John Lobb Appreciation Thread

[dukenukem4ever]

Honestly to me the Phillip IIs look amazing. I didn’t really focus much on the wrinkles from your photo. As long as they are comfortable on your feet and you can rock them with confidence it’s all good bruv.
Btw does JL take exchanges or store credit? Haha maybe you can bring them in along with your Carminas and make a statement.

 

[Jean-H]

Check this out:

A Guide to Leather

There are many different types of leathers that are used on footwear these days. And … A Guide to Leather Read More »

www.theshoesnobblog.com

Good article. Re creasing,

“For creasing, well this will depend on the quality of the skin as I have seen Box calf hardly crease at all and then some that creased worse than anything else.”

 

[jischwar]

I am thinking about acquiring a pair of English made dress shoes. In terms of quality of materials, how does JL wear over time compared to G & G and EG?

I've only owned GG for a short time so I'll compare JL and EG that are 10+ years old. I would say they wear very similarly and it really just comes down to aesthetic and care. Only thing that happened on my JL Chapel's was that the keepers on the straps tore off, but they were promptly fixed for free. Leathers have aged beautifully imo and construction is solid on both.

 

[dukenukem4ever]

Can't afford the Chapels so I was thinking about getting a similar looking pair off of Kent Wang... he calls it a "rakish" look.

 

[Jean-H]

Honestly to me the Phillip IIs look amazing. I didn’t really focus much on the wrinkles from your photo. As long as they are comfortable on your feet and you can rock them with confidence it’s all good bruv.
Btw does JL take exchanges or store credit? Haha maybe you can bring them in along with your Carminas and make a statement.

Honestly to me the Phillip IIs look amazing. I didn’t really focus much on the wrinkles from your photo. As long as they are comfortable on your feet and you can rock them with confidence it’s all good bruv.
Btw does JL take exchanges or store credit? Haha maybe you can bring them in along with your Carminas and make a statement.

I agree that the last is elegant and the fit is good (The direction of the creases is horizontal). The statement I’m trying to make is that I’m a bit disappointed by their failure to maintain consistent quality of leather among the two shoes.

 

[Encore]

I am thinking about acquiring a pair of English made dress shoes. In terms of quality of materials, how does JL wear over time compared to G & G and EG?

In that price range, unless that's a particular iconic style (i.e. Dover) that you are looking for, otherwise I would recommend Foster & Son

 

[Deeky]

I honestly don't see anything wrong with your shoes. The way your left feet moves from your right can be very different, which explains the creases. Most people have one feet slightly larger than the other, or slightly longer, and walk with a slightly different gait. This is not unusual.

 

[Deeky]

You could also try the criminally underrepresented Alfred Sargent (especially the handgrade range). They are really very good, but the distribution is utterly shambolic. Takes alot of effort to track down a pair.

 

[Manuel]

Recently bought a pair of Philip II from JL’s official store and was surprised by the leather quality. Look at the creases om the left shoe. It reminds me of my Carmina. View attachment 1409233

Nothing happens, it's simple, those pieces were cut from different areas.

 

[Jean-H]

I honestly don't see anything wrong with your shoes. The way your left feet moves from your right can be very different, which explains the creases. Most people have one feet slightly larger than the other, or slightly longer, and walk with a slightly different gait. This is not unusual.

I totally agree with you regarding the movement of feet which leads to different forms of creases. However, the fineness of the creases is determined by the quality of leather and the area/position the leather pieces cut from, am I correct?

 

[Deeky]

I totally agree with you regarding the movement of feet which leads to different forms of creases. However, the fineness of the creases is determined by the quality of leather and the area/position the leather pieces cut from, am I correct?

I'm not an expert, but I would say no. There are experts here in the forum that you might want to contact to ask, but to my knowledge, different types of leather crease differently. Even amongst standard "smooth boxcalf", the last/design of the shoe, coupled with your gait can lead to very different creasing. But ultimately, if you are not satisfied with your shoes one way or another, you should just try to get a refund or never purchase from them again because it will just cause you heartache everytime you look at it, regardless of whatever people might say here

 

[sforum1]

I've only owned GG for a short time so I'll compare JL and EG that are 10+ years old. I would say they wear very similarly and it really just comes down to aesthetic and care. Only thing that happened on my JL Chapel's was that the keepers on the straps tore off, but they were promptly fixed for free. Leathers have aged beautifully imo and construction is solid on both.

LOL
The keepers on the straps fell off, yet the construction is solid. LOL. And now we are talking about a $2000 shoe. Well put, well said. This is precisely the reason why JL's prices are moving astronomically high while the quality goes down. They must be reading this kind of reviews.

Because people pay $2000 for these shoes and they want to feel good about it, they cannot be honest even when they are being honest.

 

[sforum1]

If I had a penny every time I saw someone complain about their precious JLs and how they are not as durable and well made as the $2000 they paid would suggest, well, I would have a lot of money to buy myself a new pair even at these prices. But what good would it do me if the straps fell off?

John Lobb - durability concerns

(Note: I have several "nicer" shoes including C&J, EG, Kiton; this is not an "expensive shoes are bad" post!) I have a pair of John Lobb Becketts. 8000 last, and I believe they are in "black museum calf." I've had them maybe a couple of years now; I wear them about once a month. So, about 20...

www.styleforum.net

 

[sforum1]

I am thinking about acquiring a pair of English made dress shoes. In terms of quality of materials, how does JL wear over time compared to G & G and EG?

Quite honestly it bothers me that people will not call it for what it is. JL is at the bottom. Let me say this and someone can say otherwise. If you care about construction and longevity, for example, let's start with stitching. Of the top brands, G&G comes ahead by a far margin. Of the 20+ pairs I have owned, I never saw loose stitching or stitching that was not done properly in some way. EG and JL, on the other hand, all the time. All the time. In my opinion, the stitching is what should separate an expensive pair from one that's in the $200-400 range. G&G does not belong in this category of shoes when you hold them up and examine them carefully. EG to me is a big disappointment in that regard and so is JL. In terms of leather I would put JL at the bottom between the 3. JL I have also seen the outsole where the closed stitching is done, that portion of the leather they pull back to do the stitching to come unglued in no time.

Oh, speaking of stitching, Vass way better than both EG and JL.

 

[jischwar]

LOL
The keepers on the straps fell off, yet the construction is solid. LOL

Because people pay $2000 for these shoes, they cannot be honest even when they are honest.

We get it, obviously you are not a fan of Lobb, but you are posting in an "appreciation" thread. When I think about monk strap shoes, a keeper popping off because I pulled at the strap too hard is akin to snapping laces by tying them too hard.

The leather feels and looks just as good as it did 10 years ago and everything else about the shoes is solid. Btw the keeper thing happened in the first year of ownership and hasn't happened since.