting, and assuming nothing's crazy about the fit, the garment should fit pretty closely. As I work more with him (this last jacket was only my second garment done by him), we might get to a point where he knows me so well that one fitting might be all it takes.

It's a relationship. I guess there's something cool about that, I suppose. And the confidence in knowing that I have a suberbly fitting jacket/shirt/pair of shoes is cool, but the label isn't what makes it such.

 

[Thracozaag]

(Is there a special school on Corusant for this?) Â If this is in fact true, than I must admit my naiveity about bespoke clothing.

Actually it's Coruscant; this correction brought to you by your friendly neighborhood Star Wars geek

koji

 

[Brian SD]

Quote:

(LA Guy @ April 11 2005,09:32) (Is there a special school on Corusant for this?) If this is in fact true, than I must admit my naiveity about bespoke clothing.
Actually it's Coruscant; this correction brought to you by your friendly neighborhood Star Wars geek

koji
Oh dear God.

 

[Horace]

we seem to be tied up with the idea of celebrity tailors, cobblers, chiefs, who cater to the super rich.

I  am not taking anything away from Vass, but what is special about vass is that it is one of a few remaining stands of a skill set that was much more common 50 or 100 years ago. there are not that many skilled people willing to make shoes by hand anymore, and in many parts of the world those willing to want feel that they should earn similar to dentists or lawyers.

should vass decide to make thousands of pairs of shoes available to the US market, they will have to change their standards, or raise their prices in order to recruit top people. it would change the whole nature of their business, and disrupt their lifestyle.

part of the charm in life is finding artisans like this - the shirtmaker or tailor or cobbler or chief off the beaten track who make fantastic products and yet have not falen into the track of being a "celebrity". I can think of 50 places I would rather eat than some of the top resteraunts in New York, because I know I will get served by a good waiter and eat food by a good cook, not by somebody who is famous and feels he is doing me a favor.

whatever questioning I've done of the functional (and on occasion) the aesthetic benefits of handworked shoes, I am in complete agreement with you. Well put.

 

[imageWIS]

Quote:

(Thracozaag @ April 11 2005,11:36)

Originally Posted by LA Guy,April 11 2005,09:32

(Is there a special school on Corusant for this?) If this is in fact true, than I must admit my naiveity about bespoke clothing.
Actually it's Coruscant; this correction brought to you by your friendly neighborhood Star Wars geek

koji
Oh dear God.

I thought that was Koji's line? Jon.