Gaziano & Girling Appreciation & Shoe Appreciation Thread (including reviews, purchases, pictures)

[Mr. Six]

Rothschilds or Westminsters in vintage oak? Help me decide!

 

[JubeiSpiegel]

Tough choice, as far as those two choices, I prefer the classic wingtip to the Balmoral wingtip design. Although my favorite GG wingtip style is the Adelaide wingtip...

 

[DWFII]



That might be again the difference between American and English terms:

Here in the UK, a "belly-cut" is cut for maximum belly yield with the actual cut going through the back, left and right of the hornback strip, which might be used for a belt. Alternatively, a "hornback-cut" has the actual cut going through the belly to leave the back intact.

http://www.kezieleather.com/#/crocodile-leather/4567499123

On the other hand I might have it backwards. I think I recall the owner of American Tanning telling me that when the hide was cut down the back, preserving the belly, it was called a back cut. But that was lots of years ago and either way makes sense. As long as we know what we're talking about.

 

[chogall]



On the other hand I might have it backwards. I think I recall the owner of American Tanning telling me that when the hide was cut down the back, preserving the belly, it was called a back cut. But that was lots of years ago and either way makes sense. As long as we know what we're talking about.

From mine understanding for gators, belly cut has the whole belly in tact and hornback has the while back spine in one piece. Not sure if it's the same naming convention across different exotics.

 

[PCK1]

Rothschilds or Westminsters in vintage oak? Help me decide!

I have the westminster in vintage burgundy and love them...very dressy!

I have considered the rothschild as well...but will probably wear it more casually due to the heavy broguing.

 

[armsignet]

Beautiful.

The blemish won't matter, especially as pants would cover that area.

Thanks. That's what I was thinking too. It has been a test of will to leave these shoes in my closet while I turned this over in my head. If it gets worse over time, maybe I'll refer G&G to my post and entreat them for a free mend. In the meantime, I think that a dab of Saphir will suffice.

 

[cdmoore1855]



There is a lot of chatter that G&G is changing their business model to concentrate on RTW and less on MTM and Bespoke. Your thoughts G&G fans!

G&G have always been more focused on RTW being the main business model, the bespoke was an output for Tony to be creative with new designs and make a splash in the industry. The MTM gave clients some opportunity to be creative at a lower cost but it slows down the RTW production. The money is going to be on mass sales of RTW and they need to make an awful lot of RTW to keep their shop running smoothly

I doubt they phase out bespoke or MTM altogether

 

[mimo]

Not a lot of people by a Porsche 911 GT3. But a lot of people buy a Porsche because Porsche still make racing cars. G&G will never stop bespoke, or MTO, but the price of those will always be inversely proportionate to their volume, and logically so.

 

[Saratorial_Splender]



Not a lot of people by a Porsche 911 GT3.  But a lot of people buy a Porsche because Porsche still make racing cars.  G&G will never stop bespoke, or MTO, but the price of those will always be inversely proportionate to their volume, and logically so.

Well said. OK. they are increasing RTW and Slowing down MTO & Bespoke.
Thread closed.

 

[DWFII]

Another good analogy is that RTW is like a chain restaurant food...sometimes good sometimes not so good (drive-ins, diners, and dives)...but always quick and easy esp. for the restauranteurs. They have a set menu. A set list of ingredients and a set-up and line that makes assembling the pieces efficient to the point of being almost a no-brainer.

Now compare that with mom's home cooking or a high end catering business. Every menu is unique and can be altered or swapped out for another. An almost endless list of ingredients has to be on hand and most of that kept fresh. Every dish on the menu needs personal attention.

No business has to deliberately decide to cut down on MTO or bespoke, they only have to raise prices to reflect the distraction, the extra work and the increased inventory (essentially unrealized...maybe unrealizable..."futurities") that are necessary for bespoke or MTO.

And such considerations take on extra import when compared to the almost mundane processes of assembly-line work. Not to mention reduced time to cash-flow turn-around, reduced inventories and less chance of "burning the soup" associated with RTW.

--

 

[Gianni Cerutti]

Iguana...right?

Iguana...right?

That's cool ... but it's yours?

 

[poorsod]

Tony mentioned years ago that he planned to cap annual bespoke shoe production at 100/per year to maintain quality. Not sure if that is still the case.

 

[JubeiSpiegel]

^
I see nothing wrong with that bespoke business strategy. At that level, I would not mind being on a list, knowing the end product would be kept to the same high standards...

 

[JubeiSpiegel]

I have held this issue to myself long enough. I have had trouble with my last GG MTO, and as I received it back yesterday. One of the two issues was still unresolved. The grain leather shaft looks to be losing it's finish:

GG says it's not a leather issue, that these white marks have come from my clothing somehow, and that they come off when rubbed with a damp cloth. I don't even own white pants, and have no idea why they came to this conclusion.

To my credit, the example pic is from the shoes as they arrived yesterday. So if GG did indeed rub the white marks off, it was not so successful. I too tried to rub them off, and the water only temporarily saturated the spots away. As the quickly return.

Any idea what this might be? Am I incorrect in thinking this is indeed a leather issue? I am very frustrated at the moment...

 

[DWFII]



I have held this issue to myself long enough. I have had trouble with my last GG MTO, and as I received it back yesterday. One of the two issues was still unresolved. The grain leather shaft looks to be losing it's finish:

GG says it's not a leather issue, that these white marks have come from my clothing somehow, and that they come off when rubbed with a damp cloth. I don't even own white pants, and have no idea why they came to this conclusion.

To my credit, the example pic is from the shoes as they arrived yesterday. So if GG did indeed rub the white marks off, it was not so successful. I too tried to rub them off, and the water only temporarily saturated the spots away. As the quickly return.

Any idea what this might be? Am I incorrect in thinking this is indeed a leather issue? I am very frustrated at the moment...

My guess that it's an acrylic wax top coat.

When a finish of that sort is applied to heavily grained leather it tends to accumulate in the low areas of the texture. And it's not subject to being rubbed off by clothing. So as the leather flexes, it cracks and the cracked areas turn white.

Water will make it disappear for a while simply because acrylic is water soluble. The cracked finish re-hydrates and binds back together for a little while.

I've never seen top coat be this big of a problem. I suspect it is as a result of too heavy an application of the finish.

I suspect that if you brush hard when it is at its whitest it will slowly disappear. Brush, then apply a somewhat heavier than usual application of leather matching shoe cream and work it into the low areas. Don't glop it on, don't let it build up but do work it down thoroughly into the low places. Use a wax applicator brush to work it in.

Might help, might not. Can't hurt.