Ask A Question, Get An Answer... - Post All Quick Questions Here (Classic menswear)

[Off My Rack]

Quote:
Send this pic to Luxire with your measurements. They can recreate the shirt for you.

 

[whiteboy67]

Quote:
I was thinking I could try and take it to this tailor in the city who makes custom suits and see if he'd be able to color match the pants. I only paid $30 for it so it's not a big deal either way.

 

[cptjeff]



I was thinking I could try and take it to this tailor in the city who makes custom suits and see if he'd be able to color match the pants.  I only paid $30 for it so it's not a big deal either way.

No, he can't. He would need to find an exact fabric match, not just a color match.

If it was $30, add some metal buttons on there and use it as a blazer. But it is pretty obviously an orphaned suit jacket.

 

[whiteboy67]

No, he can't. He would need to find an exact fabric match, not just a color match.

If it was $30, add some metal buttons on there and use it as a blazer. But it is pretty obviously an orphaned suit jacket.

Understood. Thank you for your help.

 

[Sam H]

I've lurked here for a long time, so I know the basics.

My question is this: I am searching for burgundy beefroll penny loafers.

I ended up buying Johnston and Murphy at Macy's.

I know how much J&M's current iteration is frowned upon here.

However, I have done some research and I honestly cannot justify jumping up in price for something by AE or Alden. I also cannot justify similarly priced Florsheims or Bass. I love my AE Park Avenues, but hear me out as to why I'm skeptical in this instance before the canned "AE quality is better" answer or "J&M have gone down hill" answer. I do want to know if my purchase was stupid, but there are some details beyond J&M vs AE.

Here is the shoe I just bought.
http://www.johnstonmurphy.com/product.aspx?c=1216&pid=82280




You can see it is polished burgundy calfskin. I've heard polished calfskin is not a good sign, it means it's corrected grain, coated in chemicals and plastic, etc. The shoes do look plasticy, I am not a fan of the sheen they have and that is my number 1 doubt with the shoe. They do have a leather sole with rubber inserts however, which is nice and the profile is very slim. Also, the burgundy is deep and dark. Not some practically red looking burgundy which I do not prefer.

That being said, let's take a look at Allen Edmond's Kenwood. It's not even in the store I went to (apparently discontinued except online the salesman said, but I don't know if he knew what he was talking about).
http://www.allenedmonds.com/aeonline/producti_SF44000_1_40000000001_-1




Similar shoe, beefroll burgundy penny loafer. However, it's $225 instead of $100 like I paid for the J&Ms. So why is it $125 more? The sole is also leather with rubber on it. Maybe the upper is better quality? Well according to the site it's both premium calfskin and grain calfskin. So now we have something that's presumably 90% grain (I doubt there is much premium calfskin in a shoe that is divided between the two, it's more just marketing I would think) vs something called polished calfskin which is probably also just corrected grain. The price difference is $125. There is full recrafting but at the same time, I am looking to buy a "grownups sneaker". It's a penny loafer not a captoe. Is paying $125 up front for the right to pay more money for reconstruction really worth it for what amounts to adult sneakers? I'm not convinced. That premium should be for materials in the initial construction and that amount of money for a casual shoe is already pushing it for me.

So I'm not seeing AE being better than J&M here. Next up lets look at Alden. I don't see a price but I think $300 retail is a fair assumption for this Cape Cod Collection Beefroll Penny Mocc in Burgundy.
http://www.aldenshoe.com/DrawProducts.aspx?Action=GetDetails&CategoryID=10&ProductID=115&PageID=9




What's that? Polished leather? I'm going to assume that polished leather is polished leather: corrected grain and plastic coated. No matter who makes it or how much I'd have to pay. Which is fine. When I'm paying $100 for some J&M's that I already have quality suspicions about. But what bothers me is I can't even go up a bit in price beyond what I'm willing to pay for a shoe I wouldn't wear in a formal or business setting without finding similar quality (apparently).

So what I'm asking is, what am I missing? Is AE and Alden just making corrected grain casual shoes and charging $100-$200 more for them than J&M? I honestly am not in love with the J&Ms I bought because of the plasticy look they have but it doesn't even look like a step up is an option and I honestly don't want to pay that much for casual shoes even if it was.

