The Ultimate Vass (Footwear) Thread (Pictures, reviews, sizing, etc...)

RogerP said:

,^^^ I dunno, do you find the prospect of receiving something other than what you ordered attractive?

This isn't a huge negative - they seem to fix such problems quickly. And the shoes are an awesome kickass value. But I struggle to view messed up orders as a charming positive.

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There are always apologists, and I don't understand it. If you order something, you should get what you order and it should be of high quality. Messing it up isn't a positive.

anrobit said:

There are always apologists, and I don't understand it. If you order something, you should get what you order and it should be of high quality. Messing it up isn't a positive.

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Those mess ups didnt hurt EG, Vass or Meermin much after they gain momentum on SF. Group think is a dangerous thing...



RogerP said:

,^^^ I dunno, do you find the prospect of receiving something other than what you ordered attractive?

.....

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Not at all, but the way they make up for it - e.g. I have seen people here end up with two pairs at a good deal - makes up for it in my opinion.



anrobit said:

There are always apologists, and I don't understand it. If you order something, you should get what you order and it should be of high quality. Messing it up isn't a positive.

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Vass is not for people (in my humble opinion) who want changes and specify all sorts of different details, they will mess up a good percentage of those. If you are for example in America, and are intrepid enough to order some shoes online in Hungary, are you really going to return shoes because they messed the color of the heel?, Jesus.

One thing I can say for sure, Vass is always a very high quality product, and I can't say the same of other brands costing much more. Yes they mess up (sometimes our own fault) but I never returned or sold a pair of Vass because bad construction (Alden, GG, AE, C&J) bad leather (GG, AE, C&J, Carmina, AS) or ugly aging/squeak (GG, C&J, Carmina, AE) like I retuned or sold said brands (again, costing the same or much more, twice as much in GG case). Others experiences might be different, but having ordered 40+ pairs of Vass, that is my experience. And the ones I sold I did because I didn't like the model (norwerger), or they were too similar to others I already had or I tried to reinvent the wheel and didn't like the experiment, but all were really good quality and well made.

Keep it simple and classic. Vass already have been too flexible saying yes to almost everything (Vass in museum calf leather for God sake, WTF!), next, people will start forcing Vass to put artificial patinas on their shoes. Vass is a classic handmade shoe, A real patina?, order a pair of 6319 cognac and wear them weekly for many years, they will age beautifully and last forever. Again, I'm sure some will disagree, but that is my honest experience.

Enough rant, but I was away from here for some time and I see now there are a few new folks (maybe younger folks) interested in Vass and they need to understand how it works, keep it classic and you will never fail.

chogall said:

Those mess ups didnt hurt EG, Vass or Meermin much after they gain momentum on SF.  Group think is a dangerous thing...

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Yes it is

I appreciate your input Rikod. Thanks for posting that.

rikod - I disagree.

Vass is precisely for people who want to specify the exact shoe they want, as opposed to ordering from a limited list of standard models.

It's why they allow you to pick the style, last, upper material, colour, sole material, toe taps etc. as opposed to restricting you to x model on y last in z colour.

I have ordered exclusively through resellers and have never had a screwup. At least one of them uses a simple spread sheet to confirm all the variables. It's not rocket science. It's communication. And it's an area where Vass could improve.

"Keep it classic" is fine if that is what floats your boat, but I don't think Vass is really about restriction or conformity to one narrow stylistic preference. Indeed - diversity and variety along with quality construction and value are the cornerstones - for me - of what is appealing about the brand. With sufficient funds, I could order a new pair each month for many, many months without feeling like I was repeating myself.

As long as you are able to get the shoes you want from Vass, why does it bother you so that others can get the shoes they want?

And what is so "WTF" about museum calf, for heavens sake?



velomane said:

I appreciate your input Rikod. Thanks for posting that.

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+2

Roger,

Not too long ago, Vass is known to be a conservative shoemaker. I think they are evolving into something modern (i.e. business opportunity).

You may remember I commented on one of your tri-color Oxfords once. I think your reaction was "glad that Mr. Vass changed his mind" or something like that. Apparently, Mr. Vass did change his mind, and he sold many more pairs of shoes since.

mtc2000 said:

I absolutely have nothing against a tri-color shoes. But just want to point out, according to Laszlo Vass' book "Handmade Shoes for Men" Quote:

"However, as a rule, shoe designers restrict themselves to combinations of two colors or contrasting leather finishes. Any more than this would be regarded as excessive extravagance." end of quote.

That's page 80 from the very book that Vass authored in 2006. I guess style and taste change over time.

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Quote:
Thanks for your thoughts, and yes, I do remember that comment now that you mention it. And I agree that it is almost certainly to the benefit of their bottom line that they offer a more expansive stylistic range. I don't think that this is a move to become something modern, however, in any fundamental sense. Traditional hand-welted craftsmanship still defines the brand. They remain a traditional shop, making shoes by the same traditional methods, but now offer a broader range of more contemporary colours and materials. I guess I just don't understand what the benefit would be of a more restrictive approach. It's not as if one can't order whatever conservative / classic / traditional / whatever rendition from them that one wishes. That customer has by no means been abandoned. So in what way is it "better" that those who want something more bold or dynamic be denied? How could that operate as a net positive to the business? I know for sure that a more restrictive model lineup would neither improve my impression of the brand nor increase the number of likely future purchases

Regarding the ongoing discussion: I know for a fact that Vass has been receiving a lot of orders of shoes with museum calf, so much that they have problems with receiving enough leathers from the suppliers and have to have waiting lists for the most popular museum calf leathers. So even if not all like them, they have been good business for Vass, and after all that is what most of the makers in the world is thriving for.

And like RogerP says, those who don't like that and want to continue to order the more conservative, classic shoes from them, just go ahead! Vass will never stop doing that, they just have been broaden their offerings which attracts new customers. As long as they maintain the same high quality in the shoes, I can't see how that can be a problem to anyone.



j ingevaldsson said:

Regarding the ongoing discussion: I know for a fact that Vass has been receiving a lot of orders of shoes with museum calf, so much that they have problems with receiving enough leathers from the suppliers and have to have waiting lists for the most popular museum calf leathers. So even if not all like them, they have been good business for Vass, and after all that is what most of the makers in the world is thriving for.

And like RogerP says, those who don't like that and want to continue to order the more conservative, classic shoes from them, just go ahead! Vass will never stop doing that, they just have been broaden their offerings which attracts new customers. As long as they maintain the same high quality in the shoes, I can't see how that can be a problem to anyone.

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Well spoken.

Great stuff guys

It is true that SF group think makes it difficult to state something, that can be perceived as negative, towards a highly regarded brand on this forum.

A brand that makes a good product will continue to keep its good reputation, and survive the occasional criticism...

In reality branching out into the F, U and K lasts and offering things such as museum calf is probably the best business decision Vass ever made. I agree with RogerP, as long as they haevn't abandoned their roots i can't see how more choice is a bad thing but maybe this is a "old" generation vs "new" generation thing...

Speaking of expanding their offerings, I hope they consider making jodhpur style boots.