Jan Kielman bespoke shoes - with video of how to measure your feet.

I thought I'd share my experience with Jan Kielman with everyone. I know some of you are anxious when it comes to measuring your own feet. I went to their store and got my measurements taken - and remembered to take a video of it, so I could share it on SF.

Now for the process:

I wrote back and forth with Monika, who by the way speaks decent english, making sure that I got all the details right before heading to Warsaw. Heres a bit from an email i received from Monika:

My email: "When you say fully bespoke – does that include a custom or a modified last ? And custom shoe trees ?""

Respons from Monika:

"The fully bespoke means the lasts are individually sculped due to your measurement and the shape required.
The wooden lasts are perfectly adjusted to the shoes but they are not custom made.
You are welcome to us without arranging the appointment however it would be helpful to be announced a day or two before.""

Unfortunately - the email above can be misunderstood. When I spoke with Monika at the store I got the impression, that the last are custom made from start to finish (also stated on the website), and the shoes trees are not custom but only adjusted.

At the store they have a lot - and i mean a lot, of different shoe models to either choose from or get inspiration from. This being the first time i ever bought bespoke shoes it really helped me out choosing with kind of shoe I liked. Usually, I don't think of all the details that goes into making a shoes look nice - you just pick a pretty pair at the store. But I grabbed 3 different shoes I liked, and combined element of all them. Monika sensed my lack of experience in the field of bespoke shoes, and guided me through the process, which was a nice thing.

When it came time to choose the leather - I unfortunately wasn't too impressed. They only had a very small selection of leathers available in the store at the time. So if your looking for a specific kind of leather, I would advise you to contact the beforehand.

They also offer belts that match your shoes - I jumped on those too.

I'll be receiving my shoes sometime next week - and I'll share the picture here.

In the meanwhile - heres the video with my feet being measured:

Please do note - that the tape measure is pretty snug when he wraps around the foot.

Have you received your shoes yet?

@Louis XIV Yes - received them on friday - here's some picture. But unfortunately, my heel slides out just a bit - so I'll have to get the shoes adjusted a bit. As they explained - and for obvious reasons, this can sometimes be the result, when there's no trial shoe or fittings of any kind. Looking forward to see how they actually fix the problem? And I can't help wondering if the problem is - that their shoemaker didn't take the measurement "D" as shown on their own webpage ? It seems as though that measurement might have eliminated my fit problem - but thats just me guessing. Maybe someone with a little more experience with bespoke shoes can comment on it ?

Great looking pair!
Hopefully they will be able to fix the heel slippage for you.

Would you mind to share the website with measurement instructions you are refering to?

Thanks - I'm assuming its an "easy" fix - since Monika who i spoke too, didn't sound as if it was that big of a deal.

The website link - http://www.kielman.pl/en/zamowienia/

Price range? I have looked at that website in the past and then sort of forgot about them.

Around 1000 euro - depending on leather type etc. And as I recall, a matching belt is 130 euro.

Just a quick update:

Was by the Jan Kielman shop today - and talked to them about a scuff I found in the uppers and the fit problem, solution: They will make a new pair for me. Asked how often they would remake a shoe, as its obviously isn't a cheap option - for every 30 pairs they are forced to remake a pair. Of course it is annoying that I have to wait for a new pair - but have to say, that I appreciate the fact, that they didn't want to argue anything, and suggested that they make a new pair without lame excuses.

I'll keep you guys updated. And while in Poland - I'm having a sportscoat and some trousers made - I'll be updating on that as well. The price is way below than what I'd have to pay in Denmark - where a sportscoat cost from 2500 € - this I'm paying 750 € for - maybe the price difference is justified - I'll let you guys judge.

So another quick update -

The second shoe still had some errors, which they corrected. From what I can read online, from more experienced people - it can be expected, that the first time buying a bespoke suit or shoes from a vendor, can be a little tricky, as the results will not always be perfect.

None the less, I've decided to give order a pair of shoes from Januszkiewicz and compare the difference them and Jan Kielman. I'll give and update as soon as I have the shoes.



Davarpanah said:

So another quick update -

The second shoe still had some errors, which they corrected. From what I can read online, from more experienced people - it can be expected, that the first time buying a bespoke suit or shoes from a vendor, can be a little tricky, as the results will not always be perfect. 

None the less, I've decided to give order a pair of shoes from Januszkiewicz and compare the difference them and Jan Kielman. I'll give and update as soon as I have the shoes.

Click to expand...

Pics?

I don't have any pics of the Januszkiewicz shoes - as I haven't picked them up yet from the store. And with regards to Jan kielman - the pictures are in the first post of this thread. But I'll be sure to post some pics of Januszkiewicz, next time I'm in warsaw.

I would say that this thread is very disappointing. The kielman webpage looks really exceptional. But your story only re-enforces my feeling that you have to try shoes before buying. I just returned to Zurich in May 2017. I briefly visited https://www.ludwig-reiter.com/en/home in 2015 and loved one of their shoes. On my return I tried them again, still a perfect fit, so I purchased them, even thiugh the priced increased 100 CF.

Not sure that such things can take account of the detail foibles of your feet. No one has identical feet; mine have one size difference (smaller) and the right one pronates. Their weight bearing also differs. That cannot be accommodated simply from measurements, dropped arches etc? There must be a serious risk of repeating the problems associated with on-line MTM suits and it would seem to be a waste of money to buy something 'approximately correct.

I would wonder whether you would not be better served by high RTW shoes than a cheap compromise simply to be able to say they were bespoke. At best they would be MTM to borrow am acronym and would be far from what you need. Ignore this sales woman, sales folk will generally say anything but their prayers to clinch a sale.