Vass shoes from a harris - Page 2

I have had my Vass Budapest shoes for two weeks now, and I can say without reservation that these are the greatest shows I've ever worn. They did not even need a "break in period." I can stand and walk in them all day and never feel tired. I purchased these through Andrew Harris's "special offer". I wish I had purchased a 2nd pair at the time. (But I was wary as to whether or not the fit would be OK. The fit is perfect.) On the days when I give the Vass shoes a "rest", it is difficult to go back to my closet of Allen Edmond shoes.

Very nice shoes jcusey. I didn't take advantage of the original promotion because of sizing concerns. I waited till I got to try on a pair a few weeks ago, so I still have to wait a couple of months till mine arrive. Re: channelled stitching on the soles - according to Gabor, EG puts layer of leather over the entire sole to hide the stitches, whereas Vass takes a sliver of leather around the edge of the sole which gets placed back once the stitching is done.

Thanks jcusey, manton, and clarinetplayer.. I am very happy that the shoes are satisfactory to gentlemen as discriminating as yourselves. About the channel: There is a difference in the channel on a Vass or Weston shoe and an English shoe. The difference lies in the direction that the channel is cut into the sole. On an English shoe the channel is opened horizontally (imagine the shoe upside-down in your hand, with you looking at the sole,) the stitch is made, and the channel is closed so that the seam is around the outside edge of the sole (it might be visible with you standing in the shoes if it were not for the dye used to color the sole edge.) On a Vass or Weston shoe the channel is opened vertically (viewed from the same position,) the stitch is made, and then the channel is closed so that you see the seam on the bottom of the sole. The English method looks cleaner when the shoe is new but does not wear nearly as well - the flap of leather covering the stitching has a habit of coming loose with wear. More later...

Jcusey, thanks for the comprehensive comparison, quite enlightening. I hope that you will get the same pleasure of seeing and wearing your new Cleverleys as I did. As for the Vass', I'm intrigued enough with the U lasts to maybe drop by Budapest and check it out, although I think the U's may not fit do to my "frog feet". Maybe bespokes...

There is an easy way to find out, whether a shoe is hand- or machine-welted. (The hand-welted shoe has a feather cut into the underside of the insole, while the machine-welted shoe has a linen strip glued on.) On the inside of a hand-welted shoe, because the insole has been thinned out and the thrust of the stitches goes down, you see a number of dimples going all the way around the shoe. On a sole with glued-on linen feather, the thrust of the stitches goes sideways and there is a smooth surface with no dimples. If the shoemaker, like Vass has used a long sock, covering the entire insole then you can feel these dimples quite easily.

Pardon the remedial question, but is there a real quality/longevity/etc advantage to hand-welting, or is it more of a personality, old world craftsmanship, etc issue? thanks, /richard

John Cornforth, English bespoke shoemaker, explains the advantage of welting and sole stitching by hand on his web page: http://mysite.freeserve.com/tumblehome. Look on the page: The Hand Sewn Shoe.

Sorry, the link did not work: The correct one is: http://mysite.freeserve.com/tumblehome

Manton, Could you post some pics of your shoes? I'm interested to see the wing-tip in cordovan. Thanks.