Show us your new shoes

[FreeLitres]

King James said:

Just received a pair of Herring Canning Brogues in brown and not 100% sure...

Any recommendations for other brown/dark brown brogues of similar or less cost? Struggling to find anything else I like enough to order!

What is it that you don't like about them? Colour? Not chunky enough/too chunky?

I think some of the Loake brogues are popular but I can make specific suggestions if you say which direction you want to go style wise,

[So]

Shaw Tarse said:

King James said:

Just received a pair of Herring Canning Brogues in brown and not 100% sure...

Any recommendations for other brown/dark brown brogues of similar or less cost? Struggling to find anything else I like enough to order!

Keep checking TKmax they do seem to have some decent offers

The Herrings look like a country shoe. Ideal with tweeds.

Loake may have something: https://www.loake.co.uk/shop-by-style/brogues.html

Be careful with TKMax. They have shoes specially made for them which are not of the same quality as ones sold through authorised retail channels and bearing a similar name.

[King James]

So said:

The Herrings look like a country shoe. Ideal with tweeds.

Loake may have something: https://www.loake.co.uk/shop-by-style/brogues.html

Be careful with TKMax. They have shoes specially made for them which are not of the same quality as ones sold through authorised retail channels and bearing a similar name.

Thanks for the link, your point about country is probably the issue. Will return for some more formal oxfords I think!

Anyone had a pair of Meermin's?

[garylythgoe]

Anyone got some good recommendations for some decent shoes to wear with chinos or jeans, for work?

Thinking something along the lines of some tan/brown leather or suede type derby shoes.

Most things look too formal for my companies very relaxed dress code.

Most people wear tshirts, jeans and sneaks. But I tend to wear oxford shirts, chinos, dark skinny jeans etc.

Any suggestions welcomed.

[g3org3y]

Chukka, desert or Chelsea boots?

[Rich_W]

InductionRoar said:

Surprised they aren't wearing patents. You know, for that smart casual vibe.

Many moons ago, night out with work people. One guy had Patents on.

He turned out to be a wker. So there's some kind of planetary alignment going on

ReaperCushions said:

g3org3y said:

Blue leather

Sorry but these are a little bit 'Eastern European car wash' for me

I get an image you'll be wearing them like this:

Indeed! (though in the mid 00s I may have found that look acceptable )

I need some new smart casual loafer types (to replace some Sweeneys) and I can't find anything I consider suitable. Everything is "heavy" or "chav"

[FreeLitres]

My parcel has arrived from G&G!

As perviously mentioned, it's just another pair of brown oxfords. These are a bit of a step up from my other pairs though...

[InductionRoar]

FreeLitres said:

My parcel has arrived from G&G!

As perviously mentioned, it's just another pair of brown oxfords. These are a bit of a step up from my other pairs though...

Very nice. We are clearly paving the way for a dark brown cap-toe oxford trend.

A few observations.

1. The heel has quite a pronounced notch
2. The fudging on the welt appears to be less superficial than normal
3. The welt stitching is remarkably uniform
4. The dust bags have been revamped
5. You appear to have photographed them on Miss Marple's settee

[FreeLitres]

I had to move to the granny sofa as it was too sunny for the sparkly princess table runner, see -



Like the waist?

[g3org3y]

Very fancy, very nice.

[InductionRoar]

FreeLitres said:

I had to move to the granny sofa as it was too sunny for the sparkly princess table runner, see -



Like the waist?

Exquisite. Very closely cut.

Looks just like rubber from the side doesn't it? #beatthatdrum #broken record

[So]

InductionRoar said:

FreeLitres said:

My parcel has arrived from G&G!

As perviously mentioned, it's just another pair of brown oxfords. These are a bit of a step up from my other pairs though...

Very nice. We are clearly paving the way for a dark brown cap-toe oxford trend.

A few observations.

1. The heel has quite a pronounced notch
2. The fudging on the welt appears to be less superficial than normal
3. The welt stitching is remarkably uniform
4. The dust bags have been revamped
5. You appear to have photographed them on Miss Marple's settee

Lovely shoes. I might take a look at GG.

[FreeLitres]

InductionRoar said:

Very nice. We are clearly paving the way for a dark brown cap-toe oxford trend.

A few observations.

