A Discussion Thread for Swan Songs

[ValidusLA]

So if you go to order custom shoes at Lobb Paris or Berluti or probably Lobb London now you're probably going to be quoted something like this -- 7000-9000 euro, I'm frankly afraid to check. What you get is hopefully integrity, quality, experience, the possibility that they travel to somewhere near you for orders and fittings, and brand cachet, and a product that they will stand behind, and an address you can go to if there's any issues. (I know Lobb London has a more rebarbative reputation than the other two.) A large part of the price is brand cachet. There are quite a few independents in Paris and in England who are doing good work and who are a lot cheaper, even if that is a relative term. My directory at the end of the book mentions at least one, Philippe Atienza, who was chef d'atelier at Lobb Paris and helped teach Delos. He is an elder statesman of custom shoemaking. There's also Stephane Jimenez, Eric Devos, and Aubercy itself has a custom shoemaker who should be much cheaper than Berluti/Lobb. I do think that @TheFoo is destined to become a Lobb bespoak customer.

I'm sure Lobb is relatively easy to access if you are willing to pay, but I would never pay 9000 Euro for a shoe.

I honestly don't attach large amounts of cache to a globally recognizable name.

To paraphrase something said in the never ending shoe thread - I would much prefer to be in good company than vast company.

 

[ValidusLA]

Lobb Paris will travel anywhere in the US to see you if you place an order. Although since Val is in Southern California, they also take bespoke orders at their Costa Mesa location.

One of the things I took away from the book was that many of the larger companies aren't as good as the small ones nowadays. So much of what I consider interesting nowadays is done by tiny, tiny companies. Hosoi in Paris, for example, operates out of a small workshop and won't take phone or online orders. I don't think they even do wholesale. To buy something, you have to go see them in Paris. But everything is handsewn and the designs look beautiful.

For me, that golden era of large, luxury bespoke houses seems to have passed. Quality tailoring seems to be done by small cutter-run shops. Quality shoes by lastmaker-run shops. Good clothiers are tiny places with a tight curation, not huge emporiums.

I don't think I would carry a bag that big, but it is outrageously lovely.

I agree w/ most of the sentiments in this post.

 

[RJman]

I also get the impression that artisans in these companies are in a better position than ever to just strike out on their own. In the past, cutters or shoemakers would have to "steal" customers, sometimes literally taking lists of customers and calling them on the phone to tell them they left. Now, you leave and just set up an IG account. You may not get all of your boss' customers, but you will get enough to survive.

Very true. And the Internet has also meant that more people will recognize the names you quote -- there are several tiny independents who set up in the Paris area citing the fact that they'd worked at Camps de Luca or Smalto. Some of them, like Maison Pen (not Maison Le Pen, that's different), seem legit. But nowadays if you can mention that sort of association and have a keen enough price people will check you out. Like I wrote, I went to Delos because the stated connection to Lobb Paris on his old site made him seem like a reliable and talented proposition. Was kind of a big gamble. 60 years ago Smalto needed a customer to actually financially back him in order to leave Camps and set up his own shop.

 

[ValidusLA]

@RJman I forgot to mention as I waxed poetic on my love of the Loire, those Jodphurs are great.

Jodphurs are actually what got me theoretically interested in finding a bespoke shoe, not to have bespoke Jodphurs made per se but after trying a few on.

I have a very high arch, a high instep, a wide front foot and a narrow heel. This makes loafers difficult and Jodphurs impossible. Once at Carmina in NYC I could not close their Jodphurs at all - in any size.

So maybe one day if I will have Jodphurs if I actually get on the bespoke train. Haven't seen a lot in suede, and I like that the buckle straps on yours are parallels to the ground instead of angled. Very cool looking shoe.

 

[RJman]

@RJman I forgot to mention as I waxed poetic on my love of the Loire, those Jodphurs are great.

Jodphurs are actually what got me theoretically interested in finding a bespoke shoe, not to have bespoke Jodphurs made per se but after trying a few on.

