Shoe Damage Report & Appreciation Central - Part I

Originally Posted by RJman

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I think the Peals that are stamped are made by other manufacturers than EG, such as C&J, who normally stamp.

The original bespoke Peals were stamped inside. I have two pair. When EG began making them for BB they followed the practice, stamping size, last and production number. C&J Peals were, or still are, hand-marked. These EG Peals, hand-marked as normal EGs, are rarer in my experience.

Originally Posted by shoe

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im really lovin this work boot by Santoni


You're not Robinson Crusoe!

Originally Posted by bengal-stripe

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Do you two know what a "˜Banana last' looks like?

For me, Yes.

Originally Posted by bengal-stripe

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Edward Green's 82 is the nearest thing to a banana last north of the Danube.

Ok(geographical).

Originally Posted by bengal-stripe

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Last 82 is brand-new (designed by Tony G.) and was introduced maybe three years ago.

Krawuzi Kabuzi, you are kidding me. How can that be "the" banana last?

(designed by Tony G.) Whom, else?

Originally Posted by bengal-stripe

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So for banana last aficionados, it has to be Ed Meier or EG last 82.

You are not surprised, that I disagree?

PS: Krawuzi Kabuzi means something like J e e e e s u s. Translation for the non german speaking crowd.

Originally Posted by bengal-stripe

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Do you two know what a "˜Banana last' looks like?

Originally Posted by fritzl

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For me, Yes.....How can that be "the" banana last?
Do enlighten us! What does a banana last look like?

I had always presumed, together with Alan Flusser and Ed Meier, the banana last is the one where the toe point moves very much to the inside,
allowing the outside to curve in a banana-like way.

Ed Meier provides this visualisation (the right one (Peduform) is the banana, the left one a conventional last.
http://www.edmeier.de/preise/peduformvorteile.jpg

Please, provide a description of a "true" banana last, together with some visual images. For once, make a positive contribution,
instead of hurling abuse at everything that offends your "˜Sound of Music' sensibilities!

Originally Posted by fritzl

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You are not surprised, that I disagree?
No, it does not surprise me at all.

Ich bin der Geist, der stets verneint!
Und das mit Recht; denn alles, was entsteht,
ist wert, dass es zugrunde geht;
Drum besser wär's, dass nichts entstünde.
So ist denn alles, was ihr Sünde,
Zerstörung, kurz, das Böse nennt,
Mein eigentliches Element.

Mephistopheles in "Faust", J.W. Goethe 1338-1344

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Originally Posted by bengal-stripe

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For once, make a positive contribution,
instead of hurling abuse at everything that offends your "˜Sound of Music' sensibilities!
The hills are alive... with the sound of fritzl?

Gentlemen ,the only fight around bananas or banana shapes must be at the World Trade Organization......
Rjman ,my boy ,are you free on friday?

Originally Posted by bengal-stripe

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. . . Didn't think of it before, but Alden's 'Modified last', that's another true banana last.

A gold star for you, my friend. It is a very comfortable, well designed last. But it is not the most elegant solution out there, and I have yet to see a pair made up in an oxford (rather than Derby) style.

Bengal,

What are the supposed virtues of a banana last?

By your account, I think Carmina's Rain last could also be a banana last. I will try to post a picture.

Originally Posted by kolecho

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Bengal,

What are the supposed virtues of a banana last?

By your account, I think Carmina's Rain last could also be a banana last. I will try to post a picture.

Well, banana lasts are shaped more like an actual foot.

Originally Posted by bengal-stripe

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What does a banana last look like?

That's, what I understand by the Wiener Leisten = banana last

http://www.styleforum.net/showpost.p...postcount=1977
http://www.styleforum.net/showpost.p...postcount=1979

Just my two cents.

