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Anyone here pay for good handmade shoes?

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CX

posted on Apr, 23 2018 @ 06:00 PM
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Hi all....

I've always had a bit of a fascination with handmade shoes, not that I have ever bought any, I just love the craftsmanship that goes into making a pair of bespoke shoes.

I've never paid more than about £90 for a pair of shoes, and that was only a few times, usually I end up going for the £50 range......but I'm now looking to up the quality a little in order to get more years out of them. Probably something like Loakes who do an excellent repair service when they wear out.

We pay hundreds for a mobile phone, yet something that is supposed to after our feet, we often just make do.

Recently I have been watching a very interesting series of videos on men's style, and there is a great video on the best bespoke shoemakers in the world. Well worth a watch if you like nice shoes and top craftsmanship is something you respect. Not that I'm ever going to be able to afford these lol, but it's great to see such skill still alive today.

The guy who makes these vids seems a real gent too, with a wealth of knowledge.

So does anyone here buy any shoes worth a mention? Or have any tips when buying them....or after care?

I'm even getting obsessed with decent shoe cleaning products....and before you ask.....yes I have a life.... and no I'm not single lol!






CX.



posted on Apr, 23 2018 @ 06:19 PM
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I could go for some J C Penny Wing Tips circa 1965-66 in the Green tinted Brown.



posted on Apr, 23 2018 @ 06:48 PM
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I had a pair of hand made Tony Lamas boots made while I waited in either El Paso or Juarez about twenty years ago. It was the best boots I ever had.



posted on Apr, 23 2018 @ 06:58 PM
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Back in my rock and roll days, I had a pair of python skin cowboy boots made.

Hand crafted in Juarez, Mexico for 1800 pesos.
edit on 23-4-2018 by olaru12 because: (no reason given)



posted on Apr, 23 2018 @ 07:06 PM
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a reply to: CX
My late husband was a big fan of boots but after an accident took half an inch from his right leg he needed a lift for any footwear. He began looking for a custom maker and found the fellow at Earthwalkers when we went to a Renaissance Faire near Phoenix, AZ. They cost the earth but they were molded to his feet and he wore them for many years. Even today as they sit in his closet, they look practically new because he always took excellent care of them.

It makes me sad to see them sitting there...thousands of dollars worth of shoes he'd acquired and had the lift added...
I wish I knew someone who could use them but the local cobbler who added the lifts said he was the only client he had with that particular need---a half-inch lift on the right foot. But as yet I can't bring myself to just throw them away.



posted on Apr, 23 2018 @ 07:13 PM
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Take a look here: www.allenedmonds.com... Below is a tour of the factory with Ernest Borgnine. I don;t know if this is "handmade" enough for you, but they've got a good rep.




posted on Apr, 23 2018 @ 08:04 PM
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It is called "craftsmanship" over manufacturing .
Wonderful , but dying art.



posted on Apr, 23 2018 @ 08:45 PM
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originally posted by: CX
Hi all....

I've always had a bit of a fascination with handmade shoes, not that I have ever bought any, I just love the craftsmanship that goes into making a pair of bespoke shoes.

I've never paid more than about £90 for a pair of shoes, and that was only a few times, usually I end up going for the £50 range......but I'm now looking to up the quality a little in order to get more years out of them. Probably something like Loakes who do an excellent repair service when they wear out.

We pay hundreds for a mobile phone, yet something that is supposed to after our feet, we often just make do.

Recently I have been watching a very interesting series of videos on men's style, and there is a great video on the best bespoke shoemakers in the world. Well worth a watch if you like nice shoes and top craftsmanship is something you respect. Not that I'm ever going to be able to afford these lol, but it's great to see such skill still alive today.

The guy who makes these vids seems a real gent too, with a wealth of knowledge.

So does anyone here buy any shoes worth a mention? Or have any tips when buying them....or after care?

I'm even getting obsessed with decent shoe cleaning products....and before you ask.....yes I have a life.... and no I'm not single lol!






CX.


I don't mind paying a lot of quality shoes. I generally find Ferragamos, Gucci, Tods, Allen Edmonds, Cole Haan to be my favorites. It is painful, but you really kind find good quality men's dress shoes under $500 nowadays imho.

There are some bespoke brands that will actually measure your foot, etc. They can run more than a $1000 a pair. However, it could be worth it for people with odd shaped feet like me. I have wide feet so it is hard to find shoes that fit.

Good quality clothing is a lost art. Quality does not come cheap. I remember when I first started wearing suits for work, I thought it was absurd to pay like $100 for a tie or $200+ for a dress shirt. However, once you experience the difference it is hard to go back to Banana Republic....



posted on Apr, 23 2018 @ 08:51 PM
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a reply to: CX

Don't know if it counts, but I've made my own moccasins since a child. My grandmother taught me. I make the leather as well from a deer that usually ends up tasty.

Not as glorious as the shoes you are showing, but a good pair lasts for years.