I have a very high arch, a high instep, a wide front foot and a narrow heel. This makes loafers difficult and Jodphurs impossible. Once at Carmina in NYC I could not close their Jodphurs at all - in any size.

So maybe one day if I will have Jodphurs if I actually get on the bespoke train. Haven't seen a lot in suede, and I like that the buckle straps on yours are parallels to the ground instead of angled. Very cool looking shoe.

Thanks! Time was, Lobb London had their ancient catalog and a vast array of samples of all kinds imaginable on their site... as you can guess from the double straps, this was one of their designs originally. I showed it to Delos, who adapted it since he didn't want to plagiarize his alma mater/ancestor.

Is E Vogel still around? They used to be very reasonable for custom and equestrian-style shoes and boots were their speciality. Maybe they could be a possibility for you.

 

[dieworkwear]

I'm sure Lobb is relatively easy to access if you are willing to pay, but I would never pay 9000 Euro for a shoe.

FWIW, you get two shoes.

 

[ValidusLA]

FWIW, you get two shoes.

Oh, well...totally worth it then!

If I saw one leg off, can I get one shoe for 4500 euro?

 

[RJman]

Oh, well...totally worth it then!

If I saw one leg off, can I get one shoe for 4500 euro?

so for all the custom shoe competitions they just make one left shoe. I told Atienza they could all try to fit one very lucky one-legged dude and he laughed

 

[ValidusLA]

so for all the custom shoe competitions they just make one left shoe. I told Atienza they could all try to fit one very lucky one-legged dude and he laughed

Every competition they should choose a veteran or something like that who just gets a giant bevy of the best shoes in the world.

(My assumption is many of the makers want to keep the competition shoes though - correct me if I'm wrong).

 

[RJman]

Every competition they should choose a veteran or something like that who just gets a giant bevy of the best shoes in the world.

(My assumption is many of the makers want to keep the competition shoes though - correct me if I'm wrong).

Yeah. It always cheeses me off that they don’t actually have to make them to fit anyone. How are you a good shoemaker without being able to fit the customer?

 

[TheShetlandSweater]

Yeah. It always cheeses me off that they don’t actually have to make them to fit anyone. How are you a good shoemaker without being able to fit the customer?

Those shoe competition shoes are also sooooo ugly.

 

[RJman]

Every competition they should choose a veteran or something like that who just gets a giant bevy of the best shoes in the world.

(My assumption is many of the makers want to keep the competition shoes though - correct me if I'm wrong).

I also like that the French for one-legged person sounds like their one-leggedness is their political position : un unijambiste. A oneleggist.

 

[ValidusLA]

Speaking of French political positions and referencing my previous May 2012 trip, I arrived the morning of the Presidential runoff. By the evening, Hollande was the winner and the young folk of Paris were quite happy.

Heres a ****** 2012 phone pic of Place de la Bastille as Hollande was speaking.

The July Column turned into a mosh pit shortly thereafter, and about 30 minutes later fully armed and armored police cleared the plaza.

I gather the young of Paris were generally disappointed w/ Hollande's tenure, but there was much optimism that night, and as I walked through the Right Bank there was much waving of tricolore.

 

[pasadena man]

Sulka is a brand which I have affection for, a college girlfriend bought me an exquisite silk paisley Sulka scarf. It was the most luxurious accoutrement that I had worn to that point by a significant margin. I don’t feel I quite understand Sulka’s place and mystique in its heyday though. I have seen it compared, as an American/international brand, to both Charvet, and to Turnbull & Asser.

Do those comparisons seem apt to those who were regular Sulka customers?

 

[dieworkwear]

Sulka is a brand which I have affection for, a college girlfriend bought me an exquisite silk paisley Sulka scarf. It was the most luxurious accoutrement that I had worn to that point by a significant margin. I don’t feel I quite understand Sulka’s place and mystique in its heyday though. I have seen it compared, as an American/international brand, to both Charvet, and to Turnbull & Asser.

Do those comparisons seem apt to those who were regular Sulka customers?

That's how Will from ASW described them to me once. Maybe not Turnbull, but as glorious as Charvet (I don't think Turnbull has the same allure)