Old-School French Bespoke Brogues

[pejsek]

Here's an interesting pair of old bespoke half-brogues I picked up a few weeks ago. The maker is A. Rondepierre, 5 rue Volney, Paris (pres Opera). A google search shows a variety of tenants now at that location--the Kenyan Tourist Office, Chabad-Loubavitch Ctr, a pharmaceutical rep, and Serge Simitian's S'Coiffure. I have it on good authority that Corthay is down the street.

The trees are among the most beautiful and precisely-lasted I've seen:

Notice the high rolling curve on the outer side of the upper:

The shoes came from a gentleman who was also apparently a devoted Henry Maxwell customer. I don't know where Rondepierre stood in the pantheon of Parisian bespoke makers, but he was certainly favored by the well-heeled.

 

[AlanC]

Wow. Those shoe trees are incredible.

I hope the shoes came unused...

 

[chorse123]

Ditto on the shoe trees. Is there a reason, aside from the extra labor, why more custom trees aren't made this way? I don't travel a lot, but I hate having to carry heavy cedar trees or improvise with socks.

 

[edmorel]

Originally Posted by AlanC

I hope the shoes came unused...

The French don't sweat, so it's OK.

 

[AlanC]

Sweat is for farmer.

 

[pejsek]

Originally Posted by chorse123

Ditto on the shoe trees. Is there a reason, aside from the extra labor, why more custom trees aren't made this way? I don't travel a lot, but I hate having to carry heavy cedar trees or improvise with socks.

Good point, chorse. When I get hold of that digital camera again I'll post a comparison of bespoke trees. Lightness has long been a part of the bespoke tradition (unless you're going for the three-piece trees or those long-handled ones over on RJman's Delos thread). Henry Maxwell used a distinctive tree with the heel and toe pieces joined by a mechanism made of some sort of alluminum alloy. The hinged Lobb (St. James) trees were a typically staid affair made of very lightweight wood discretely hollowed out on the underside. These Rondepierre trees are far more flamboyant than either of those--almost seems a shame to put shoes around them.

 

[fritzl]

Very nice shoes. Lucky guy. For me not typical French, but typical bespoke, indeed.
Regarding the shoe-trees. I bought such on the fleamarket at the Naschmarkt/Vienna and will look for more, when I find the time. It's not around the corner anymore. Also it's an impulse to look, if there is somebody who can/will produce this stuff.

 

[saint]

Excellent shoes, but the laces have gotta go.

 

[pejsek]

What's wrong with the laces? Just curious.

 

[fritzl]

In this case, I find them very good. They give the shoe a nostalgic look.

But not in this case:

http://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=22970

 

[AlanC]

Originally Posted by fritzl

In this case, I find them very good. They give the shoe a nostalgic look.

But not in this case:

http://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=22970

Harumph. It's pejsek's fault.

 

[pejsek]

Well, I just don't get this at all. I'll certainly take my share of the responsibility since I did urge Alan to retain the original laces on the Polo cap-toes. But do you all really prefer those horrid round waxed laces?! They just seem so coarse and mean to me--not at all in keeping with an elegant shoe (like these bespokes or Alan's cap-toes). I wonder what you all might think of the true ribbon laces meant to be worn with formal shoes. Maybe we should just switch to improvised lengths of sisal twine.

 

[LabelKing]

I love ribbon laces. They are distinctive but still discreet and for formal shoes, the wider the better.

 

[dopey]

A ravenous Dutchman was believed to have tried to eat himself. Having failed to remove his shoes first, he choked on his shoelaces. While all suicides, other than amongst the vanguard of the realist movement, are necessarily tragic, I find there is something of an innocent charm in the contemplation of self-gustibation.

 

[fritzl]

Ok, let me go deeper in my personal shoe-laces world.

As i said, I like the ribbon laces on the black oxford. Nostalgic, etc.

Also on this example, I prefer the ribbons.
http://www.dailyshoes.de/forum/schuh...bevorzugt.html

On Alan's shoes I don't like either this waxed ones nor the ribbons.

The waxed are a bit to thin and not textured. There's much better stuff on the market.
The ribbons don't have the right tone of colour, also.
My personal suggestion for Alan's Oxford is a mid brown, waxed or not, round and not flat. e.g. like in the VASS catalogue

I wonder you guys spend so much time on antiquing your shoes, why don't give the laces a different colour with shoe cream?

Due to the fact, that the industry stopped to offer a good variety of colours and sizes(caliber). It's getting real tricky to reach good results.

Thanks for listening.

PS: Great shoe and relly a bargain. Enjoy it