1. The heel has quite a pronounced notch
2. The fudging on the welt appears to be less superficial than normal
3. The welt stitching is remarkably uniform
4. The dust bags have been revamped
5. You appear to have photographed them on Miss Marple's settee

Very good observations by the way. These are the kind of things I wouldn't have noticed being more used to the entry level to mid-range shoe.

Points 1-3 makes the finish on these G&Gs almost too detailed to be from their ready-to-wear range?....

[InductionRoar]

FreeLitres said:

Very good observations by the way. These are the kind of things I wouldn't have noticed being more used to the entry level to mid-range shoe.

Points 1-3 makes the finish on these G&Gs almost too detailed to be from their ready-to-wear range?....

I did wonder. I thought G&G had either upped their RTW game or mine were faulty.

The closeness of the waist and the welt stitching should have sealed it for me really. Plus, a vegetable tanned lining and insole is generally the preserve of bespoke.

Congratulations by the way. The fact the fiddleback extends into the heelstack is also a sign of world-class workmanship. All RTW fiddlebacks flatten out towards the heel so they can use a generic heelstack, whereas those would have been built up layer by layer by hand.

G&G straddle the line between flamboyant and good taste.

Do you have the trees?

[FreeLitres]

InductionRoar said:

I did wonder. I thought G&G had either upped their RTW game or mine were faulty.

The closeness of the waist and the welt stitching should have sealed it for me really. Plus, a vegetable tanned lining and insole is generally the preserve of bespoke.

Congratulations by the way. The fact the fiddleback extends into the heelstack is also a sign of world-class workmanship. All RTW fiddlebacks flatten out towards the heel so they can use a generic heelstack, whereas those would have been built up layer by layer by hand.

G&G straddle the line between flamboyant and good taste.

Do you have the trees?

You guessed it - they are actually fully bespoke G&G shoes! Unfortunately, I don't have the lasted trees for these as the client only got to the fitting stage and the trees usually come later. To be honest, if trees were included I think I would have been priced out of the deal.

The shoes were made by the talented Daniel Wegan who I believe is building a strong reputation in the world of bespoke shoes.

I know this as I tried them on and Tony Gaziano called a chap down from the room upstairs to check out the fit on me. The guy was down on his knees feeling the different areas of the foot in the shoe and was surprised with the quality of the fit. I haven't researched bespoke at all as I have never been in the market for them and I didn't have a clue who he was, so I asked if he gets involved in the bespoke shoes. He said yes - I made those shoes. I later discovered it was Daniel from the link below.

http://shoegazing.se/english/2015/09/22/report-gaz...

Bit of a ramble to explain how I managed to get these - after trying a range of different samples and rejects from the RTW range, I didn't find anything in brown in my size and the fit wasn't quite right for me as I think I have a slightly wide foot. Tony said he would have one last look around the factory for anything else in brown or tan. He came back with these brown oxfords, which are just the kind of look I was hoping for.

He explained that they are bespoke shoes BUT he immediately warned me that is was a long shot and the chances are I would slip them on and feel that they are completely wrong for my foot. To be honest, I didn't have particularly high hopes for them and I very nearly didn't even bother trying them. I had already decided that if the fit wasn't good, I would politely decline as I've had enough of poorly fitting shoes causing pain and later being sold on eBay at a loss.

Anyway, I thought I might as well give them a go, so I slipped my left foot in and.... I couldn't believe how good the fit was! Honestly, WAY better than any shoe I have ever tried on! Not only were the uppers buttery soft and conformed to the top of my foot, but the arch seemed to have more support and the heel felt really supported too. It felt amazing!

Even then, Tony said don't get excited until you try the other foot. Afterall, every foot is different. The right shoe went on and BOOM - perfect fit again. I couldn't believe it!

(side note - they feel absolutely perfect to me, but they were obviously not made for me. I can only imagine how sublime they would feel if I went through the whole bespoke process and have the shoe modelled on my own foot. I think you are in for a treat InductionRoar!)

Tony offered to get some burnishing done on them as the client had requested a very flat brown colour whereas I prefered the G&G burnished look. Here are the shoes at the day of trying them on;



Overall, pretty much a one in a million chance - I didn't find what I was looking for in the RTW section, they happened to find some unclaimed bespokes, my favoured style, my favoured colour, fits great. Lets just say, I got lucky that day!

