Stephane Jimenez Bespoke Shoes

[Griffindork]

I don't think it's BS. Jimenez suddenly has a pretty active social media presence and I don't think it's unusual for a bunch of clothing enthusiasts to take notice on a board about clothes and shoes. Maybe mw313 cross posted to a few too many threads but it's a pretty minor offense if an offense at all. And it's clearly not advertising in any sense of the word. But if you are offended you can simply move on to the next thread.

 

[Griffindork]



How many of those 450 hours are spent doing _____?

He makes beautiful shoes, has his own aesthetics, but the best feature of his shoemaking awesomeness is his PR!!!

Its not often to have Paris Gentleman, ShoeSnob, etc to post all the same information at the same time!!

450hr/pair X 15 pair/year = 6750 hr/year. Or 26hr/ working day. Even split that between both him and his wife that's 13hr working days.

You've got it completely wrong. The boots took 450 hours to make. That doesn't mean that each of the 15 pairs he makes take as long. The time spent on the boots were presented as an extreme. Here is the real math: 15 pairs per year times 6000 euros equals 90000 euros. Median salary in Bordeaux is around 3000 euros per month.

 

[ecwy]

I don't think it's BS. Jimenez suddenly has a pretty active social media presence and I don't think it's unusual for a bunch of clothing enthusiasts to take notice on a board about clothes and shoes. Maybe mw313 cross posted to a few too many threads but it's a pretty minor offense if an offense at all. And it's clearly not advertising in any sense of the word. But if you are offended you can simply move on to the next thread.

Let's be clear about a few things.

1. I have nothing against Jimenez and good for him to get more attention. I just want it to be transparent and there are rules governing advertising on this forum.
2. If you believe mw313 has so many product shots without receiving it from Jimenez.. I have nothing to say. "Coincidentally" shoe snob blog has a similar set of images. Maybe everyone asked him for pictures at the same time!!
3. We should also ask if anyone got paid or receive some benefit to post/advertise any of this.
4. 90,000 euro a year less costs (random guess on how much costs are involved) would be like 60,000 euro a year?! I don't think bespoke shoe makers get paid as much as say bankers but that amount sounds quite low to me for such a specialized skill.

 

[chogall]



You've got it completely wrong. The boots took 450 hours to make. That doesn't mean that each of the 15 pairs he makes take as long. The time spent on the boots were presented as an extreme. Here is the real math: 15 pairs per year times 6000 euros equals 90000 euros. Median salary in Bordeaux is around 3000 euros per month.

Guess I was mislead.

Sales is not income and I think he and his wife work as a duo? So €6000 shoes, €4500 gross profit per pair. 15 pairs, for two, that's about €2800 per month per person. Pretty modest.

I wish him well, but Delos didn't join Berluti for no reason. It's very tough to make a living as a shoemaker. Very very tough.

 

[chogall]



I agree, along with the self-proclamation of mw313 as one of the shoe experts on SF. 

He is in nedical research for foot AFAIK, but not podiatrist/DPM. That's all.

 

[chogall]

What this thread needs is client reviews like the Delos or other shoemakers thread. But unfortunately most pictures are just PR shoots.

 

[Griffindork]



Let's be clear about a few things.

1. I have nothing against Jimenez and good for him to get more attention. I just want it to be transparent and there are rules governing advertising on this forum.
2. If you believe mw313 has so many product shots without receiving it from Jimenez.. I have nothing to say. "Coincidentally" shoe snob blog has a similar set of images. Maybe everyone asked him for pictures at the same time!!
3. We should also ask if anyone got paid or receive some benefit to post/advertise any of this.
4. 90,000 euro a year less costs (random guess on how much costs are involved) would be like 60,000 euro a year?! I don't think bespoke shoe makers get paid as much as say bankers but that amount sounds quite low to me for such a specialized skill.

Let's be clear about a few things.

