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Zee's Leatherware & Shoe Co.

maomao1980

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Nice shoe, I think it will look better if the medallion is punched a bit tighter.
 

fritzl

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Originally Posted by benjamin831
zee_wing4.jpg


probably the best, i have seen on sf. congrats.

the medaillon is nice for a full brogue...
 

oneade

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Originally Posted by benjamin831
As promised, my new wingtip derbies from Zee's.
The shoes were originally unpolished since I don't trust their polishing techniques.


They look fantastic. Any pics of what they looked like before you polished them?
 

Toiletduck

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Originally Posted by benjamin831
As promised, my new wingtip derbies from Zee's.

Made a couple of adjustments to the last: taller toe box, tighter fiddled waist, higher vamp. The result is a more voluptuous shape.

The shoes were originally unpolished since I don't trust their polishing techniques.


Wow. Nice.
 

T900

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Originally Posted by benjamin831
As promised, my new wingtip derbies from Zee's. Made a couple of adjustments to the last: taller toe box, tighter fiddled waist, higher vamp. The result is a more voluptuous shape. The shoes were originally unpolished since I don't trust their polishing techniques.
zee_wing1.jpg
zee_wing2.jpg
zee_wing3.jpg
zee_wing4.jpg

its really nice. may i know how to refer to this leather and how much would it cost?
 

sfo423

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anyone ordered via email using custom measurements?
 

Fishball

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Originally Posted by T900
its really nice. may i know how to refer to this leather and how much would it cost?

I think this is their french calf, cost HKD1400, which is less than USD200.
 

boogaboogabooga

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I've never worn bespoke shoes, but this is making me consider. That said, I have no intentions of going to Hong Kong for a fitting, as much as I'd like to. Would it be practical or even possible to order a pair of shoes without a fitting? Also, I've read the posts and it seems like you folks are really knowledgeable when it comes to construction. Where and how did you guys learn your stuff?
 

ginlimetonic

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Originally Posted by boogaboogabooga
I've never worn bespoke shoes, but this is making me consider. That said, I have no intentions of going to Hong Kong for a fitting, as much as I'd like to. Would it be practical or even possible to order a pair of shoes without a fitting? Also, I've read the posts and it seems like you folks are really knowledgeable when it comes to construction. Where and how did you guys learn your stuff?
i am not knowledgable as fish ball or luk cha, but it is near impossible to order a shoe without a fitting. If the shoe maker is familiar with your feet he might be able to. The whole point of a made-to-measure shoe is it is made specially for your feet and according to your specifications. And luckily Zee's is (relatively) cheap. FOr any other shoe maker e.g. G&G, you would be insane to pay for bespoke without any fittings!. Same thing applies to suits! edit: if you create a balistics gel or plaster mould of your feet, and send it to Zee's, i'm sure he's able to
smile.gif
 

boogaboogabooga

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Originally Posted by ginlimetonic
i am not knowledgable as fish ball or luk cha, but it is near impossible to order a shoe without a fitting. If the shoe maker is familiar with your feet he might be able to. The whole point of a made-to-measure shoe is it is made specially for your feet and according to your specifications.

And luckily Zee's is (relatively) cheap. FOr any other shoe maker e.g. G&G, you would be insane to pay for bespoke without any fittings!. Same thing applies to suits!

edit: if you create a balistics gel or plaster mould of your feet, and send it to Zee's, i'm sure he's able to
smile.gif


Does it have to be bespoke? Could I just spec a shoe and cross my fingers? Also... about this gel thing...
biggrin.gif
go on...
 

temporaryachilles

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Benjamin,

Those are incredible looking shoes! How do you polish them to make them look that way?
worship.gif


I went over to Zee's this morning to see if I could get a similar pair, but the proprietor (a great guy, BTW) said that you had some sort of special polishing technique involving alcohol that takes 4-5 hrs. I'm assuming the alcohol has something to do with the polish and not passing the 4-5 hrs...
tongue.gif
 

benjamin831

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Originally Posted by Fishball
It look really good!

Originally Posted by AndrewRogers
Wow, that last picture is really, really nice.

Originally Posted by maomao1980
Nice shoe, Iat think it will look better if the medallion is punched a bit tighter.

Originally Posted by fritzl
probably the best, i have seen on sf. congrats.

the medaillon is nice for a full brogue...


Originally Posted by oneade
They look fantastic. Any pics of what they looked like before you polished them?

Originally Posted by Toiletduck
Wow. Nice.

Originally Posted by Toiletduck
I think switch out the laces, and you'll be set!

Originally Posted by T900
its really nice. may i know how to refer to this leather and how much would it cost?

Thanks everybody, I appreciate all the comments!

I agree with Mao^2, the medallion could be much tighter.

Originally Posted by temporaryachilles
Benjamin,

Those are incredible looking shoes! How do you polish them to make them look that way?
worship.gif


I went over to Zee's this morning to see if I could get a similar pair, but the proprietor (a great guy, BTW) said that you had some sort of special polishing technique involving alcohol that takes 4-5 hrs. I'm assuming the alcohol has something to do with the polish and not passing the 4-5 hrs...
tongue.gif


Thanks achilles!

The polishing took a while, but 4-5h is a slight exaggeration. Well when you buy a pair of Zee's, it usually comes flat brown (assume of course you purchased brown shoes), you can used diluted acetone to lighten the leather in certain areas. You can then use black/navy shoe polish and a old toothbrush and brush the dark polish into the broguing around the shoe.

That's basically what I did.

Its also important to apply a fair bit of cream (Saphir Renovateur) before and after the process to counteract the drying properties of acetone.

Jeez, Zee's seems have a knack for telling everybody about my polishing story! Haha, it's alright though, they're great guys and I always had a swell time chatting with them.
 

Fishball

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Originally Posted by benjamin831
Jeez, Zee's seems have a knack for telling everybody about my polishing story! Haha, it's alright though, they're great guys and I always had a swell time chatting with them.

Not only the polishing story, they said your grandfather used to be shoemaker too!
 

temporaryachilles

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Benjamin,
I'm inspired! I'm going experiment on some loafers I picked up from Zee's a year ago, and if it works well, I'll pick up some nice brogues like yours. From what I understand, I need to:

1. Apply a lot of cream to moisturize the leather.
2. Use diluted acetone to lighten the leather in select areas (i.e. the non-brogued parts).
3. Apply black/dark navy polish with a toothbrush into the broguing.
4. Apply dark brown polish, repeat several times
5. Apply more cream to moisturize the leather, again.

Could you check whether what I'm planning is correct? I still have lots of questions: I'm not sure where to get acetone - can I use nail polish remover? Is there a step involving alcohol? (If not, I'll add a tequila break for myself halfway through.) What kind of polish did you use, and how many layers? It looks simply amazing in your photos.

FYI, I first noticed 'bespoke' shoes from Zee/Mayer/Kow Hoo on Style Forum about a year ago, when I moved to Hong Kong. I was researching custom fitted shoes for practical reasons (wide feet, freakish arch), but now I seem to be turning into a shoe geek!
 

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