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

[heelguy]



I'm in for either, hatch or plain.  Open to any non-chunky sole.

same here

 

[SoGent]

in the meantime . . . . a deco suede to fill the gap

 

[saurabh]



in the meantime . . . . a deco suede to fill the gap

Looks awesome !! Mine are Coming tomorrow but not same

 

[grc1]

St. James II

 

[daizawaguy]

Nice! I`m always surprised how the vamps of GG dry out though. The shoes above are not two tone I believe. Sure the vamp may not have been polished, but I find GG leathers just don't hold their conditioning. This will cause dust and dirt to enter the creases, and next thing cause a premature hole. There is nothing that can be done to save the shoe then.

I`m speaking from my experience with my pairs in calf leather. Beautiful to look at, but hold polish and creams very badly. I put it down to the quality of the leathers used. For a shoe north of $1000 or more, I`m expecting a better quality of leather that can hold creams at least for a few hours after wear.

Any other thoughts on this?

Have you ever seen a well looked after and aged pair of GG anywhere? There must be lots of close to 10 year old shoes by now that have had TLC and where the leather is starting to look supple and well cared for. Don't think anyone can show a photo of a pair that has got better with age, and where the leather looks soft and well conditioned, and does not look dried up. Controversial I`m sure, but lets see pics to disqualify by view...

Take back my comments if this proves true, but still very concerned of the dryness and inability of the leathers to take conditioning...

 

[grc1]

Is there a relationship between leather quality and tolerance for less-than-professional care? It sounds like @daizawaguy's expectation is that (1) there is; and (2) it's direct (higher-quality leather = higher tolerance for "amateur" care) rather than inverse (higher-quality leather = less tolerance). Is my understanding correct?

I'd be the first to admit that my shoe care / polishing skills and patience require a good deal of generosity and goodwill to be deemed even "amateur," so I'd be extremely cautious about using my own collection as a sample on which to base a discussion on G&G's leather quality.

For me personally, I wish to all goodness that G&G could/would develop some superleather that could not only withstand my "care," but thrive on it. But barring that wish, the cut and the design of their shoes are more than sufficient positives for me.

 

[daizawaguy]

Firstly, nothing personal, and I love your shoes. I`m just finding that the leathers look great new, and after a polish/condition, but dry up very quickly like I`ve almost never experienced before. They also develop very rough creases, which seem to attract the dirt and dust, that causes abrasion, and later leather fatigue and cracks. I`ll have to post some photos, and I`m obviously generalizing, as there will be exceptions, but I really find that they just don't hold the conditioning. I`ve put loads of Saphir cream on mine, as much as twice a day, and it`s almost like they haven't absorbed any. So my quest was to find out if there was an older pair that had worn well, and looked nice and supple with a patina. I`ve seen loads on eBay abused, but yet to see one that looks great when aged. Is this something to do with the leather I`m wondering. Bespoke may be different, but the RTW, at that price, all seem dried out. Again,nothing on your polishing issues, but even with a polish, a few steps, and the sheen disappears....unlike EG and CJ in my experience - any views?

 

[TtownMD]

For my GG when I have time I give them sapphire TLC care on weekend every two week or depending upon number of wear and if I don't have time I just apply bick4 and brush and all my GG shoes and boot are fine. But I also do t wear and abuse my shoes !!

 

[TtownMD]

Four year old GG rtw look dam good to me for being four year old. It's posted by some on who is in IG. Hope this helps !!

 

[grc1]



Understand completely - I didn't take it personally . We're on the same page,and I think it's a very fair question you raised.

 

[DWFII]



Is there a relationship between leather quality and tolerance for less-than-professional care? It sounds like @daizawaguy's expectation is that (1) there is; and (2) it's direct (higher-quality leather = higher tolerance for "amateur" care) rather than inverse (higher-quality leather = less tolerance). Is my understanding correct?

If you think about it and think about what leather is, I suspect not. I think it's all in the finish. Two pieces of leather could be tanned exactly the same...one given an opaque finish, the other left unfinished (as in crust). The quality of the two leathers is the same but one would need and respond to conditioners and polishes far differently than the other.

Much of the problem identified by daizawaguy stems from what I call the "magpie eye" syndrome, IMO. People are attracted to shine to the extent that almost nothing else matters. Hence most pairs of high end shoes, whether RTW or bespoke, are glacéd before they are presented.

This is achieved after the fact (of making) and often involves applying an acrylic finish...or a whole lot of bulling. But none of it lasts. And all of it resists conditioners. And all of it tends to be very fugitive--flaking off within several days to a week. Leaving a dry, dusty surface behind.

The heavier the original finish, the more likely this is to happen. At least until that finish, itself, breaks down a little. At which point the leather will "open up" a little and conditioners such as Bick4 and polished will penetrate and gain a purchase on the grainside of the leather.

The most professional care that you can give any leather is regular brushing.

 

[j ingevaldsson]

Nice! I`m always surprised how the vamps of GG dry out though. The shoes above are not two tone I believe. Sure the vamp may not have been polished, but I find GG leathers just don't hold their conditioning. This will cause dust and dirt to enter the creases, and next thing cause a premature hole. There is nothing that can be done to save the shoe then.

I`m speaking from my experience with my pairs in calf leather. Beautiful to look at, but hold polish and creams very badly. I put it down to the quality of the leathers used. For a shoe north of $1000 or more, I`m expecting a better quality of leather that can hold creams at least for a few hours after wear.

Any other thoughts on this?

Have you ever seen a well looked after and aged pair of GG anywhere? There must be lots of close to 10 year old shoes by now that have had TLC and where the leather is starting to look supple and well cared for. Don't think anyone can show a photo of a pair that has got better with age, and where the leather looks soft and well conditioned, and does not look dried up. Controversial I`m sure, but lets see pics to disqualify by view...

Take back my comments if this proves true, but still very concerned of the dryness and inability of the leathers to take conditioning...

Haven't owned pairs for that long, but my first G&G:'s were bought maybe three-four years ago or something like that, and has been used a lot. It's a pair of Cambridge in Vintage Cedar. I've said it before, this pair has one of the best leathers I've ever owned (together with a pair from Bestetti and a pair from Hiro Yanagimachi). Super supple, beautiful depth, and crease very little even though the fit isn't perfect. My other pair from the brand is maybe two-three years old and more standard in the leather quality, and might be true that it need some extra conditioning to not feel dry, still good though and what I'd expect from a premium brand.

Here's a couple of quite recent pics of my 3-4 year old Cambridge's:

 

[Tallcane]

Wearing those cambridges right now. Awesome shoes.

 

[findingthingsou]

Has anyone gotten a bespoke pair from GG recently? Cost/turnaround? Looking at maybe Oxford/a pair of loafers.

 

[daizawaguy]

Thanks for the answers. Let me show in photos what I was meaning. This is a photo of a 10 week old GG. Note the deep creases that will attract dust and dirt and seem to reject the creams. The white is the rejection of the sapphire cream and polishes. The creasing is also unnatural in shape, and is hard to feel.