Ordered a bunch of C&J and quite dissapointed... am I missing something?

[celeste_pista]

I suggest new feet. doctors in the carribean can do this for you at a reasonable rate.

 

[89826]

PG, give Aldens a try. You could start at BB to see some of their styles. Alden makes a variety of lasts that fit very differently: barrie, aberdeen, plaza, grant, and so on. BB has Aldens made on the barrie, aberdeen, and plaza lasts for sure.

Shoemart, which does a very good internet business, has a phenomenal selection.

 

[AlexE]

Originally Posted by pg600rr

Being a member here for quite some time I finally decided to get some C&J's. So last week I ordered 5 pairs of C&J (all different lasts) in my correct size to see what I like. Here are the lasts I got:

348
337
236
341
325

I was quite dissapointed in the fit of all of them... but maybe I am just expecting too much? I have not owned nor worn alot of dress shoes in my life so please let me know if my experience is normal.

It seems like all of them (although they fit comfortably length/width wise) left a large vacant space between the vamp of the shoe and my foot... This in turn created significant wrinkling in the leather of that area and just felt weird. i knwo the shoe will most likely not hug my foot in that area but this wasnt even close, regardless of the last...

Besides the above major pet peeve, the 236 just felt too frumpy and Trad. But the worst was the 348 Hallam, the area described above literally pinched my foot, so bad it hurt to the point of being unable to wear them, I dont know if it was just the wrinkling of the leather of the cap toe stitch part bending into my toes.

The only possibly bearable one, was the 337.

My old Bruno Magli 'Maioco' captoes fit/felt 100x better than the Hallam, no gap in the vamp area of the shoe.

Well, you buying the wrong size has nothing to do with C&J being bad shoes.

So you live in Boston. Why don't you get on the train down to NYC on a Saturday morning, go to the C&J store and try different sizes for all the lasts you like. Figure out which size / last combinations work and then order online.

The excuse that you can't try does not really count for someone living in Boston. Especially since Barneys at Copley Place carries a selection of C&J's - they definitely have the 337 and 348 last!

 

[AlexE]

Originally Posted by 89826

PG, give Aldens a try.

Since he was interested in C&J 348 last, I have my doubts that he'll like the uber-conservative styling of Alden

 

[REguy]

Good luck getting fit in NY. I was in there the other day trying to find the right fit on the 341. The guy helping me, and I'm using help loosely, literally threw up his hands after I tried on two different sizes and said he had nothing in the store that would fit me because my feet are too narrow. Now, I'm a 10D US all day long, sometimes even E. He went on to tell me the pair of EGs I was wearing were too wide as well. I thanked him for the advice and left.

 

[Dewey]

I find that C&J, AS, and Tricker's run short for the size of the ankle and instep, compared to Alden and AE. Grenson not so much.

Maybe these lasts were designed for men who never went barefoot? I don't know why they are shaped like this.

I am good using a tongue cushion to fill that extra space under the laces.

 

[Redwoood]

Originally Posted by sartorialini

what a great idea. Lets not forget the patent pending EG mechanism by which the EG when being worn the 1st time, makes measurements and reconfigures to the correct foot shape

unfortunately CJ does not support this EG only feature

I wonder if the shoes being sold by this 3000 post luminary support a similar feature, or if after you buy his couture shoes and they don't fit , you will have to bear with them

Dude, instead of your misplaced sarcasm, why don't you go and save some C&J Handgrades from causing climate change?
Apart from the fact that you completely misread what he wrote, Onix has forgotten more about shoes than you will probably ever know.

 

[Luddite]

Originally Posted by chet31

For many of us, if we want EGs or C&Js, the Internet is the only option. As a customer, I am fine paying shipping both ways to try on shoes I do not have access to. As an online seller, I would recognize this and live with the fact I am going to get returns in exchange for sales I would not otherwise have had.

Sure. But it's one thing to order one (or even two!) shoes of slightly different sizes/lasts, hoping that they'll fit...and another to order five fully expecting to return four, which I suspect is what happened here.

I remember a thread here a long time ago where someone complained about getting blocked from an online store where he had returned something like 70-80% of what he ordered. At that stage, people are basically just taking the piss. Once it gets to that stage, I imagine that the retailer's profit margins are starting to get a bit minimal.

 

[krawlx]

Like the OP, I found that C&Js simply don't fit my feet that well. Unlike the OP, I tried multiple sizes and widths and then realized they simply didn't fit. My question is this: at what point is it no longer because of the shapes of the feet of the people but a mistake in the last?

I am NOT saying that I think there is a mistake. C&J makes beautiful shoes and I am envious of people that can wear them. They just happen to not fit my foot. But if this problem becomes more and more common for any brand then at some point the shoe maker has to take some responsibility, no? Is C&J being somewhat let off the hook because they have such beautiful shoes? If people were having the same problems with a less respected shoe maker would the responses primarily be that the problem is in the individuality of the foot?

 

[viator]

Originally Posted by sartorialini

As for this Onix character, being new to the forum . . .
Wow you really just showed up here guns blazing, didn't you?

 

[tim_horton]

Originally Posted by REguy

Good luck getting fit in NY. I was in there the other day trying to find the right fit on the 341. The guy helping me, and I'm using help loosely, literally threw up his hands after I tried on two different sizes and said he had nothing in the store that would fit me because my feet are too narrow. Now, I'm a 10D US all day long, sometimes even E. He went on to tell me the pair of EGs I was wearing were too wide as well. I thanked him for the advice and left.

The first time I went there I had a very similar experience, and the store was nearly empty.

I went back about... six months later? Completely different experience, and the service was great. The SA was a woman with a British accent. She was very helpful.

 

[Redwoood]

Originally Posted by sartorialini

[...]
As for this Onix character, being new to the forum i don't know how much he knows, i just know that his suggestion is crass ( 5 CJ hand-grades are worth 3 or 4 EGs, after all).
[...]

The fact that you can't tell handgrade from benchgrade lasts tells me everything I need to know about your knowledge level.

 

[SkinnyGoomba]

With a brand that is new to you it's important to try on a few sizes in the store before you decide. I had an idea of what would work for me in C&J and ended up a full size down from there and a completely different last. Tried on probably 5-10 pair of shoes.

Here's the trick though, I bought a pair. You have no business trying on 10pr of shoes in a retail store if you have no intention to buy any.

 

[Son Of Saphir]

Originally Posted by pg600rr

well that is a fuckin bummer... I had already picked out a number of styles I really liked and was goin to stock my dress shoe collection... now back to the drawing board!

Stocking a good collection take many year.
No need to rush.

 

[onix]

Originally Posted by sartorialini

As for this Onix character, being new to the forum i don't know how much he knows, i just know that his suggestion is crass ( 5 CJ hand-grades are worth 3 or 4 EGs, after all). So unless he is your guru, gay lover, partner in crime/commerce i dont see what this has to do with you.

On the other hand CJ handgrade cremation is a serious matter and people who deny global warming- like you- are a danger to our way of life. Just because the raising oceans will not flood Alberta does not mean we shouldnt be worried about it

They're CJ benchgrade.

Originally Posted by sartorialini

It seems there is a concerted campaign against CJ benefiting EG in this forum.

http://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=227575
Happy?