S&F on an interesting thread!





posted on Apr, 23 2018 @ 09:10 PM
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Doc Martens do me right.
Comfortable and durable in situations that require boots.
I go barefoot otherwise.



posted on Apr, 23 2018 @ 09:24 PM
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a reply to: CX

I heard a rumor that Gucci's of London does a good shoe, may cost a couple hundred quid, but I understand they're really nice.



posted on Apr, 23 2018 @ 09:25 PM
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You want ultra Primo boots and shoes... Whites is the place. Not cheap, but worth it.

whitesboots.com...



posted on Apr, 24 2018 @ 06:28 AM
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a reply to: CX

Here is the main problem with bespoke shoes, and actually, mens fashion in general.

Its effete, soft wearing crap, that even at the high end, is too high maintenance and does not permit a person to rough house, work like a dog in it, get rained on regularly without having to then perform some over complicated drying ritual. Those who make these posh, shiny shoes, jackets, trousers, shirts, out of fancy materials by hand... I respect the hell out of their craftsmanship, but their understanding of what I want as a man is utterly off base.

I want gear I can wear every day for a decade, then THINK about replacing. I want materials which will stand up to abuse, I want my boots to grip a surface right to the point where physics says it is impossible, and THEN stop gripping. I want the boots to keep my feet dry, AND let them breathe. I want them to be constructed in such a way that I can do hardy, hearty things, like chopping wood, or drilling metal, or clambering in and out of things, without concern about how those processes might effect their appearance. I want to have to rub diamond dust against them to produce a scratch, because if they will scuff on anything less than that, they will only last as well as regular, off the shelf stuff.

There are mens fashion failures all over the place. If I want a jacket or a pair of jeans, I have to be careful to avoid bloody lycra, which is in everything these days, and has no place in a mans wardrobe, unless he happens to be a cyclist or sportsman. For everyday wear though, I want materials made of naturally occurring fibres, like pure, old school denim, I want practical clothing that does not respond badly to being wet, can be washed anywhere without the advice of the dry cleaner, that is not going to spoil, or rot, or break, or have bad stitching.

They do not MAKE clothing and boots for people like me, except in one particular field, and that is the field of military surplus. On the day that these bespoke cobblers start making boots a man can do a real days work in, without either agonising wear in times, OR being so concerned about the value of the boots he wears that he works less brutishly to save his boots, I will start thinking about it. But there is no work to which a man can put himself and be pleased with his station in life, which can be conducted wearing a pair of Oxfords, or anything that resembles them.

I shall stick to my off the shelf combat boots, my heavy utilitarian clothing choices, until such time as the bespoke market starts to appreciate the importance of function over form.


CX

posted on Apr, 24 2018 @ 06:37 AM
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As for moccasin making....i'd say they count as bespoke for sure!
What a skill to have learnt.

It's funny how the tears can change a person's thinking on what is valuable or a great gift. In my teens I might have wanted a million pounds, right now I'd swap that for the ability to make my own moccasins or other bespoke shoes in a flash.

Craftsmanship is a dying art in some parts. To watch someone who is a master of their craft is a treat, even hypnotic at times.

Thanks for the great replies, some I've heard of, some I haven't and will go look up. I have started dabbling with leather work, but nothing on the scale of shoemaking. Something to aspire to for sure.

Off to look at moccasin making now


CX.


edit on 24/4/18 by CX because: (no reason given)



posted on Apr, 24 2018 @ 06:41 AM
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a reply to: CX

Well my ATS name pay homage to my favorite designer of handmade shoes, Manolo Blahnik.

I have quite a few pairs and I only paid at most $75, gotta love Ebay and Etsy! I found a lady from NYC whose sister has a Manolo Blahnik sweet tooth and lucky for me she wears MY SIZE! The one sister takes care of the other sisters resale's on Ebay. The sister with the Manolo sweet tooth doesn't sell her products for insane amounts but all are under $100. Why? Because she wants someone like me to be able to afford good shoes. I dont know what her sister does but she said it's not about the money for her sister. I'm so glad it's not! I lucked into that find. I was shocked when I got a pair of red patent leather open toe Mary Janes for $20!!! They are like new and vintage mid 90s, so you can imagine my excitement. I have one pair of Manolo's made famous by the Sex and The City movie that were a gift and cost more than 2 months rent combined but at this point I call them an investment.


People love to make comments about my shoe collection but I like a good shoe. Sure they are more expensive but when you are on your feet all day a nice pair of handmade leather Italian heels feel so much better than a cheap Made in China Payless brand.....no I have my Payless shoes but I dont wear them for all day occasions, my feet would never survive.


So yes a nice handmade shoe to me is worth the money especially when you can find them second hand. I also have a quite a few Etienne Aigner's from the 70s that I have had resoled and cleaned and they are soooo comfy!



posted on Apr, 24 2018 @ 06:45 AM
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originally posted by: CX
I've never paid more than about £90 for a pair of shoes, and that was only a few times, usually I end up going for the £50 range...


Is this new? Because I wish mine were only $100 or so.




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