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Foster & Sons ready made shoes thread

AWu

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FS products do bang the buck no matter on sale, or at regular price earlier. @sforum1 you just need to grab a pair and let your feet feel the quality - while this may account for why they dun sell well online - on ig these days marketing relies on photoshopped posted from bloggers and FS wont do (doesnt fit the image). These shoes require feeling hands on to appreciate, imo
 

sforum1

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FS products do bang the buck no matter on sale, or at regular price earlier. @sforum1 you just need to grab a pair and let your feet feel the quality - while this may account for why they dun sell well online - on ig these days marketing relies on photoshopped posted from bloggers and FS wont do (doesnt fit the image). These shoes require feeling hands on to appreciate, imo

I did not criticize the shoes. As I said, their Foster collection are probably the best RTW shoes I have seen. And knowing what they are now, I would still buy them at full price if they continued to make them. But given that they cost prices not affordable to most at full price (plus, so many other choices at that price), they could have probably done a better job with the cheaper line to entice people to give them a try and ultimately find out how much more there was that did not see the eye.

Anyways, bottom line is that if people don't buy your shoes, don't blame the people. You must have done something wrong, and if you cannot do something as simple as acknowledging that, then you've done everything wrong.

I honestly wish them the best, and I wish they are here to stay for many decades to come.
 

JohnMRobie

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Couldn’t possibly have been that they announced a year before and released an entirely new line of shoes about 6 months before a global pandemic killed 2.5 million and shut down most offices/business travel. They should have really seen that one coming and admitted they did that wrong.
 

JustPullHarder

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Couldn’t possibly have been that they announced a year before and released an entirely new line of shoes about 6 months before a global pandemic killed 2.5 million and shut down most offices/business travel. They should have really seen that one coming and admitted they did that wrong.
Lol was going to say this.

It's pretty well established that it is much easier to be a high end brand that creates a diffusion line rather than a mainstream brand that tries to become more exclusive.
 

Viral

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You mean to tell me that a company which sold only luxury goods with a very bland aesthetic at a price point 9/10 people on earth could not afford which has been affected by a global pandemic is about to go out of business?
 

JustPullHarder

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"The leather and finishing are top notch."

Why, how about C&J and every other brand out there. This is too generic a way to explain why a shoe is superior.
Better leather selection like I said flawless no blemishes. My handgrades have veins and obviously incorporated some less than optimal pieces even those my Foster's are wholecuts.

The leather itself is more supple.

The heel block is built more consistently. The two shoes are mirror images of one another.

Heels and edges are very well polished and evenly dyed.

The closed channel stitching is better.

The fudging is better.

Bakers soles.

The lining leather is nicer. My CJ have some rough patches.
 

dieworkwear

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This feels like the Brooks Brothers conversation. When Brooks Brothers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, people reached for some very easy conclusions - the company lost its way, the products didn't suit the market, they cut quality, etc. Brooks Brothers, naturally, blamed their woes on the pandemic.

But the real cause was much more complicated and had to do with a long history of transferring ownership in the company, expansion goals, and a complex network of long-term real estate leases.

Prior to the pandemic, I had my doubts that the Foster line would be able to continue. Not because the shoes weren't great or that they were "boring," but because of some business things I heard about through some shoe industry friends. I don't know if they're worth saying here because they're just rumors to me -- I never confirmed with the company. But some shoe industry friends had doubts that the line would be successful because of things going on behind the scenes.

At the very least, Foster's bespoke business had some issues. And when they expanded into a factory, I wondered whether they were prepared to take on such a new and different business. When I interviewed the company and they said they weren't planning to do private label manufacturing at the moment, I started to wonder ...

I assume Patrik knows more since he's more in the business.
 

sforum1

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Better leather selection like I said flawless no blemishes. My handgrades have veins and obviously incorporated some less than optimal pieces even those my Foster's are wholecuts.

The leather itself is more supple.

The heel block is built more consistently. The two shoes are mirror images of one another.

Heels and edges are very well polished and evenly dyed.

The closed channel stitching is better.

The fudging is better.

Bakers soles.

The lining leather is nicer. My CJ have some rough patches.
Which wholecut is that, that from the Foster collection? If so, do you have pics?

I was about to pull the trigger on one of those yesterday, and it sold out before I did.
 

JustPullHarder

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Which wholecut is that, that from the Foster collection? If so, do you have pics?

The penny loafers are wholecuts? Unless there is some seam that I'm not seeing. Compare that with the EG Picadilly which has a separate piece for the vamp.

I believe they have a wholecut Oxford too.
 