Edited by FreeLitres on Thursday 8th June 20:44

[InductionRoar]

FreeLitres said:

Interesting stuff

Edited by FreeLitres on Thursday 8th June 20:44

You were certainly very lucky there.

I remember reading a story of somebody who went to London in the Christmas sales armed with £250 for some black oxfords. Needless to say, the RTW offerings all starting at double that mark but he went to Cleverleys and they had some bespoke ones, I seem to recall the chap had died before completion, that fitted him well and they let him have them for £250. This was a few years back mind.

Things like this never happen to me, alas.

Incidentally, I am thinking of selling my RTW shoes having now sampled the delights of bespoke. I think all that is required for a man's wardrobe is a pair of oxfords, derbys and boots. Maybe the boots and derbys could be combined into one purchase, thus justifying a further commission with some clever man maths.

Unfortunately, I don't imagine there is a particularly big market for second hand shoes, regardless of their condition and it may be cheaper just to keep them as "daily beaters".

[FreeLitres]

£250 for bespokes? Yowsers! Unfortunately I wasn't THAT lucky, but I don't mind paying what I paid for these Oxfords.

Have a quick look on eBay for used shoes of the type you are thinking of selling. You would be surprised how much they go for, especially for the popular prestige brands. I have actually made some money on a few pairs by buying new in the sales and flipping used for a bit more.

I haven't even looked into the resole cost on somthing like these. I have a feeling that a resole would be my total annual shoe budget given how much work goes into them! I presume Timpsons wouldnt touch them?

I have run onto a bit of a problem though. After you pointed out all the minor details on a well finished shoe like the fiddle back waist, stiching neatness, heel notch, (etc) I have noticed my eyes are immediately drawn to these features whereas before I wouldn't have even noticed them. Now, whenever I handle all my favourite Northants shoes they are all starting to feel a little.... unfinised. Grrr

I found this thread on another forum which isn't helping my new shoe OCD
https://www.styleforum.net/threads/shoemaking-tech...

[InductionRoar]

FreeLitres said:

£250 for bespokes? Yowsers! Unfortunately I wasn't THAT lucky, but I don't mind paying what I paid for these Oxfords.

Have a quick look on eBay for used shoes of the type you are thinking of selling. You would be surprised how much they go for, especially for the popular prestige brands. I have actually made some money on a few pairs by buying new in the sales and flipping used for a bit more.

I haven't even looked into the resole cost on somthing like these. I have a feeling that a resole would be my total annual shoe budget given how much work goes into them! I presume Timpsons wouldnt touch them?

I have run onto a bit of a problem though. After you pointed out all the minor details on a well finished shoe like the fiddle back waist, stiching neatness, heel notch, (etc) I have noticed my eyes are immediately drawn to these features whereas before I wouldn't have even noticed them. Now, whenever I handle all my favourite Northants shoes they are all starting to feel a little.... unfinised. Grrr

I found this thread on another forum which isn't helping my new shoe OCD
https://www.styleforum.net/threads/shoemaking-tech...

Cleverleys charge half the price of a new pair for resoling, so expect to be paying £1,500 plus.

There is a world of difference between bespoke and RTW finishing, not because they are bespoke but because they are handmade. On the welt stitching for example, the fudging wheel is used to mark the welt out for (hand)stitching, hence why every stitch goes over the peak. Now look at a RTW shoe, it either has no fudging, which is fair enough as the machine doesn't have eyes, or in the case of the top tier RTW makers who want their products to look handmade, they have fake fudging chamfering the edge whilst leaving the actual stitched part plain. Some even have fudging over the stitching which obviously compromises the performance of the stitch.

All of the features which look nice have a deep rooted reason and tradition behind them that mostly goes unnoticed or appreciated. It is akin to having fake louvers or exhausts on a car. People equate them to quality/performance but don't actually know why.

I think I will give it a go and see what I can recoup. Anyone interested in some very lightly worn 7E shoes with trees drop me a PM.

[Blown2CV]

i can scarcely picture what sort of life i would have to lead where spending £1500+ on a pair of shoes would crop up on my todo list.

[InductionRoar]

Blown2CV said:

i can scarcely picture what sort of life i would have to lead where spending £1500+ on a pair of shoes would crop up on my todo list.

The trick is, don't wear them.