Bespoke Shoes From Koronya In Budapest – Part 2, Test Shoe

[bengal-stripe]

Originally Posted by Fabro

The first thing that struck me when I put this pair on was the lacing. The quarters actually closed. This was the one of the a-ha bespoke moments I was looking for. Think about it: on all your RTW shoes, there is always a gap to accommodate different people's feet. On some shoes it's wide, on some it's narrow. Here there is no need for any gap; the quarters can touch perfectly and deliver just the right tightness throughout the shoe.
A word of warning, I would be very careful. Shoe quarters have the tendency to stretch. That permanent raising of the foot sees to that. If they already now fit edge to edge, then you have no-where to. You might well end up with quarter, that, even laced at it's tightest, have a gap underneath. Then you'll have to revert to tongue pads and similar stuff,. Of course those crutches go totally against the concept of "bespoke" = correct fit.

You want to be able to correct the lacing, on hot days you want it looser, on cold days snugger. If the shoe is walked-in (and you want them closely laced) you should aim for 5mm, then you can close them tighter if you need to. Which means now, aim for a gap of 10mm.

They will come closer with time.

 

[Fabro]

Originally Posted by bengal-stripe

A word of warning, I would be very careful. Shoe quarters have the tendency to stretch. That permanent raising of the foot sees to that. If they already now fit edge to edge, then you have no-where to. You might well end up with quarter, that, even laced at it's tightest, have a gap underneath. Then you'll have to revert to tongue pads and similar stuff,. Of course those crutches go totally against the concept of "bespoke" = correct fit.

You want to be able to correct the lacing, on hot days you want it looser, on cold days snugger. If the shoe is walked-in (and you want them closely laced) you should aim for 5mm, then you can close them tighter if you need to. Which means now, aim for a gap of 10mm.

They will come closer with time.

A very good point and one that I was concerned about myself. I actually took a number of pictures of the shoes laced on and sent them to Marcell so that he could consider this very issue. That is the nice thing about having the test shoe made--it gives a chance to make adjustments to the last if necessary.

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. This has been a good project.

By the way, here is a picture of the inside of one of the shoes, showing the lining.

 

[william]

Great post. I can't wait to see the final shoe.

 

[the.chikor]

Originally Posted by Fabro

The real test though was wear. They should just fit. The Koronya's don't have any magic in them; they simply fit. I could easily walk across town on the day I received them.
Bottom line: am I happy with what I have so far? Yes. Absolutely. No question about it.
.

And this is what matters most. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Eustace Tilley]

Fabro - Did you get your completed shoes yet?

 

[why4009]

Bump. Do you have pics of the final shoes?

Thanks. This is truly a bespoke process vs. my experience in HK.

 

[Fabro]

Sure, have a look here: http://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=70479

I was very happy with the way they turned out. In fact, I was wearing them today.