PeteK
New Member
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2014
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Hi gang! I thought I'd start off my posting with a story of my experience with Perry Ercolino, one of the very (very!) few bench-made bespoke shoemakers in the U.S.
While my bespoke shirt commissions from Freddy Vandecasteele (for which I owe a debt of gratitude to the good advice of forum members) were a planned part of restocking my wardrobe after losing significant weight, being able to work with Perry wasn't part of my plan, but more being in the right place at the right time than anything else.
After spending a good bit of time reading (and fantasizing) about the various top shoe makers, I had looked at Perry's web site a few times and liked what I saw. I put that in the back of my mind, however, as I also drooled over the Lobb and G&G offerings as well. Fast forward a few months to mid-October and I found myself traveling to the NASTAR center in Eastern PA to take part in an FAA study on g-force tolerance. On the second day, one of the participants doing the study with me mentioned that he had business in Doylestown. For some reason, I had remembered that that was where Perry's workshop was located, so I tagged along with him and a few others to ride out to Doylestown, thinking that I might stop in and least take a look at the workshop.
By the time we got there, it was late afternoon. I stopped in and Perry greeted the group of us. It turns out he's an incredibly pleasant and friendly guy. We spoke a bit about his shoes, his philosophy on shoemaking, and somewhere in there, I felt myself slip over the edge; I had to have a pair. Luckily, I had at least some sanity and will-power left, as I knew the bespoke shoes were well out of my price range, so we talked a bit about his Custom Measure line. While also expensive, it was a relative bargain (or so I told myself). I told Perry that I was leaving town the next morning, and asked if there any way he could measure me that afternoon. Even thought it was getting fairly late, he graciously agreed, asking me to come back in a half hour to let him get ready. Luckily no one else in the group minded the wait, so I spent the next half hour wandering around beautiful Doylestown on pretty fall afternoon.
When I came back to Perry's workshop, he led me upstairs to the area where he does measurements and keeps the pelts. He also has a few shoes in various states of completion or refurbishment. According to Perry, he takes the same measurements for Custom Measure customers as he does for Bespoke, and I believe him. It took him about 1/2 hour to trace and measure my feet, all the while patiently answering my questions and those of the rest of the guys, who found the whole process captivating enough to stick around and watch. Since I hadn't planned on buying shoes that day, I certainly hadn't been thinking about styles and leathers. Perry and I decided to pick out a leather while I was there, and decide on a shoe style over email later. He took the time to show me various pelts (including the one remaining one he had of the ever-discussed Russian Reindeer pelts). I wanted a medium brown color, and Perry suggested a leather (unfortunately I forget what he called it) that picks up variations in color with wear. He cut me a swatch to take with me, I put a deposit down, and I went on my way. The measurement and selection process took about 2 hours.
After getting home, I thought about it some more, and asked him if he could make a whole-cut shoe with a slightly-squared toe that I saw on one of his other shoes. He said he had just the last and would get on it the next day, and he thought he might get them to me by the end of the year. He was close, but off only a few days, as they showed up yesterday! I think they're absolutely gorgeous! It's definitely noticeable how the leather darkened in the area where he worked the toebox on the last. It serves to slightly break up the shoe, similar to a cap, but more subtle. It stands out significantly in the pics, but not quite so much in person. All in all, I couldn't be happier with Perry, nor say enough things about how great he was to work with, especially with me dropping in at the last minute. The pictures from the workshop below were taken by one of the guys with me, who happens to be a photojournalist. The shoes were me with my cell phone. Sorry if this was a bit long-winded, but I hope you enjoyed the read.
While my bespoke shirt commissions from Freddy Vandecasteele (for which I owe a debt of gratitude to the good advice of forum members) were a planned part of restocking my wardrobe after losing significant weight, being able to work with Perry wasn't part of my plan, but more being in the right place at the right time than anything else.
After spending a good bit of time reading (and fantasizing) about the various top shoe makers, I had looked at Perry's web site a few times and liked what I saw. I put that in the back of my mind, however, as I also drooled over the Lobb and G&G offerings as well. Fast forward a few months to mid-October and I found myself traveling to the NASTAR center in Eastern PA to take part in an FAA study on g-force tolerance. On the second day, one of the participants doing the study with me mentioned that he had business in Doylestown. For some reason, I had remembered that that was where Perry's workshop was located, so I tagged along with him and a few others to ride out to Doylestown, thinking that I might stop in and least take a look at the workshop.
By the time we got there, it was late afternoon. I stopped in and Perry greeted the group of us. It turns out he's an incredibly pleasant and friendly guy. We spoke a bit about his shoes, his philosophy on shoemaking, and somewhere in there, I felt myself slip over the edge; I had to have a pair. Luckily, I had at least some sanity and will-power left, as I knew the bespoke shoes were well out of my price range, so we talked a bit about his Custom Measure line. While also expensive, it was a relative bargain (or so I told myself). I told Perry that I was leaving town the next morning, and asked if there any way he could measure me that afternoon. Even thought it was getting fairly late, he graciously agreed, asking me to come back in a half hour to let him get ready. Luckily no one else in the group minded the wait, so I spent the next half hour wandering around beautiful Doylestown on pretty fall afternoon.
When I came back to Perry's workshop, he led me upstairs to the area where he does measurements and keeps the pelts. He also has a few shoes in various states of completion or refurbishment. According to Perry, he takes the same measurements for Custom Measure customers as he does for Bespoke, and I believe him. It took him about 1/2 hour to trace and measure my feet, all the while patiently answering my questions and those of the rest of the guys, who found the whole process captivating enough to stick around and watch. Since I hadn't planned on buying shoes that day, I certainly hadn't been thinking about styles and leathers. Perry and I decided to pick out a leather while I was there, and decide on a shoe style over email later. He took the time to show me various pelts (including the one remaining one he had of the ever-discussed Russian Reindeer pelts). I wanted a medium brown color, and Perry suggested a leather (unfortunately I forget what he called it) that picks up variations in color with wear. He cut me a swatch to take with me, I put a deposit down, and I went on my way. The measurement and selection process took about 2 hours.
After getting home, I thought about it some more, and asked him if he could make a whole-cut shoe with a slightly-squared toe that I saw on one of his other shoes. He said he had just the last and would get on it the next day, and he thought he might get them to me by the end of the year. He was close, but off only a few days, as they showed up yesterday! I think they're absolutely gorgeous! It's definitely noticeable how the leather darkened in the area where he worked the toebox on the last. It serves to slightly break up the shoe, similar to a cap, but more subtle. It stands out significantly in the pics, but not quite so much in person. All in all, I couldn't be happier with Perry, nor say enough things about how great he was to work with, especially with me dropping in at the last minute. The pictures from the workshop below were taken by one of the guys with me, who happens to be a photojournalist. The shoes were me with my cell phone. Sorry if this was a bit long-winded, but I hope you enjoyed the read.