Discuss

PS: Besides T, this seems to be our favourite topic. Thanks to RJMan for the flusser thing.

http://www.styleforum.net/showthread...ghlight=Maftei

Originally Posted by fritzl

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That's, what I understand by the Wiener Leisten = banana last
I personally do not care very much for the banana last. At it's most extreme (Ed Meier) it can be hideous. I know what I'm talking about, I have one pair of banana-lasted Ed Meiers and it almost looks as if I was wearing the left shoe on the right foot. Of course Ed Meier promotes this shape with the conviction of the religious zealot. I belief, Alden's "˜Modified last' has a certain quirkishness, which somewhat endears it to me. I only ever tried on a couple of pairs at "˜Anatomica' in Paris (all their Alden shoes come on the modified last and the owner Mr Fournier beliefs in the superiority of that particular last shape with a similar conviction than Herr Meier).

Let's agree, a "true" banana last appeals to the converted only (hence Markus Scheer"˜s reaction: "Nothing to do with us"). Maybe Mr Vass is a very clever man, as his "˜banana last' is a rather watered down version; so it will appeal to a wider section of the public. Nevertheless it is hardly the best-selling last in his collection. I do not know the figures, but I remember Miss Vass mentioning that they did not use that last too often.

I do not think the Viennese last is identical with the banana last. Look at that Materna shoe in the centre:



See how the toe is almost on a straight line with the centre of the tongue and the heel (sorry, I don't know how to draw a straight line over the picture).

I have (more or less) the identical shoe (with the very generous wingtip) made up as a boot:


Nowhere does the tip of the toe venture towards the inside.

In the old thread, I was giving the wrong information: in April 2005, I believed Scheer to have "invented" und continue to use the banana last, in May 2006 Herr Scheer said rather horrified "Not us" (as if I had suggested his company had invented the Birkenstock sandals):
http://www.styleforum.net/showthread...ghlight=Maftei

In that particular thread, the most intelligent observations come from shoe fan (where are you, Lance? You don't post very often these days).

I have just come off the phone to Mr Materna in Vienna (the good man himself) and asked him, if he considered his traditional last to be a banana last. "No, it's not. Ed Meier does it. I don't know anyone in Vienna who uses it. We would do, it if it was anatomically necessary."

Let's conclude: Viennese last and banana last are not the same. And for the record, I am not a fan of that particular last. Nevertheless, I do consider EG last 82 to be quite banana-ish. No, it is not my favourite among the EG lasts. For my current order, I have gone back to last 88 (which has not been in main-stream production for the last twenty years).

B-S,

Informative. For orders on old EG lasts, how does one get fitted since I assume there are no try-on shoes available.

When I wear my Vass F shoes, I feel I walk normally. When I wear EG 82, my feet land differently, banana or not. Time will tell if I like EG 82. It does look sleeker than Vass F, but may not fit me as well as Vass F. Love the uppers of EG though.

Originally Posted by kolecho

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For orders on old EG lasts, how does one get fitted since I assume there are no try-on shoes available.
You really can't get fitted.

I asked the London shop to get the last 88 / 9C down from the factory. I do have a pair of EG last 202 / 9C (from eBay) which fits very nicely. So I sat in the shop with a tape measure and measured, whether or not the 88 is within the same size perimeters. I believe it is. The 88 is narrower in the toe, but a 9 C gives extra length, compared to an 8 ½D, so I think the tootsies will be clear.

If not, I'm stuck with a pair of ill-fitting shoes.

Originally Posted by bengal-stripe

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You really can't get fitted.

I asked the London shop to get the last 88 / 9C down from the factory. I do have a pair of EG last 202 / 9C (from eBay) which fits very nicely. So I sat in the shop with a tape measure and measured, whether or not the 88 is within the same size perimeters. I believe it is. The 88 is narrower in the toe, but a 9 C gives extra length, compared to an 8 ½D, so I think the tootsies will be clear.

If not, I'm stuck with a pair of ill-fitting shoes.

That will make two of us. I have a pair of 88s on order in UK 8.5C myself. However, as I live on the other side of planet Earth I had no chance to measure the last personally. I just ordered on blind faith...

Originally Posted by Sator

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That will make two of us....
Two people, either very brave or very foolish. Time will tell.