G
Griffindork
Guest
Call me Alex. Some days ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me at work, I thought I would walk about a little and see the shoemaking part of the world. It is a way I have of driving off the spleen and regulating the circulation. Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off—then, I account it high time to buy a new pair of shoes as soon as I can.
I’d recently worn out a workhorse: a pair of RTW G&G black cap toe oxfords, maybe 9 years old, many times resoled and now more fit for the great shoe bin of my history than my feet.
My first stop was John Lobb Madison, where Paul Wilson, a former shoemaker at Lobb St. James runs the bespoke operation for U.S. customers and runs it very well. If I had to summarize Lobb Paris bespoke shoes and what makes them different than other makers, I think it would their focus on the smallness of the shoes. They are shorter and narrower, closer and more conforming, than other pairs I own where the last is made for me. It’s as if they are less concerned about making a mistake and more sure of themselves in getting it right, and therefore willing to try to be just that much more exact than anyone else. And while I’m no leather expert, there is in my eyes a step up in quality in the JLPs, both in terms of thickness and beauty over time. They patina and become invigorated, more full of life, never cracking or looking tired. And so I like them! And what could go wrong with ordering another pair?....except a drastic price increase. As many of you are no doubt aware from the very long and very flattering profile of me on the dieworkwear blog (bordering on sycophancy, really), I am not only incredibly handsome and very stylish but also quite frugal! And so I left and decided to carry on elsewhere.
But where?
I have a friend in Dallas who is a man of the world. A business man, a hunter, a gourmand, a lover of the finer things. He is a member of no forum (well, as far as I know) but is a customer or rubinacci and in the not-too-distant past had visited John Lobb St. James. And so I texted him him and wrote: “greetings old chap! How is it with you? Say, can we bat around some questions on the old foot-jobbers?” Just kidding. I asked if he liked his Lobbs. And he replied that they were great, and that his lastmaker was in NYC at that time and that he would set me up for an appointment. And then he sent me a picture of his feet, unfortunately adorned by a pair of elastic sided boat shoes that I almost mistook for orthopedics given the constant width from heel to toe.
Oh dear. (To be continued).
I’d recently worn out a workhorse: a pair of RTW G&G black cap toe oxfords, maybe 9 years old, many times resoled and now more fit for the great shoe bin of my history than my feet.
My first stop was John Lobb Madison, where Paul Wilson, a former shoemaker at Lobb St. James runs the bespoke operation for U.S. customers and runs it very well. If I had to summarize Lobb Paris bespoke shoes and what makes them different than other makers, I think it would their focus on the smallness of the shoes. They are shorter and narrower, closer and more conforming, than other pairs I own where the last is made for me. It’s as if they are less concerned about making a mistake and more sure of themselves in getting it right, and therefore willing to try to be just that much more exact than anyone else. And while I’m no leather expert, there is in my eyes a step up in quality in the JLPs, both in terms of thickness and beauty over time. They patina and become invigorated, more full of life, never cracking or looking tired. And so I like them! And what could go wrong with ordering another pair?....except a drastic price increase. As many of you are no doubt aware from the very long and very flattering profile of me on the dieworkwear blog (bordering on sycophancy, really), I am not only incredibly handsome and very stylish but also quite frugal! And so I left and decided to carry on elsewhere.
But where?
I have a friend in Dallas who is a man of the world. A business man, a hunter, a gourmand, a lover of the finer things. He is a member of no forum (well, as far as I know) but is a customer or rubinacci and in the not-too-distant past had visited John Lobb St. James. And so I texted him him and wrote: “greetings old chap! How is it with you? Say, can we bat around some questions on the old foot-jobbers?” Just kidding. I asked if he liked his Lobbs. And he replied that they were great, and that his lastmaker was in NYC at that time and that he would set me up for an appointment. And then he sent me a picture of his feet, unfortunately adorned by a pair of elastic sided boat shoes that I almost mistook for orthopedics given the constant width from heel to toe.
Oh dear. (To be continued).
