Trip to Vienna and Budapest to buy Shoes

Doxe · Nov 10, 2010

I'm going to Vienna and Budapest in December and am planning on buying some shoes.

Originaly I was considering Vass. But I've also read about Balint in Vienna.

Can anyone confirm whether Balint has stock shoes, or are they exclusively bespoke.

What other shoemakers should I be considering. I'll be in Vienna for a week with a day trip to Budapest.

Mariooo · Nov 10, 2010

another bespoke options - you could visit Mr. Materna, very nice and friendly man... or Maftei Don't know if Balint has stock shoes, but my guess would be that user fritzl should be the perfect guy for asking about shoes in vienna/budapest

www.schuhmanufaktur.at www.ludwig-reiter.com you could also visit Humanic and look for shoes by Laszlo Sacher, D.H. Pollak...

Doxe · Nov 10, 2010

Does anyone know if Marcel (Koronya) has OTR stock.

My main issue is that I won't be in town long enough for a bespoke fitting and I don't see myself going back just for a fitting. That's why I'm considering OTR.

My main concern is that the shoes are not gemmed (hence Vass).

binge · Nov 10, 2010

Mr. Weiner (near the Rathaus) has a small number of stock/display shoes, about a dozen or so. If one happens to fit, you could be quite happy. He doesn't speak English, so take a local/translator if you're not comfortable on your own.

comrade · Nov 10, 2010

Originally Posted by Doxe

I'm going to Vienna and Budapest in December and am planning on buying some shoes.

Originaly I was considering Vass. But I've also read about Balint in Vienna.

Can anyone confirm whether Balint has stock shoes, or are they exclusively bespoke.

What other shoemakers should I be considering. I'll be in Vienna for a week with a day trip to Budapest.

Balint has a good selection of RTW shoes. They speak English
Also, try Ludwig Reiter for RTW at a lower price point. Also speak English

http://www.ludwig-reiter.com/

Sazerac · Nov 10, 2010

What a perfect time to go. I was in both cities a few years ago around December. Be sure to see the Christmas markets.

fritzl · Nov 11, 2010

Originally Posted by Doxe

I'm going to Vienna and Budapest in December and am planning on buying some shoes.

what styles/models do you have in mind?

janne melkersson · Nov 11, 2010

Doxe,
"My main concern is that the shoes are not gemmed (hence Vass)."

Are you saying that Vass shoes are gemmed? I would be very surprised if they are.

,

Michael Ay329 · Nov 11, 2010

At least get fitted by Marcel, he does bespoke and MTO. Thus if you do not desire the price or return trip for a fitting, then be being measured, Marcel will have a better idea of finding a RTW/MTO last better fitted for your needs.

Jangofett · Nov 11, 2010

Originally Posted by Doxe

Does anyone know if Marcel (Koronya) has OTR stock.

My main issue is that I won't be in town long enough for a bespoke fitting and I don't see myself going back just for a fitting. That's why I'm considering OTR.

My main concern is that the shoes are not gemmed (hence Vass).

Hi,

I faced the same problem as you when I was in Vienna for an even shorter time than you and in any event, I was not going to spend thousands on bespoke shoes.

One thing I should have been advised about is to bring cash! Since many of these shops do not take credit cards.

Materna, Mafter, Balint, Weiner do have RTW. Abbaschuhe have Vass.
But of course, they may not have your size for the shoes you like.

You may wish to search on my earlier post about shoes hunting in Vienna. There are other information from other posters about shoes shopping in Vienna that you may find useful in that thread.

Good luck and please post pictures on what you got!

fritzl · Nov 11, 2010

Originally Posted by Jangofett

One thing I should have been advised about is to bring cash! Since many of these shops do not take credit cards.

just in case there are dozens of atm's around.

i.e. Materna accept cc, so does Balint iirc.

cc are pretty spreaded among the shops.

The Shoe Snob · Nov 11, 2010

What about Saint Crispin's? They make nice RTW shoes

http://www.saint-crispins.com/

Good luck and have a good time!! Post the shoes that you end up getting..

Jangofett · Nov 11, 2010

Originally Posted by fritzl

just in case there are dozens of atm's around.

i.e. Materna accept cc, so does Balint iirc.

cc are pretty spreaded among the shops.

Well, I know Maftei and Abbaschule do not accept credit card. I was trying to look for atms but I gave up. I figured the local banks would charge me a high commission for drawing Euros.

Oh, and the VAT claim in the airport was disappointing. They took a high commission from me and I really dont know how they calculate the VAT due to me.

Doxe · Nov 11, 2010

Thanks to all,

What I'm looking for are non-gemmed, hand-made, classic shoes.

I was considering Vass because they are non-gemmed.

My concern about sourcing Vass through SF is the fit of the lasts. I'd rather go to the source and get fitted properly, or even go the MTO route than roll the dice.

I'm going to check out Mr Weiner's shop where Binge picked up his shoes. They look beautiful. Hopefully he has something in my size.

The style of shoe I'm loooking for is a business shoe. I know that Vienna and Budapest have a long history of making work shoes like the budapester, but I don't see myself getting much use out of a workhorse shoe. That was why I didn't consider Operation Paprika.

I will check out Marcel (Koronya). If I could build a collection of Koronya I'd be a happy man

Does anyone know if you can order shoes for delivery to North America from Koronya directly, or do you have to order them through his New York agent?

I believe that Vass does not ship RTW to North America, which is why future purchases from Vass (if I choose to use Vass) would be through SF.

I will definitely go to the Christmas markets.

fritzl · Nov 11, 2010

Originally Posted by Doxe

The style of shoe I'm loooking for is a business shoe. I know that Vienna and Budapest have a long history of making work shoes like the budapester, but I don't see myself getting much use out of a workhorse shoe. That was why I didn't consider Operation Paprika.
this is "the" business shoe in our region. nvm. btw, i have exactly the same style of shoe binge got, sitting right next to me. operation paprika is a family brand. i do not remember you ever asked about the possibilities, anyway.

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