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I just got back from the mountains this arvo, absolutely rooted now.
It was -10 last night. Coldest I have ever been in my life

Where is this? -10?! Blue Mountains?

 

[The Ernesto]



I also don't drink my own piss

lol. That's what we like to see in a modern, sf approved e-tailer.

 

[The Ernesto]

[VIDEO][/VIDEO]

 

[Oli2012]

Why do you guys like C&J more than loake? after stareing at the two for a few hours I literally cannot tell the difference other than colour.

 

[The Ernesto]

Are you staring at them online? There's a difference in person.

I only posted that because of the guy's brilliant accent and the way he makes getting a high shine seem so easy.

 

[Oli2012]

Are you staring at them online? There's a difference in person.

I only posted that because of the guy's brilliant accent and the way he makes getting a high shine seem so easy.

Yes online. I can appreciate the leather is nicer in the C&Js, but apart from that the design etc seems exactly the same.

 

[TehBunny]

Never owned C&J but have Loakes and have come face to face with both. What your seeing is the actual shape and style of the shoes; styling wise their isn't much difference between the lasts that the mid-low end English makers produce (going from a traditional model standpoint I.e. cap toes etc.) as they're all pretty conservative and comprise of the usual square, in between and round toes without the heavy elongation and styling or shaping that you see in the higher end makers such as G&G which sets them apart from the lower end makers.

The difference that others who own the brand seem to give is the construction quality (mainly leather quality and that it is softer and easier to shine).

Though when it comes to shoes after you move from glued to a Welted construction the value for money diminishes as you go up the 'real shoe maker' price hierarchy (there's always a couple of these discussions on the worth of G&G vs Cheaney or equivalent that pop up every now and then on the shoe threads and I've just pieced together what I remember from them; if something is utterly wrong please correct me).

 

[Oli2012]

I see your point, but is it really worth double retail?

 

[joiji]

I see your point, but is it really worth double retail?

Law of diminishing returns.

 

[TehBunny]

Compared to Loake?

Depends really; most 'stylish people' could probably live a happy business life with four or 5 classic conservative models of real shoes which come from the lower end of this hierarchy (I.e. Loake 1880's). But for those of us who ignore this rationale and seek more and more purddey shoes I think it's a question of passion; but in functional terms we could all be happy with Loakes instead of our John Lobb Paris Bespoke.

Edit: sorry if their are a lot of errors I ranted this out on an iPhone (dat keyboard).
Edit again: fuk you Joiji; the douche said what I wrote in 4 words ;P


Though the only justifiable reason I see in buying these sexy shoes is passion and fit; I would definitely buy a pair of Edward Greens (in my opinion most over priced shoe on the market here) if they fit me and for passions sake if I had the opportunity of bespoke I would take it.

It's subjective; if I was younger when I started 'dressing' and Loake's fit me well enough I would buy a couple pairs and be happy with it for a long time.....until I found SF and saw the 'must kop' new Berluti's in elephant red and rainbow.

Though by no means am I saying lose this passion for dressing; which seems to in most cases make you want the 'best' of everything (want being the keyword) but as long as you keep your wits about you and buy the best you can afford I think you've got a great thing going.

 

[UnnamedPlayer]

Salco warehouse sale starts this Wed through to Saturday.

 

[Pink Socks]



Salco warehouse sale starts this Wed through to Saturday.

Any details?

 

[Oli2012]

Compared to Loake?

Depends really; most 'stylish people' could probably live a happy business life with four or 5 classic conservative models of real shoes which come from the lower end of this hierarchy (I.e. Loake 1880's). But for those of us who ignore this rationale and seek more and more purddey shoes I think it's a question of passion; but in functional terms we could all be happy with Loakes instead of our John Lobb Paris Bespoke.

I can appreciate money spent on suits - paying M2M at P Johnson gives you access to colours/styles you simply can't buy OTR. Not to mention that a floating canvas and 120 marino is going to make Sydney humidity far more bearable.

Ties and shirts are similar - you end up paying the same to get them from Henry Carter that you would at DJs only theyre much nicer.

I can't justify a pair of black oxford Lobbs - honestly, I reckon even SFers wouldn't know the difference if you passed them in the street.

Just me though.

 

[iSurg]

The curse - I know a pair of JL's when I see them. They are miles above CJ and light years from loakes in a side by side comparison. Just take a pair of double monks from each line and compare. The quality of the leather, stitching, buckle, last style etc are very different. I would kop if I had $$ but my budget is out at the moment.

Also, for hot/humid Aussie weather, I prefer quarter-lined and no canvas/minimal padding. Canvas can be quite hot actually...

 

[joiji]

I've always viewed shoes as: You vary little in construction. Pretty much everything these days is either glued or goodyear soled. That which is handwelted tends to be very pricey, but you gain some peace of mind, I suppose. From what I understand it's pretty rare for goodyear welts to fail, but even rarer for hand welted, so.

For the uppers, most everything is machine lasted, most soles are stitched, and all uppers will be done by machine. You basically end up paying for: lasts, leather quality, finishing. There's a bit more of an option for customisation in the higher brands too, There's certainly a lot of Carmina MTO's run through this forum, for instance.

You tend to get more exotic/fancy leathers with higher spec brands also. Cordovan with Alden, Carmina, Alfred Sargent, etc. Meermin recently did a nice MTO with some museum calf. I believe the guys over at Epaulet are getting together a hatch grain MTO.

So it ends up as entirely personal opinion. There's clearly higher quality coming out of most of the companies you pay more for, but if the lasts on Loake (Or Barker, or Meermin, or anyone similarly priced) fit you well and you aren't finding your options limited for styles or leathers, I wouldn't be adverse to using them exclusively for my everyday wear shoes.

Part of the reason I moved up the chain from them was just out of interest. I wanted to try out cordovan leather, different sole edges, different construction methods. The time you spend researching sort of offsets the actual cost of the shoes, in a way.

That's my view anyway.

TL;DR: Loake or equiv. are great shoes for the money and you'd be better hoofed than most in Australia. If you find yourself interested in shoes as a hobby of sorts, buying higher priced shoes isn't something to look down on.