Just for kicks, here is Bass and Florsheim alternatives (priced competitively with J&M).

http://ghbass.com/shop/mens/footwear/larson-weejuns_1893_634.html




I saw some "Burgundy" Bass at Macys. They weren't Larsons. They were the non beef-rolled ones, but still. They are pretty much some unnatural shade of red. The J&M's despite the plasticness are a very nice burgundy that is brown with a red tint. Anyway "brushed" leather, that's the same as polished leather so also corrected grain. The ones in the picture look good but the ones I saw in store did not look like that (once again a different model but still).

http://www.florsheim.com/shop/style/17058-05.html




These are the Florsheims. Same price range as the J&Ms. The burgundy also suffers from being plastic red. I thought that was a bad photo. Nope. In store, it looks like they airbrushed red highlights onto black leather just like in that photo. Also, plasticy too just like all the $100 offerings I saw.

So there you have it.

Three shoes in the $100 price range. Florsheim and Bass both are red, not burgundy, as well as plasticy. J&M is a nice burgundy but also plasticy. All are corrected grain.

Jumping up in price, AE and Alden offer shoes that are also corrected grain leather, presumably with some level of plastic polish to fix up the imperfections.

As I finish this post I notice the J&Ms are already developing wrinkles as I sit here wearing them trying to decide if this was a bad purchases. I'm pretty sure they are going to be returned. I don't know what to get though. What am I missing here? I just want to spend a normal amount on casual wear burgundy penny loafers that don't look like **** (beefroll preferable) and it looks like even entering entry-level high end price range is no different. I have some Sperry's that I wore a lot this summer, obviously corrected grain leather but thats fine, whatever. They are a nice, cheap disposable mocc-toe shoe that seem to have a lot of life left in them after a summer of use. I don't care that it's not premium calfskin because that would be dumb for a casual shoe. They don't look like garbage because they arent drenched in plastic sheen and they were also $80 and a very nice color for casual leather.

Here is an album I made on Imgur for ease of comparison: http://imgur.com/a/POZe6

Thanks for this reading this long post, I hope the pictures make it less of a text wall.

EDIT I have decided to take the route of refinishing the J&Ms I bought. See here: http://www.styleforum.net/t/228153/...thread-tutorials-photos-etc/6690#post_6590723

 

[Spaghettimatt]

I had a Naragansett Leathers belt made about 1-2 inches too small. Stupid. Can I bring it to a cobbler to have it stretched out about that much if at all?

 

[tobiasj]



I had a Naragansett Leathers belt made about 1-2 inches too small. Stupid. Can I bring it to a cobbler to have it stretched out about that much if at all?

What a terrible idea Sell it on here, buy yourself one that fits properly.

 

[Spaghettimatt]



What a terrible idea Sell it on here, buy yourself one that fits properly.

I mainly just want to wear it now and don't want to go through the trouble of putting it on B&S. So I take it this is not possible?

 

[Chowkin]

Quote:
I echo mimo's point about not removing the buttonholes - depending on the fabric, most buttonholes will display indentations if the buttonholes are removed.

Depending on the quality of your Canali jacket, you can ask your tailor to open the buttonholes.

 

[tobiasj]



I mainly just want to wear it now and don't want to go through the trouble of putting it on B&S. So I take it this is not possible?

Taking it to a cobbler is LESS trouble than taking 2 minutes to put it on B&S? Stretching it enough to make it fit will ruin it.

 

[Kensington]

Do spectator style shoes fit into that custom of not wearing white after labor day?

 

[mimo]

I don't know. But I guess it depends where you are: personally I like my specs and they fly all year round...anyway, some are obviously more summery than others: my calf./canvas oxfords are clearly for warm weather, but a double-soled cordovan and scotchgrain budapester (nice idea, eh?), would be a great winter shoe.

 

[Kensington]



I don't know.  But I guess it depends where you are: personally I like my specs and they fly all year round...anyway, some are obviously more summery than others: my calf./canvas oxfords are clearly for warm weather, but a double-soled cordovan and scotchgrain budapester (nice idea, eh?), would be a great winter shoe.

Mine are something like this. Except with white suede and a cap toe. I live in NYC.

 

[Spaceman Spliff]

i love this jacket, but it's impossible to find now and honestly, i dont think i'd want to pay any more than $150:
http://www.filson.com/products/oil-finish-trucker-jacket.10502.html

anyone know of something similar? i don't necessarily need it to be made by a brand with a strong heritage like filson

 

[Shoeluv]

i love this jacket, but it's impossible to find now and honestly, i dont think i'd want to pay any more than $150:
http://www.filson.com/products/oil-finish-trucker-jacket.10502.html

anyone know of something similar? i don't necessarily need it to be made by a brand with a strong heritage like filson

There are J Crew, Polo, Outback available in this eBay search.