Archibald London Hand Welted Shoes - preorder issues, discussion,and resolution.

[JohnMRobie]

What was the retail price?

Full retail? Something like $500. The discount was maybe 3 something. They’ve disclosed they were paying around €200 for the shoes.

Touted specs:
Hand welted
Machine stitched outsole
Oak bark sole
Leather stiffiners
“Bespoke” grade leathers
Top shelf finishing

 

[BColl_Has_Too_Many_Shoes]

I think @deliku posted a picture of the shoes previously. I think they would make a nice AE alternative. AE sells for what like $250? Have these sell for say $450, and they may have something.

 

[VulpesVulpes]

I did get an older version of the shoes from them (one shoe) that I was asked to cut apart. That one was hand welted. Some of the other guys who have bought shoes - I think @Cheshire symposium maybe had purchased multiple pairs and confirmed one was hand welted and the newer ones were not.

Interesting. I saw you tear down of the glued pair, have you taken and posted pictures of your tear down of the handwelted shoe?

I find the story to be highly intriguing, especially because of the dodgy background of so many DTC companies, and I also just saw that they got burned with the distinction between Goodyear welted and Handwelting, way back in 2019.

 

[BColl_Has_Too_Many_Shoes]

Full retail? Something like $500. The discount was maybe 3 something. They’ve disclosed they were paying around €200 for the shoes.

Touted specs:
Hand welted
Machine stitched outsole
Oak bark sole
Leather stiffiners
“Bespoke” grade leathers
Top shelf finishing

Based on those specs and the lasts I saw, that's easily an AE alternative.

 

[JustPullHarder]

Based on those specs and the lasts I saw, that's easily an AE alternative.

They were marketing then as the greatest shoes ever though. Since they were paying about $200 and there is normally a 900 percent markup, these should be EG, GG, and JLP competitors.

 

[JohnMRobie]

Interesting. I saw you tear down of the glued pair, have you taken and posted pictures of your tear down of the handwelted shoe?

I find the story to be highly intriguing, especially because of the dodgy background of so many DTC companies, and I also just saw that they got burned with the distinction between Goodyear welted and Handwelting, way back in 2019.

Yeah here’s where that one started https://www.styleforum.net/threads/...ed-shoes-not-hand-welted.681914/post-10645518

 

[vmss]

Based on those specs and the lasts I saw, that's easily an AE alternative.

I bet that AE uses much better leather, overall quality materials & more authentic designs. Even AE as an entry level shoes is of better quality and looks better than AOL.

 

[VulpesVulpes]

They were marketing then as the greatest shoes ever though. Since they were paying about $200 and there is normally a 900 percent markup, these should be EG, GG, and JLP competitors.

Vass would be a more appropriate comparison. They retail for around 308€ at the moment, for customers outside the EU and the specs are pretty similar. But the cost of labour in Hungary is much lower than in Italy. Sooooo that's interesting. (Also, most DTC brands always claim to be making the best of the best)

Yeah here’s where that one started https://www.styleforum.net/threads/...ed-shoes-not-hand-welted.681914/post-10645518

Thank you very much.

EDIT. Ok so it was a sample and not a production shoe. I still think there is room for it to be a scam that didn't work. But still, thank you very much for the pictures.

 

[BColl_Has_Too_Many_Shoes]

They were marketing then as the greatest shoes ever though. Since they were paying about $200 and there is normally a 900 percent markup, these should be EG, GG, and JLP competitors.

Hold the phone. Hold the phone!

You are telling me that these shoes are competing against EG & JL ?

Is that a joke or is that a legitimate statement?

 

[vmss]

Hold the phone. Hold the phone!

You are telling me that these shoes are competing against EG & JL ?

View attachment 1590535 View attachment 1590536 View attachment 1590537

Is that a joke or is that a legitimate statement?

AOL made those claims and that their calfskins were comparable or better.

 

[BColl_Has_Too_Many_Shoes]

I bet that AE uses much better leather, overall quality materials & more authentic designs. Even AE as an entry level shoes is of better quality and looks better than AOL.

Honestly I think if they market themselves as an AE HW'd alternative, it could work extremely well.

I think @JustPullHarder is messing with me about who they were competing against.

 

[BColl_Has_Too_Many_Shoes]

AOL made those claims and that their calfskins were comparable or better.

We aren't talking about the same shoe's pictures I just posted right? It is different ones, right?

 

[JustPullHarder]

Hold the phone. Hold the phone!

You are telling me that these shoes are competing against EG & JL ?

View attachment 1590535 View attachment 1590536 View attachment 1590537

Is that a joke or is that a legitimate statement?

Someone posted this earlier

Wait their true cost is $329 so these are the equivalent of $3,290 shoes.

The Dunhill shoes are made by GG.

So... Top shelf cordovan Galway money....

 

[JohnMRobie]

Honestly I think if they market themselves as an AE HW'd alternative, it could work extremely well.

I think @JustPullHarder is messing with me about who they were competing against.

I’d have to go back through the old thread but if I recall they were better than CJ, JL, on par with JL Prestige or EG. They may have only been second to Berluti but those weren’t HW so these got the win head to head.

 

[BColl_Has_Too_Many_Shoes]

Someone posted this earlier

View attachment 1590539

Wait their true cost is $329 so these are the equivalent of $3,290 shoes.

So... Top shelf cordovan Galway money....

?. My apologies to the owners of these shoes. ?
I honestly thought it was a joke I wouldn't have thought that they were supposed to compete with those big hitters.

Wow sooo umm yeah. I umm.. I have no idea what to say about these shoes then.