1. I have nothing against Jimenez and good for him to get more attention. I just want it to be transparent and there are rules governing advertising on this forum.
2. If you believe mw313 has so many product shots without receiving it from Jimenez.. I have nothing to say. "Coincidentally" shoe snob blog has a similar set of images. Maybe everyone asked him for pictures at the same time!!
3. We should also ask if anyone got paid or receive some benefit to post/advertise any of this.
4. 90,000 euro a year less costs (random guess on how much costs are involved) would be like 60,000 euro a year?! I don't think bespoke shoe makers get paid as much as say bankers but that amount sounds quite low to me for such a specialized skill.

The "product shots" are from Jimenez's blog. MW313 didn't take them. He just copied and pasted them here. And go ahead and ask if him if he got paid to post.

 

[beargonefishing]

Not sure it matters, but I assumed the time spent making the motorcycle boots was an outlier. Presumably a pair of oxfords, derbys, or loafers would take something less than 450 hours. I am very skeptical, so I agree that the 450 hours for a single pair of shoes sounds like crop fertilizer.

In mw313's defense, I brought up the price/time information. I do not have any connection to the shoemaker or mw313, for what its worth.

 

[mw313]

Hi everyone. Sorry for taking so long to post but I've been busy in the OR for the past week.

The pricing as I was told from him is €6000.

He is only making 15 pairs a year according to him when I asked.

The crazy amount of hours isn't for every pair but only for the motorcycle boot.

In terms of only making 90,000 a year, you need to remember that there are plenty of bespoke makers who don't make that much money when they are on their own. To many of us on SF, that may not be a lot of money but shoe making is a trade and there are a ton of people on trade fields who make much less than that per year and still love comfortable and enjoy life if they are working in a field that they enjoy. And it is even better having his wife on board so they have time together. In our society today and especially on SF many people are so concerned about showing off and living in excess that they don't care about the enjoyment of simple things in life.

I know quite a few bespoke shoe makers who are on their own and just because some get a celebrity status on SF, doesn't mean that they are financially well off. Bespoke shoes take a lot of time to make and the prices are according to cost of materials, location of production/cost of living in that area, etc. There are US shoe makers who charge a lot as well and don't make a ton a year because they focus on the craft.

This is why you see many bespoke houses that are on the larger scale also offering RTW/MTO like GG, Corthay, Lobb, Berluti, etc. Juat so you know I spoke to a few of these brands recently and JL Paris is charging about $7500 right now which has gone down from the $8000+ they were last year. The price does go down about $1000 or so once you get your own last made.
Berluti is over $7000. I was told but haven't confirmed that Corthay is a little less. I was quoted for GG a while back but don't remember the current price so I don't want to misstate anything.

In terms of advertising, I know Justin and saw his post on the brand. In terms of this thread, I didn't see a thread on the brand so I had to contact them directly to get info on what they offer. After hearing directly from them, I decided to make a thread talking about the brand because I am interested in taking a step into them in the future but wanted to share what I've learned and get everyone else's opinions too. So this three is purely my own idea and hope to help others see another brand out there. Having multiple blogs post about him is probably just a coincidence but I guess you could contact the blogs directly to ask about that. I'm not involved in the blog side.

Also on the comment about the self proclaimed shoe expect, I have been called that many times and I have people constantly asking me questions on the threads as well as through direct PM. I am on the field of medicine focusing on biomechanics and reconstructive foot/ankle surgery as well general podiatry. I have done research on the effects of different components of shoes on long and short term foot health as well as effects on other orthopedic problems. I also work as a consultant for various shoe companies around the world. It is up to you as the reader to believe what I say but based on a number of my posts, you should be able to see my level of expertise in many facets of this industry. I do it as a favor to help teach and advise many members of SF but don't have to do it. I could just be like many others on here and just brag about my shoe purchases of which many I don't post about to not make others jealous.

I have friends who get busted on due to jealousy of other members not liking that we few spend 10s of thousands on shoes every year, because of our interest in the art, quality, and constant learning of ideas and creativity in this industry.

I hope that helps clear things up and have a nice day. Thank you for expressing your thoughts and concerns so if you need further explanation, just let me know and I'll do it when I'm not busy saving limbs and giving people the chance to walk and actually use the shoes that we love so much.

mw

 

[mw313]



Let's be clear about a few things.

