My Balmoral Boots (or MTO Goodyear-welted Footwear in Vietnam)

[orlagu]

Greatly inspired by AnGeLiCbOrIs's thread, I've been wanting a pair of balmoral boots for myself. Luckily I've found a shoemaker that could make my wishes come true.
Some of you might remember my thread selling Goodyear-welted shoes a while back. The shoes were made by a company in Saigon who owned the only Goodyear welting machine in Vietnam at the time, outsourcing fine (or at least decent) footwear for (mainly) Japan market. Apparently the owner of that company frequented StyleForum, and was not extremely happy to see his sample/exhibited products/models which supposed to be exclusive for Japanese customers were selling on the Internet, which could cause serious trouble to his business in case the Japanese found out. He made his staff (who sold me the shoes) to contact me and asked me to remove the images/info or-she-could-lose-her-job, which I did.
Well I'm not gonna reveal my shoemaker's identity without his consent, but let's just say he has the experience, the expertise, well-equipped and well-staffed to make footwear of similar quality and the great thing is he-takes-custom-orders. Enough with the texts, now if my poor photography skill does not offend you guys, please allow me to showcase some newly taken pictures of my EG Shannon-styled balmoral and my friend (also a fellow forum member)'s G&G Burnham-styled chelsea. Both pairs used the same last and size.

under sunlight (pardon the messy background)

My friend (owner of the chelsea) has better photography skills and cameras than mine, so I will not insult his pride by posting bad quality pictures of his pair. Will borrow some pics of his when they're available, or let him post the pics himself. group shot - without flash

group shot - with flash

- Leather quality: decent-good. Shoemaker has access to better/premium leather, but not sure about the availability for custom orders. - Fit: great. I'm a EU 42/US 9/UK 8 in medium width, and these pairs - stamped 43 - fitted me nicely. Comfy (in the toes) but not big, sleek but not too snug. My pair is 309mm x 104mm. - Finish: we could all see in the pictures. Of course there are rooms for improvements (which I will gladly reveal upon requests), but overall I'm happy with my first order and will return for more. Much appreciate you guys' criticisms and comments.

 

[MBreinin]

Those look really nice to me. I approve.

Mike

 

[Marcellionheart]

They look great, mostly, but it almost looks like they need one more speed hook on the top...they sort of end a bit low on the boots, imo.

 

[chasingred]

I actually think one more speed hook would be too much. Most boots have only four. Plus, your pants will cover it up anyway. I never use the speedhook at the top of my Tyrwhitts; it just gets too tight for comfort at that point.

The boots look amazing. Esp those Chelseas, which may be the most handsome Chelseas I've ever seen. If you can, keep us updated as time goes on. I'm curious on how they wear. Congrats on such great purchases!

 

[clee1982]

now... how much...?

 

[snowballer]

please reveal the maker of these beauties

 

[Michael Ay329]

Thanks for posting...nice combo on the balmoral boots and the steel eyelets rock!!!

 

[AncientSoul]

Beautiful shoes. I would love to try a pair if they are set up for custom orders from overseas.

 

[orlagu]

Some update...

I placed another MTO commission with the shoemaker, this time a pair of Corthay Arca in 001 last, calf upper, GY-welted leather sole. Had the vamps lengthened so the gap wouldn't look too wide on my feet (it did in the original design).
This is how it turned out (pardon my photography skill

). I'm waiting for the lasted trees, which probably be available in a month.

Upon delivery and tried on, evening shoot, indoor:

After one wear and some polishing, outdoor:

These fit true to size, snugly but not uncomfortable. I wore them for 16 hours straight in the first outing, and my feet didn't hurt a bit.

 

[makewayhomer]

Nice. Cost? Lead time? Ordering process? Leather selection?

 

[Bentley]

These look nice...but I don't see the point of going bespoke for a pair of shoes that look not unlike many RTW shoes you could buy from a high quality shoe maker for much less money.

Unless you've got oddly sized/shaped feet or you're getting a super-good deal from your un-named source, I don't see the point.

Just sayin'.

 

[orlagu]

Well it's MTO, not bespoke. There are too many great designs out there, and my aesthetically disabled brain surely won't produce bespoke patterns anytime soon

. Plus (thankfully) my feet have normal shape and could easily fit in popular lasts, so this seems like a no-brainer choice for me.

And I never mentioned the price

.

 

[makewayhomer]

n/m

 

[Matt S]

Love the 2-eyelet derbies, my favourite style!

 

[ShayaEXQT]

wow, really hot boots!!