Viral

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This feels like the Brooks Brothers conversation. When Brooks Brothers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, people reached for some very easy conclusions - the company lost its way, the products didn't suit the market, they cut quality, etc. Brooks Brothers, naturally, blamed their woes on the pandemic.

But the real cause was much more complicated and had to do with some business dealings.

Prior to the pandemic, I had my doubts that the Foster line would be able to continue. Not because the shoes weren't great or that they were "boring," but because of some business things I heard about through some shoe industry friends. I don't know if they're worth saying here because they're just rumors to me -- I never confirmed with the company. But some shoe industry friends had doubts that the line would be successful because of things going on behind the scenes.

At the very least, Foster's bespoke business had some issues. And when they expanded into a factory, I wondered whether they were prepared to take on such a new and different business. When I interviewed the company and they said they weren't planning to do private label manufacturing at the moment, I started to wonder ...

I assume Patrik knows more since he's more in the business.

I would not use such simplistic explanations all the time to explain outcomes. Lots of times, there are things behind the business -- structural issues.
it's a safe assumption that Covid really exposed the poorly-run organizations such as F&S. People are quick to assume a nice product is reflective of the organization itself when it's just an offering to the market.

It's like assuming the most high-end/fanciest of restaurants has an impeccable kitchen and food prep area.....
 

sforum1

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The penny loafers are wholecuts? Unless there is some seam that I'm not seeing. Compare that with the EG Picadilly which has a separate piece for the vamp.

I believe they have a wholecut Oxford too.
yeah, I was talking about the oxford one:

They had it in brown and burgundy too.
 

Texasmade

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Better leather selection like I said flawless no blemishes. My handgrades have veins and obviously incorporated some less than optimal pieces even those my Foster's are wholecuts.

The leather itself is more supple.

The heel block is built more consistently. The two shoes are mirror images of one another.

Heels and edges are very well polished and evenly dyed.

The closed channel stitching is better.

The fudging is better.

Bakers soles.

The lining leather is nicer. My CJ have some rough patches.
All of that is nice but like 90% of the customers wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. If you compare FS top of the line range to EG,JL, and G&G, how does FS differentiate itself? G&G has its styling and fiddleback waist, JL has its heritage and Hermès backing, the EG Top Drawer has its expansive MTO done by one shoemaker. FS has high quality shoes that looks like other English brands that hasn’t really done much to convince me to try out.
 

dieworkwear

Mahatma Jawndi
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I thought their tassel loafer was also really nice. Really nice design on the vamp.


11622.jpg
11648.jpg



Personally not into this G&G tassel. Just a bit too stylized for my taste.

DSC_9205.jpg




EG's Belgravia is one of the few shoes from them I don't care for, although I think it's still a nice shoe. I just don't personally like that braid.


Belgravia_184_DKOCALF_main_1.jpg



I have two pairs of C&J's Canvendish. I dig em. But the Foster is seemingly slightly better made.

crockett-jones-tassel-loafer-slipper-cavendish-2-leder-schwarz-goodyear-welted-1_3.jpg



Personal favorites are Alden for Brooks Brothers, but they are now discontinued


DSCF6278-1.jpg



Personally think the F&S black tassel loafer would go really well with Patrik's outfit here. Worn just like this:


 

TheShetlandSweater

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All of that is nice but like 90% of the customers wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. If you compare FS top of the line range to EG,JL, and G&G, how does FS differentiate itself? G&G has its styling and fiddleback waist, JL has its heritage and Hermès backing, the EG Top Drawer has its expansive MTO done by one shoemaker. FS has high quality shoes that looks like other English brands that hasn’t really done much to convince me to try out.

EG is far pricier. Same with most Lobb. G&G is often ugly and overly aggressive or dandy.
 

JustPullHarder

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All of that is nice but like 90% of the customers wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. If you compare FS top of the line range to EG,JL, and G&G, how does FS differentiate itself? G&G has its styling and fiddleback waist, JL has its heritage and Hermès backing, the EG Top Drawer has its expansive MTO done by one shoemaker. FS has high quality shoes that looks like other English brands that hasn’t really done much to convince me to try out.
Moving the goalpost much?

Why is JLP having Hermes backing a selling point to consumers? They run the businesses separately. It's not even an English company.

Top drawer is much more expensive. By that logic Foster has full bespoke.

GG has no heritage. A lot of retailers have dropped them and they have been running a huge sale since the start of the pandemic. Not exactly a sign of great health.

See how you can pick at every maker?

What's the best selling EG? The Chelsea probably on the 202. Boring to most people.

What's the best selling JLP? The Lopez at least in the US likely in black. Again. Very boring to most people.
 

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