The Ultimate Vass (Footwear) Thread (Pictures, reviews, sizing, etc...)

[agedashidofu]

Would love to hear Roger's point of view. I know he has maaaaany pairs of Vass & Carminas

 

[j ingevaldsson]

I own two Carminas, and four Vass (have owned more), and to me they are really in different leagues. Carmina are really great shoes for the price, no word about it, but Vass is definitely at least one step above. Vass has better leather quality (although they do use a bit too much from each hide to be perfect, the quarters are often a bit lower in quality), better soles, real leather heel and toe stiffeners instead of leather board heel and plastic toe, better insoles, and, obviously, better construction method.

 

[RogerP]

Would love to hear Roger's point of view. I know he has maaaaany pairs of Vass & Carminas

What J said goes for me, too. I am a huuuge Carmina fan, but Vass is at another level in pretty much all respects.

 

[NAMOR]

i dont know all that much about construction, gemming, hand welt, etc so i cant speak to the specifics however vass are some of the best built shoes ive ever handled. if EG and G&G had an uncle from the old country, it would be vass and he has bread with every meal

 

[DonRaphael]

I also own both and agree with both former members. Vass is on a completely another level in all aspects. (Lower) price hasn't been the reason why I purchased Carminas, but the color choices and differentiating lasts in my rotation. I find the Forest, Simpson and Rain last appealing. And I've always found Vass' dark brown calf dull and a bit boring to be honest (haven't tried the museum brown yet). Color and lasts are the reasons I even try new stuff. I'm extremely satisfied with Vass construction wise, price/quality ratio etc.

 

[NAMOR]

yeah great thing is that carmina and vass two very different pricepoints and styles. they complement one another - good foundation for collection

 

[RogerP]

yeah great thing is that carmina and vass two very different pricepoints and styles. they complement one another - good foundation for collection

You'll get no argument from me on that score. These are the two most populous brands in my collection.

 

[Mr. Six]

Does Vass have a brown leather that's similar to EG/G&G dark oak? I've seen Vass's dark brown in person, and it's much darker. I have a pair in antic cognac, and it's quite different. Nothing on the color chart that gets cited most often looks close. Maybe 6125 dark cognac (seems too red)? Do they have plain brown?

 

[Concordia]



Does Vass have a brown leather that's similar to EG/G&G dark oak? I've seen Vass's dark brown in person, and it's much darker. I have a pair in antic cognac, and it's quite different. Nothing on the color chart that gets cited most often looks close. Maybe 6125 dark cognac (seems too red)? Do they have plain brown?

EG's Dark Oak is pretty heavily antiqued. If you want the same, you could fiddle with antik cognac until it's dark enough.

 

[jrd617]

crosspost from Recent Purchases.

Just got these MTO shoes in the mail. They are a size 43.5 on the New Peter last.

They are identical in insole and outsole length to my well-fitting C&J derbies. However, they are narrower in width and lower in height in the toebox.

Any advice on what I could do to compensate for the sizing issues on my next order? (Need more toebox width + height)

Should I order a wider fitting or go up a half size?

The length on these is PERFECT. Don't want that to change. It's just that I need more room in the toebox.

Toebox width:



Here's a picture of my foot vs. the two semi-lasted shoe trees. C&J feels like a better fit






Toebox height:





Might just keep these and see how they break in. They will feel a lot different once my feet "sink in" to the leather footbed. There should also be some stretching in the uppers.

 

[Concordia]

Send this question with pictures to Vass-- perhaps a wide fitting of the F?

 

[sstomcat]

Note that the toe area does not stretch much, any at all neither will the footbed sink to make them comfortable

 

[jrd617]



any at all neither will the footbed sink to make them comfortable

This happens on all my C&J shoes... is there something unique to Vass shoes construction that prevents the footbed from molding to a foot?

 

[sstomcat]

What Im trying to say is the sinking is minimal, more of an impression and will do lttle to help with tight toe box

 

[Son Of Saphir]



This happens on all my C&J shoes... is there something unique to Vass shoes construction that prevents the footbed from molding to a foot?

Vass footbed mold very good to foot on double sole.
In general the hand welt shoe mold more good than goodyear welt shoe.
Goodyear welt = cardboard box feel.
Hand welt = old friend feel.