Antonio Meccariello Shoes

True true : )
But that would also be more expensive. The Japanese thread has some of the most beautiful shoes on styleforum.

venividivicibj said:

True true : )
But that would also be more expensive. The Japanese thread has some of the most beautiful shoes on styleforum.

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yes sir . . . . the examples in the thread here re absolute perfection along with examples of what + 6k US $ will
get you these days which was my point all along

Personally, I like that they are very slightly imperfect...

To me...I find that impressive...because it clearly shows that they are 100% hand-made....

And I say "very slightly"...because it truly is a tiny detail

I feel like I should be absolutely clear now. Because everywhere I post now people are being very anal about every little detail.

I like the little details that make a product handmade. It's how you can recognize that a product was made by an artisan, especially for you. It's a feeling very different from buying something made halfway around the world in a factory.

What I focused on in another thread weren't little things. They were signs of poor quality control (such as cuts in the upper, loose stitching, ripped leather, poor quality leather). Those are serious issues imho. Not like a little line on the heel that is made by hand and incredibly well done in my opinion.

for myself, I completely understood your posts in both threads Roy
Antonio's work is admirable and NO, I personally would not push back or be upset with the details of your shoe at all

I would like to post the finished product I receive in the other thread for input if you don't mind a critique.

Roy said:

I feel like I should be absolutely clear now. Because everywhere I post now people are being very anal about every little detail.

I like the little details that make a product handmade. It's how you can recognize that a product was made by an artisan, especially for you. It's a feeling very different from buying something made halfway around the world in a factory.

What I focused on in another thread weren't little things. They were signs of poor quality control (such as cuts in the upper, loose stitching, ripped leather, poor quality leather). Those are serious issues imho. Not like a little line on the heel that is made by hand and incredibly well done in my opinion.

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+1



Roy said:

I feel like I should be absolutely clear now. Because everywhere I post now people are being very anal about every little detail.

I like the little details that make a product handmade. It's how you can recognize that a product was made by an artisan, especially for you. It's a feeling very different from buying something made halfway around the world in a factory.

What I focused on in another thread weren't little things. They were signs of poor quality control (such as cuts in the upper, loose stitching, ripped leather, poor quality leather). Those are serious issues imho. Not like a little line on the heel that is made by hand and incredibly well done in my opinion.

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Not commenting on the work of any specific maker but all these supposedly "minor' imperfections have to be looked at with some disfavour. None of them are necessary. Or Traditional. Or part of the handmade mystique. In fact, the standards of quality and finishing and even perfection that some are expecting from manufactured work, were and are, set/established by bespoke makers and bespoke Traditions.

Even when a manufacturer debases a standard...such as GY trying to emulate, and hyping itself as "good as," hand welted and/or substituting inferior materials for quality leathers...the manufacturer is still emulating the Traditional standards. Such work is pretending to be something it isn't. And it is only because the average consumer can't see under the outsole for instance, or doesn't know how to judge the quality of leather (not uncommonly can't even tell the difference between leather and leatherboard) that such pretense finds acceptance.

Bespoke makers are human and they make mistakes. But don't think those mistakes are just part of the charm of handmade. They're not. And at some level they're no more acceptable than if they were on RTW.

Bespoke makers will probably never be able to achieve the kind of uniformity you see in "ticky-tacky" but mistakes are mistakes no matter who and how.

From an economics points of view, however, many minor cosmetic mistakes may not be worth fixing.

DW, would the errors on the previous page have any effect on the shoes themselves other than being cosmetic? Just for my own curiosity.



MSchapiro said:

From an economics points of view, however, many minor cosmetic mistakes may not be worth fixing.

DW, would the errors on the previous page have any effect on the shoes themselves other than being cosmetic? Just for my own curiosity.

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I agree with you 100%. Maybe not worth sending back even if they could be fixed.

But surely worth noting and worth mentioning if you intend to order again. And absolutely not to be considered part of the "charm of handmade."

It may be the photo but the second to last photo seems show some damage to the upper above the heel seat.

And really, most if not all cosmetic defects could be prevented with just a little more care. Certainly most makers would (or ought to) welcome such feedback.

I remember a few years ago when I posted an early pair of chukkas that I had made and someone (might have been Vox) pointed out that there were a series of marks--innocuous, cosmetic only, indentations--on the upper, left over from where I had pricked up the welt. I hadn't seen them, to be honest, but the camera caught them. It was a wake-up call for me and as a result I studied on how to prevent such marks. That led me to a system that masks off the whole shoe prior to pricking up and finishing. My whole shoe is better because of that lesson.



DWFII said:

It may be the photo but the second to last photo seems show some damage to the upper above the heel seat.

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Do you mean the Bestetti shoe?

Roy said:

I feel like I should be absolutely clear now. Because everywhere I post now people are being very anal about every little detail.

I like the little details that make a product handmade. It's how you can recognize that a product was made by an artisan, especially for you. It's a feeling very different from buying something made halfway around the world in a factory.

What I focused on in another thread weren't little things. They were signs of poor quality control (such as cuts in the upper, loose stitching, ripped leather, poor quality leather). Those are serious issues imho. Not like a little line on the heel that is made by hand and incredibly well done in my opinion.

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+1



chobochobo said:

Do you mean the Bestetti shoe?

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Post 490 of this thread. (I try to focus on the work and what I am seeing and avoid associating it with any specific maker. So yes, it may have been)

Roy said:

That drop is very minor. But I don't see any cut in the upper? The trimming is not 100% flat. But I don't have any shoes where it is. The criticisms I had of Bestetti where instances where he seriously damaged the upper. I don't see any of that in these shoes.

Especially when I compare it to my Bestetti shoes:

Or even Gaziano:

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These photos are of my heels Bestetti 2012. What do you think? To be a MTO would say they are perfect. And I can not wait to show you the heels of my Gladietor.



Gianni Cerutti said:

These photos are of my heels Bestetti 2012. What do you think? To be a MTO would say they are perfect. And I can not wait to show you the heels of my Gladietor.

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That's nice clean work. And not "muddied up" by extra ornamentation that diverts the eye from the workmanship and makes the heel look too busy.

DWFII said:

That's nice clean work. And not "muddied up" by extra ornamentation that diverts the eye from the workmanship and makes the heel look too busy.

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Sure. You're right. This is simply the work of Bestetti 2 years ago. And he thinks that in two years has improved a lot. In fact, I'll show you my details of my bespoke Gladietor me getting ready. It certainly is not the work that some would have you believe.