1. I have nothing against Jimenez and good for him to get more attention. I just want it to be transparent and there are rules governing advertising on this forum.
2. If you believe mw313 has so many product shots without receiving it from Jimenez.. I have nothing to say. "Coincidentally" shoe snob blog has a similar set of images. Maybe everyone asked him for pictures at the same time!!
3. We should also ask if anyone got paid or receive some benefit to post/advertise any of this.
4. 90,000 euro a year less costs (random guess on how much costs are involved) would be like 60,000 euro a year?! I don't think bespoke shoe makers get paid as much as say bankers but that amount sounds quite low to me for such a specialized skill.

I asked him for photos of various shoes so I could post them on a thread so people could learn about the shoes and he sent them to me. That is probably why some are similar or the same as on some blog posts.

I didn't take note of which photos are where and just decided to post photos of different shoes as he finishes them. And just so you know if you didn't notice, some of these even have marks to show ownership of the photos by Jimenez.

No payment here. Just doing what I can to spread the name of a shoe maker who does beautiful work. I've done the same for some others.

The other comments were addressed in my previous post.

 

[mw313]



Guess I was mislead.

Sales is not income and I think he and his wife work as a duo? So €6000 shoes, €4500 gross profit per pair. 15 pairs, for two, that's about €2800 per month per person. Pretty modest.

I wish him well, but Delos didn't join Berluti for no reason. It's very tough to make a living as a shoemaker. Very very tough.

Exactly. It is a tough field so it is finacially better to join a large company to make a salary instead and not have to worry about overhead, etc.

 

[mw313]



He is in nedical research for foot AFAIK, but not podiatrist/DPM. That's all.

I'm actually both. I do general podiatry but focus on biomechanics / sports medicine as well as reconstructive orthopedic surgery. I also work as a consultant for various shoe companies around the world.

What this thread needs is client reviews like the Delos or other shoemakers thread. But unfortunately most pictures are just PR shoots.

Yea that would be nice but I haven't heard from any customers yet. I have not gotten a shoe yet either because my surgery schedule is too tough to make it to Europe right now and could only get a shoe if he would make it to the US.

 

[mw313]



The "product shots" are from Jimenez's blog. MW313 didn't take them. He just copied and pasted them here. And go ahead and ask if him if he got paid to post.

I didn't copy and paste them. I asked for photos from Jimenez and he sent them to me.

No I'm not getting paid. I've explained that in the previous post.

 

[ecwy]

I asked him for photos of various shoes so I could post them on a thread so people could learn about the shoes and he sent them to me. That is probably why some are similar or the same as on some blog posts.

I didn't take note of which photos are where and just decided to post photos of different shoes as he finishes them. And just so you know if you didn't notice, some of these even have marks to show ownership of the photos by Jimenez.

No payment here. Just doing what I can to spread the name of a shoe maker who does beautiful work. I've done the same for some others.

The other comments were addressed in my previous post.

Thank you for taking the time to clear things up. It is pretty clear to me the hi-res shots had to come from Jimenez directly. Not sure why agjiffy insists otherwise.

It would be a lot more helpful (for me anyway) if Jimenez has pics of the shoes on someone's feet that are already broken in. If all you post are product shots, it really begs the question of the motive of the thread.

Lastly, I was always taught self praise is no praise and your whole paragraph about being an expert really sounds (to me) like you are talking down to others. That is of course only my opinion and no offense meant.

 

[mw313]



Not sure it matters, but I assumed the time spent making the motorcycle boots was an outlier. Presumably a pair of oxfords, derbys, or loafers would take something less than 450 hours. I am very skeptical, so I agree that the 450 hours for a single pair of shoes sounds like crop fertilizer.

In mw313's defense, I brought up the price/time information. I do not have any connection to the shoemaker or mw313, for what its worth.

Exactly correct with the times. Those boots take a long time but the shoes are more reasonable depending on the level of details done to them.

Thank you for the defense.