Question regarding edward green shoes

[marc39]

I'm having my first pair of Edward Green bespoke shoes made, in an *antique* brown color, but I hear conflicting thoughts on their antiquing coloring process. One person suggested that he prefers shoes to age naturally and doesn't like the antique coloration as it's artificial. As I'm spending a few thousand dollars, I'd like to make the rigt decision, so I'd appreciate your thoughts on antiquing. Thanks, Marc

 

[A Harris]

By all means have them antiqued. They won't be Edward Green's without their incomparable finish. There is a big difference between Edward Green's antiquing process and the Berluti finish Kai was referring to. Both are works of art but I think Edward Green's method looks better after the shoes have been worn.

 

[MPS]

The Greens will look exquisite - as A. Harris mentions, they're a far cry from the eccentric finish of Berluti. Did you go for one of their exotic leathers? I understand that the head of their bespoke service is partial to skins from a breed of South American fighting pig.

As an aside, I should also mention that I have a friend whose father is a shoe designer who works for John Lobb - he actually recommended Edward Green to me because he thinks that they use the best leathers available to shoemakers.

 

[bengal-stripe]

"Antique calf" as Edward Green uses it comes from the tannery with random blotches of a darker shade applied to the leather. It is then the skill of the clicker (cutter) to align these blotches to the important part of the shoe. Once the shoe is completed, the last stage of production is the finish. The shoe gets treated with stains, creams and snake oils of every description to get that antique look. The finisher can accentuate the antique thing or he can calm it down. Have a look at this Japanese website and scroll down to "Finishing touches, Part Two" (particular the pair with one shoe unfinished and the other one finished): http://shoe-com-hp.hp.infoseek.co.jp/eg_tour02.htm It is up to you to decide how much or how little antique look you prefer. The samples of bespoke shoes shown on site look absolutely exquisite and glowing: http://www.edwardgreen.co.uk/Events/index.htm I'm sure you won't get anything less. But as you are paying, and a great deal at that, you can ask for some service. Let them prepare three samples of your chosen leather (not to small, 10"x10"), with light, medium and heavy antiquing and then make your choice. If you ask an interior decorator to paint an armoire, they would equally come up with colour-charts of the various finishes. Edward Green even offers bespoke shoes in bullfrog. How does that look like? But of course, should your bullfrog shoes squeak, they might well say: "Sir, that's the nature of the beast."

 

[A Harris]

But of course, should your bullfrog shoes squeak, they might well say: "Sir, that's the nature of the beast."

 

[jcusey]

Edward Green even offers bespoke shoes in bullfrog. How does that look like? But of course, should your bullfrog shoes squeak, they might well say: "Sir, that's the nature of the beast."

I e-mailed Mr. Gaziano from Edward Green to ask what bullfrog leather looks like. Here's what he replied:

Bull frog is a very interesting skin, It is very strong and durable, It would also be as flexible as calf, It comes in four colours, dark brown,black,tan and light tan, it is small bumpy circular reptile like skin and tends to come with a darker and lighter patches varying over the skin which add's to it's character, If you like Alligator and Lizard you will probably like this as it is a truly beautiful and individual skin, but still not to everybodys taste.

That helps somewhat, but I'm still not sure that I can visualize it correctly.

 

[T4phage]

Originally posted by j.cusey:

I e-mailed Mr. Gaziano from Edward Green to ask what bullfrog leather looks like. Here's what he replied:

Quote

Bull frog is a very interesting skin, It is very strong and durable, It would also be as flexible as calf, It comes in four colours, dark brown,black,tan and light tan, it is small bumpy circular reptile like skin and tends to come with a darker and lighter patches varying over the skin which add's to it's character, If you like Alligator and Lizard you will probably like this as it is a truly beautiful and individual skin, but still not to everybodys taste.



That helps somewhat, but I'm still not sure that I can visualize it correctly.

I think there is a picture of a bullfrog shoe on the Aubercy website, in the "sur measure" section, under the "materials".

 

[jcusey]

I think there is a picture of a bullfrog shoe on the Aubercy website, in the "sur measure" section, under the "materials".

You mean this one?

If so, the green color isn't my cup of tea, but maybe the effect would be better in brown.

 

[T4phage]

Quote:

I think there is a picture of a bullfrog shoe on the Aubercy website, in the  "sur measure" section, under the "materials".
You mean this one?

If so, the green color isn't my cup of tea, but maybe the effect would be better in brown.
yep.. You know what, there is a strange part of me that likes that color, but am afraid that my wife will disavow me if I even consider it

. Â I think the price will be at least as expensive as Lattanzi, maybe more.

 

[jcusey]

You know what, there is a strange part of me that likes that color, but am afraid that my wife will disavow me if I even consider it

. I think the price will be at least as expensive as Lattanzi, maybe more.

I've seen pictures of Aubercy's signature Xavier wholecut in a deep forrest green, and it looks really good. I think that the lighter green could actually work on someone with the style and the confidence to carry it off, but I'm sure that I'm not that person. Have you ever seen Aubercy shoes, either RTW or bespoke, in person? The pictures that I've seen on the Aubercy website, the souliers.net site, and some of the Japanese shoe Appreciation sites make me drool, but I haven't been able to locate someone (other than M. Aubercy, who is very helpful but hardly unbiased) with firsthand experience.

 

[T4phage]

Originally posted by jcusey:

Have you ever seen Aubercy shoes, either RTW or bespoke, in person?...

Yes, it was a split toe. Very sleek and enlongated with a strange treatment of the split - it is almost invisible, the only other similar treatment of the toe I've seen that is like that is from Santoni. I originally thought the shoe was from Berluti.

As for quality, the leather looked really fine and the owner said that he has had it for five years and wears it frequently.

 

[T4phage]

Have you guys read A.Harris' "12 Step" treatise in the "Buying and Selling" section, topic "incredible shoe deals"?

Most funny..

 

[bengal-stripe]

I might be wrong, but I believe the Aubercy shoes are made from stingray. Story about stingray shoes: http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/thisw...103954,00.html Picture of the leather http://www.siamleathergoods.com/leathersamples.htm I think stingray looks pretty awful, rather like plastic, but to each one his own. (Tim Little did once a shoe with stingray, a moccasin with the vamp [lake] in stingray and the rest in plain, old calf.) T4phage if you get those green Aubercy shoes (be they stingray or bullfrog) you will gain at least 20 points on the Metrosexual scale.

 

[jcusey]

I might be wrong, but I believe the Aubercy shoes are made from stingray. I think stingray looks pretty awful, rather like plastic, but to each one his own. (Tim Little did once a shoe with stingray, a moccasin with the vamp [lake] in stingray and the rest in plain, old calf.)

Here's an Aubercy shoe that I know is stingray:

That white diamond pattern is the stingray signature, and I don't see it on the green shoes (the white at the toes is glare, I think). I also don't think that I've ever seen stingray that wasn't black. I don't think that stingray looks particularly good, but it's pretty amazing to touch: not like leather at all, but more like a sheet of small polished pebbles. Frankly, I can't imagine making anything other than cowboy boots out of it.

 

[T4phage]

Originally posted by Bengal-Stripe:

T4phage if you get those green Aubercy shoes (be they stingray or bullfrog) you will gain at least 20 points on the Metrosexual scale..

OW, OW, OW...... That was a beaut of a zinger...

I DID say that a "strange part of me" liked the shoe

, and my wife who saw the picture told me she would divorce me if I did... p.s Bengal-Stripe, my wife thinks you are making me into a bit of a snob (I complained to her that my Tod's were Blake and that they leaked, and said that I would never buy Blake's again).