Edward Green Shoes in Washington, DC

[AlanC]

... I do remember hearing a somehow disappointed "That's RJman?." from someone...

I had the same reaction...

 

[RJman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RJMan,May 14 2005, 20:31
... I do remember hearing a somehow disappointed "That's RJman?." from someone...
I had the same reaction... Â

Hey. Â I'm RJman, )#@%)(*#$. Â And unlike Dave Chappelle, no South African mental hospital can hold me... Â Poor Dave... C---st-- even I can't look at my own avatar without cracking up. Â How did anyone take that man seriously?

 

[Manton]

unlike Dave Chappelle, no South African mental hospital can hold me...  Poor Dave...

He denies being in rehab or a mental hospital.  Apparently, he just feels guilty about taking $50 mil from Comedy Central.  Sad.  I mean, I might, but of course I am not funny.

 

[RJman]

but of course I am not funny.

Don't sell yourself short, Manto-san...

 

[AlanC]

even I can't look at my own avatar without cracking up

Yes, it's time to get a more serious one. I just don't like this trend of silly avatars.

 

[kabert]

So gents, what was the take? What did you order?

I managed to rationalize that, while I really don't need more shoes, I'm a little short in the boot department, so I ordered

-- Halifax boots in dark oak, last 606. Double sole

-- Shannon boots in dark oak, last 606, with wing cap and medallion, and some nifty brogueing along the wing cap and along the front-to-back seam. Double sole.

I too was very impressed with both Alex and Suzie. Both incredibly knowledgeable and friendly. We all had a good time polishing off the wine while the thunderstorm roared through at 5:30 or so.

I was glad to hear Suzie say that the show was so successful that not only would they be coming back to DC again, she thought they would probably do DC twice a year.

I was also interested to hear Suzie's lament about having lost Paul Stuart's business, as apparently that was a very big customer for them. She said they may be getting another NYC customer in the not too distant future -- an old line retailer on Madison Avenue with stores all over the US, this would only be for the NYC store though (to start anyway).

Alex mentioned that Grenson has laid off 2/3 of its workforce in the last year or so and has been having enormous sales the last two years to eliminate what he said is/was a huge overstock of shoes. He said they have been selling shoes for 50 pounds a pair. He added that since the huge layoffs, Grenson now has a workforce roughly equal to EG.

We also discussed the EG website, which she and Alex agreed was not as complete as it could be (putting it very mildly). I gather that the powers that be at EG don't place great weight on having a good website and there's apparently concern about shoemakers and others "stealing" pictures of shoes, so it languishes in its current lame form.

In the end, I gather the brothers at Sky Valet are quite pleased at how the show went. Which makes me happy too, as I want the EG program to succeed so I can continue to have a place to buy EGs that is 5 minutes from my house.

 

[medwards]

-- a pair of dark oak Kingsway two-eyelet derbies on the 606 last

-- a pair of black Troon monkstraps on the 606 lat

-- a pair of chestnut Montpelier casual loafers on the 184 last

-- some new friends

 

[Duveen]

Medwards,

It was great to meet you (and the others as well.). I am happy to see you cross-posting (if only a little bit). Congrats on the Kingsways.

BTW, loved your Fallan and Harvey (Hervey?) summer suit - it really was marvellous and looked great given that you'd had it made some time ago. You are a walking argument for the value of getting well-fitted bespoke and classic styles.

 

[medwards]

You're very kind. Thank you.

 

[kabert]

Jeez, sounds like quite a gathering. Very sorry to have missed meeting everyone. With a 2-1/2 month old and 2-1/2 year old (both boys), and a wife, sometimes these days my life is not quite dictated solely by me. I was "stuck" at a carnival over on Cathedral Avenue. Sky Valet is not a big place -- it must have been crowded in there with all of you there....

 

[drljva]

-- a pair of dark oak Kingsway two-eyelet derbies on the 606 last -- a pair of black Troon monkstraps on the 606 lat -- a pair of chestnut Montpelier casual loafers on the 184 last -- some new friends

You made the right choice on those chestnut Montpeliers; they looked great on you, especially with the suit you were wearing. As for my EG choices, I kept it simple, as Suzie wants to send over SV a couple of wide sizes for me to try on for fit. So, right now, I'm going with the Chelsea and -- once I'm happy with the fit on those -- I'm going to get those Olive wholecuts that a couple of your were admiring.

And BTW, I ended up getting those oxblood Vass Budapests. Thanks to all for all the friendly and helpful advice. Delighted to have met everyone; that was a heck of a lot of fun. Hope we can do it again.

 

[drljva]

BTW, forgot to add that those new Albaladejo cordovans that some of you posted about a week or so ago looked amazing --especially the blue captoe (so dark that, in the indoor lighting, it looked black.). When SV finally get those in, sign me up.

 

[bengal-stripe]

I wish Edward Green's London shop could come up with something similar like the trunk show (maybe they call it "Special order days").

Probably the average London EG customer is not very adventurous ("80% of our sales are black"), and so in turn Raymond Fox (manager) is not adventurous either. After all, as manager he is responsible for the takings of the store. Why risk stocking "unproven" styles, when other shoes are sure-fire sellers? The London store orders from the wholesale range a rather predictable and commercial selection. Many of the styles in the current catalogue (let alone the styles not in the catalogue) are not available in the store.

Of course they can be made up for you, but it needs an incredible act of faith to order (for example) green shoes, if all you see is a small sample of the green leather. If you can see and hold that green shoe, you might decide that you want a pair.

All the serious shoe-nuts on this forum (you know who you are) have learned to plough our way through various Japanese sites to get an idea of somewhat unusual EG styles and finishes. Joe Average is not likely to do that and has therefore no idea of what EG can do (or cannot do).

EG might make some of the nicest shoes in the world, but the word "marketing" is obviously unknown in Northampton.

 

[medwards]

Bengal-stripe:  After spending a few hours with the Edward Green team that traveled to Washington, D.C., I'm a bit surprised to learn that the firm has a rather limited approach in London.  The trunk show featured almost all of the shoes in EG's current catalogue..and a wide range of colours, lasts, and soles were very much in evidence.  Moreover, the gentlewoman who did the fitting certainly had an eye for some of the more (shall we say) "adventurous" models and talked me out of buying one pair of shoes in black calf, noting the highlights and attributes of some of the other leathers. Moreover, in addition to taking rather detailed measurements, they seemed exceptionally willing to send over some shoes to assure a proper fit. I was very impressed by their helpfulness and flexibility. It's too bad that your experience at the London shop seems to be different.

note to Duveen: Now that you've got me cross-posting, will there be no end?

 

[RJman]

So gents, what was the take?  What did you order?
-- Shannon boots in dark oak, last 606, with wing cap and medallion, and some nifty brogueing along the wing cap and along the front-to-back seam.  Double sole.
 She said they may be getting another NYC customer in the not too distant future -- an old line retailer on Madison Avenue with stores all over the US, this would only be for the NYC store though (to start anyway).  

Kabert, you poacher. I'm getting Shannons on the 606 with a wingtip and broguing along the seams. Double Dainite sole and dark oak willow calf. What color are you getting?

Old line Mad Ave retailer with branches all over US... hmmm... Could Peal & Co be returning to glory?


I doubt it.

medwards, a true pleasure to meet a man in DC post Manton-exodus who dresses with the flair that you do.