Australian Members

[Journeyman]



Booked flights to NYC. Going in September for fashion week.

Excellent!

Remember to dress outrageously and to include things such as sockless shoes, a camo blazer, a tie with the back much longer than the front, a leather thong hanging from your lapel buttonhole down into your breast pocket, a floppy hat, high-water trousers or other such #menswear memes in your outfit.

Best of luck, and I hope to see you in the pages of the Sartorialist's blog!

 

[Prince of Paisley]



They look like lovely shoes, but - at the risk of being a party-pooper - I note that the "v" between the laces is quite wide.

This is a reasonably subjective thing, as some people don't mind a wide "v", whereas other people are very bothered by it and like to have a "v" that is closed or nearly closed. Also, of course, it must be remembered that leather stretches and so hopefully the "v" will close up a bit after the shoes have had some wear. Ideally, however, a well-fitting pair of balmoral/oxford shoes will have a fairly narrow "v".

The main reason for such a wide "v" in the laces is that the person wearing them has a high instep, or that the shoe itself is very flat in design. I've had a similar problem with some shoes in the past, and I discovered that I can't wear Allen-Edmonds, particularly the 5 last, as the top of the shoe is simply too flat. When I tried a pair of Park Avenues, the "v" was horrendously wide and when I tried lacing them up, it felt like my feet were being squeezed in a vice.

Some brands, and some lasts, are much better for people for people with higher insteps than others. US-made shoes tend to be bad, whereas (as a generalisation) Italian brands tend to make shoes with higher insteps. Some English brands and lasts are good, others not so much. For example, I've found that C&Js 348 last isn't so good, but the 337 last is better in my experience, bearing in mind that everyone has differently shaped feet.

I've found the Edward Green 202 and (related) 606 last to be good, as they are quite roomy and have a reasonable amount of space over the top of the foot.

Changing the lacing pattern can also help people with higher insteps - I use "straight bar" lacing on my shoes and it does help to make them more comfortable over the top of my foot.

My opinion is that, yes ideally, a fully closed "v" is preferable, but essentially the beauty of laced shoes is the flexibility (up to a point) of fit they give in this area. Having a wider v in the laces is probably less of a concern than if your toes are being crushed in the point of the shoe, or conversely if there is a big gap between the heel of the shoe and your heel - such problems have a much smaller margin for error and a few mm either way can mean the difference between comfortable shoes and being crippled. A wider v is usually an aesthetic (rather than a painful physical) price you may have to pay for ordering shoes online...

I also agree with you, the roominess of the vamp area varies widely across English lasts. The Church's / Cheaney last 73 is even smaller than the C&J 348/358 around the instep, so it may be adviseable for some men to go for a G fitting as their default in these lasts, if available.

 

[DartagnanRed]

Thanks for the comments. Belt is dark brown, best I could do with my meager belt collection. No belt looks even worse IMO. Wife nearly insisted I change shirts this morning, but I was in a hurry. Shows that it pays to listen to the missus. Baby blue shirt next time.

Ah, must just have been lighting. It would be difficult to find a match for those coloured shoes, but I'm sure it would be available. Unlikely to find one in cordovan though, but I don't think it's critical to have an exact match. Get many compliments on your shoes?

Haha about the missus. I normally completely ignore what she says, except when it comes to colour matching. Women seem to on average be much better at that than men. Same with my mother.

 

[Prince of Paisley]



Shirt is what lets this down (and perhaps pocket square). A plain coloured shirt would work alot better (though I would tend to suggest to only ever wear a plain shirt). Shoes are of course beautiful, but is that a black belt you're wearing with them?

Thanks for the comments.  Belt is dark brown, best I could do with my meager belt collection.  No belt looks even worse IMO. Wife nearly insisted I change shirts this morning, but I was in a hurry.  Shows that it pays to listen to the missus.  Baby blue shirt next time.

I don't ascribe to the "rule" that your belt always must match your shoes. Yes, it's a good idea 99% of the time, but you may have trouble finding a ruby red belt, and if you do it will just draw attention to your waistline rather than unobtrusively doing its job of holding your pants up, as a belt should.

So trying to pick up the colour of your SC (on my monitor it looks like charcoal and a black belt) is not a bad alternative. Hence I didn't comment on the belt/shoes not matching as the pocket square is the real imposter in your outfit.

As for your shirt, maybe wear it with jeans but a light blue would probably be better with those chinos/shoes.

 

[Henry Carter]



Excellent!

Remember to dress outrageously and to include things such as sockless shoes, a camo blazer, a tie with the back much longer than the front, a leather thong hanging from your lapel buttonhole down into your breast pocket, a floppy hat, high-water trousers or other such #menswear memes in your outfit.

Best of luck, and I hope to see you in the pages of the Sartorialist's blog!

Speaking of Camo, a browse through Country Road last week saw a camo tie in stock about 6cm wide. Don't think it will be a big seller myself.

