Belgian & dutch shoemakers

[My View]

http://www.ambiorix.be/ http://www.vanbommel.nl/ These are 2 shoemakers. First is Belgian, second is Dutch. The Dutch one is apparently internationally well known. Does anyone know anything about them? Â Quality, price,...the usual issues

 

[Duveen]

Hi,

I seem to remember that T4Phage, who is Dutch, indirectly indicated that VanBommel is not in the first rank of shoemakers. But that may be a question of familiarity breeding contempt...

 

[T4phage]

Hi, I seem to remember that T4Phage, who is Dutch, indirectly indicated that VanBommel is not in the first rank of shoemakers. Â But that may be a question of familiarity breeding contempt...

no no no.... nothing like that. Van Bommel is a decent shoe, but that is as far as I'll go. Not the same level as C&J. The styling is very bland, although they have made recent improvements in thier lasts, making them a bit more like the 517 of C&J. Van Bommel's top of the line: Noble Blue is not worth what they are charging. If you compare them to a Santoni "fatte a manos" (which is in the same price range and school of style), the quality of the leathers, stitching, and finishing is all subpar. Added to that someone knowledgable told me that the shoes are partially assembled in a third world country, specifically attaching the soles. If you turn the soles around and look at them carefully, you can see uneveness (sometimes large ripples or waves) in the forefoot as compared to a C&J handgrade or Santonis.

 

[Sander]

*necromance* Does anybody know anything about Ambiorix by now?

 

[Flieger]

They have a top line called Embassy that is reputed to use the same leather as Edward Green. I have a pair that indeed held up very well. The styling is conservative. It makes the foot look small. Quite the opposite of Santoni.
The leather doesn't show age, it is aniline after all.
I like my handgrade C&J's better because they show age in the form of attractive patina.
Ambiorix makes lower lines too that look awful. The embassy line is well made and certainly a proper shoe. I don't know their current prices but believe retail for the Embassy line approaches C&J online level pediwear prices so there you go..

 

[Flieger]

By the way Greve is a dutch shoemaker that is reasonably well constructed and more 'tasteful' imo than the Van Bommel Noble Blue line. At a slight discount Greve is certainly worth it's price.