 

[Romp]

New arrivals over the past couple of months: Alden, Alden, Trickers, Meermin, Vass.

These Vass are sick - i still want to get a pair - any tips on sizing/lasts? (I feel overwhelmed reading through the vass thread)

I ordered a suit from Kent Wang online and it was posted 3 or 4 weeks later as it was with another customer. Took another 3 weeks to arrive. Suit was way too big (this is partly my fault but KW not very good at communicating which made it harder - typical responses from KW were barely more than a few lines) and it reeked.

Sent it back and asked for a refund. He offered gift vouchers a refund less paypal fees of $30. He referred me to his policy of deducting paypal fees when an item is returned 30 days from the shipping date and it was my decision to return it. Was not impressed.

The suit construction itself was ok but for the money its probably better to go MTM locally unless you are sure of your measurements and how the suit finish should be. I would not recommend KW for your first MTM venture.

I saw a stat yesterday that in the UK 50% of online goods are returned. I know suitsupply is about 30-40% and iconic and ASOS are about 40% too. At Owen & James our return rate is sub 5% luckily because we dont charge shipping on the exchanged goods and for an international order I lose money sometimes

So based on those odds there is a good chance the goods you buy have been tried on and shipped around the world a few times by the time you get it.

But reaypal - im pretty sure if I refund somebody, the paypal fees are reversed! so the $30 charge is a blatant rort imo. Jase can you confirm this is the case?

Speaking of Camo, a browse through Country Road last week saw a camo tie in stock about 6cm wide. Don't think it will be a big seller myself.

Not many Lapo's in Aus to buy a skinny camo tie

 

[Henry Carter]



But reaypal - im pretty sure if I refund somebody, the paypal fees are reversed! so the $30 charge is a blatant rort imo. Jase can you confirm this is the case?

Mate I'm not sure actually, prob is the case if you refund from the same purchase in paypal, but if you just sent someone a refund not linked to the purchase it wouldn't work. But I do bugger all refunds so I've not noticed, one of the joys of selling ties, they don't need to be tried on!

 

[Pink Socks]

For anyone looking to do a bit of shopping in Melbourne conservative business dress both Henry Bucks and MJ Bale have sales starting tomorrow.

 

[hdbvcSHJDBC]

Yeah I was at DFO the other day and was so surprised to see an Ermenegildo Zegna store there, it was AMAZING! They had such a good selection of stock from E Zegna, Zegna sport and Z Zegna and although it was an outlet, the stock was only around a season old and at 60% off! i couldn't believe it! Plus the store looks amazing!! you can't even tell its an outlet store. The staff there are so helpful and friendly, i will deffinitely be going back there soon.

 

[Petepan]

Get many compliments on your shoes?

Yup, first to comment is my morning coffee barista. On the street, many looks, some stares even. As far as I can tell today, I am the only one sporting ruby colored shoes.

PoP, thanks again. I could have gotten a belt in the same color in calf, but I had the same concern about it looking funny on my waist. I reckon something in cordovan/burgundy/oxblood will suffice. Any suggestions?

 

[DartagnanRed]

Yup, first to comment is my morning coffee barista. On the street, many looks, some stares even. As far as I can tell today, I am the only one sporting ruby colored shoes.

PoP, thanks again. I could have gotten a belt in the same color in calf, but I had the same concern about it looking funny on my waist. I reckon something in cordovan/burgundy/oxblood will suffice. Any suggestions?

I have reddy - burgundy loake strands (wearing today). These get seriously weird looks from people on the street multiple times per day. Ruby shell would be like these x 10.

 

[nabilmust]

Ah, must just have been lighting. It would be difficult to find a match for those coloured shoes, but I'm sure it would be available. Unlikely to find one in cordovan though, but I don't think it's critical to have an exact match. Get many compliments on your shoes?

Haha about the missus. I normally completely ignore what she says, except when it comes to colour matching. Women seem to on average be much better at that than men. Same with my mother.

They tend to have a better sense of colour - I mean, who else can really tell the 1237513 different shades of red nail polish or lipstick apart?

 

[DartagnanRed]

They tend to have a better sense of colour - I mean, who else can really tell the 1237513 different shade of red nail polish or lipstick apart?

Haha I saw some graphic once showing how the human eye could not actually tell the difference between some of Revlon's different shades of red.

 

[nabilmust]

These Vass are sick - i still want to get a pair - any tips on sizing/lasts? (I feel overwhelmed reading through the vass thread)

I am still confused. I have a pair in U-Last and a pair in F-last. Still can't really tell the difference. The U-last pair is actually for sale (see signature)

 

[Petepan]

They tend to have a better sense of colour - I mean, who else can really tell the 1237513 different shade of red nail polish or lipstick apart?

Any wife/gf/mistress, if the lipstick is on the collar of their men's shirts....