The Bespoke Shoes Thread

[dauster]

Very interesting read about GC in earlier post...

just came back from the trunk show in San Francisco and it confirmed what I already expected ... GC's are not for me... Maybe Cleverly Sr. did not appreciate my "browsing" but the whole thing did not last more than 10 minutes. I had specifically asked about trying on semi-bespoke via email, which turns out is higher quality RTW and they did not have anything for that... Can't say that he was unfriendly or anything but I did not feel the need to order anything. I guess I was looking to be "WOW'd" which did not happen. Hate to say it but felt like I was in any other regular department store looking around - was hoping it would be a pleasant experience like with Krishan from RA or Steve Gentlemen's Footwear... Of course cannot comment on the quality of the shoes...

 

[dieworkwear]

Very interesting read about GC in earlier post...

just came back from the trunk show in San Francisco and it confirmed what I already expected ... GC's are not for me... Maybe Cleverly Sr. did not appreciate my "browsing" but the whole thing did not last more than 10 minutes. I had specifically asked about trying on semi-bespoke via email, which turns out is higher quality RTW and they did not have anything for that... Can't say that he was unfriendly or anything but I did not feel the need to order anything. I guess I was looking to be "WOW'd" which did not happen. Hate to say it but felt like I was in any other regular department store looking around - was hoping it would be a pleasant experience like with Krishan from RA or Steve Gentlemen's Footwear... Of course cannot comment on the quality of the shoes...

You dodged a bullet, IMO. Service is terrible and somehow the shoes manage to be even worse.

 

[dauster]

You dodged a bullet, IMO. Service is terrible and somehow the shoes manage to be even worse.

Well based on your experience definitely. Actually quite shocked it was this bad. Also with the experience texasmade has had with JL even though it did not appear to be as bad. Makes me reconsider dropping crazy money on a pair of Berlutis next year.... Nicholas Templeman here I come

 

[ixk]

While Berluti's RTW is more than slightly overpriced, their bespoke department is second to none. Anthony Delos is an excellent shoemaker, and he has access to all the leathers from the LVMH group.

 

[Texasmade]

The service with JL has been top notch. Of course it helps that I live in a city that has a boutique. Paul, David, and the Houston team have always been friendly and responsive to my concerns.

I also commissioned a pair with Corthay and one of the SA’s has always treated me well. He took my friends and I out to dinner the last time I was in Paris.

I met George Glasgow Sr. in London once. Very friendly guy but wasn’t too great on selling me on using Cleverly for bespoke shoes. I looked at the samples and while nicer than RtW; they were no where near the level of JLSJ, JLP, G&G, Berluti, or Corthay. If you really wanted bespoke shoes and were on a tight budget, then Cleverly is the way to go.

 

[ixk]

If you're on a budget you hop on the Eurostar and go see Dimitri Gomez. Philippe Atienza has an incredible CV and is barely more expensive than Gomez.

 

[dieworkwear]

Well based on your experience definitely. Actually quite shocked it was this bad. Also with the experience texasmade has had with JL even though it did not appear to be as bad. Makes me reconsider dropping crazy money on a pair of Berlutis next year.... Nicholas Templeman here I come

It's genuinely hard for me to think of ways my orders with Templeman could have been improved.

If you want a straightaway experience where you just order shoes, such as you would at any other company, you can do that. You just go, pick your leather and style, and basically pay for your order. That's basically how it goes with Cleverley.

But if you want to be pickier about the details, it's crazy how specific you can get. I mean, you want to be a reasonable person and not over-the-top. But I've sent Nicholas photos of the exact toe shape I wanted, sent him long emails, and even called him over the phone. Since I'm in California, afternoon my time, which is convenient for me, is night time for him. But it works cause I'm working with a maker directly and not a brand.

I couldn't even get a straightaway order correct through Clev. I can't imagine specifying things to this level of detail.

I also remember receiving my second order, which was for that JM Weston inspired split toe. That's the order I got super nit-picky about. At the end of it, I was at the hotel room with him looking over the final delivery. And I noticed a split-and-lift stitch used for the side seam, which I wasn't expecting. I thought it was going to be a normal stitch. Nicholas decided that a split-and-lift stitch would look better, but seeing me surprised by the detail, he even offered to remake the shoes. (I ended up liking my shoes and kept them).

Similarly, two friends of mine said that Nicholas asked to take back his shoes after seeing them worn for a while because he spotted something that the client didn't even see. Just cause he wanted to adjust them.

Compare that, again, to Cleverley. Shoes rock back and forth, and people are trying to figure out if that's the twisted last.

But most of all, I'm finding that big-name houses are more like brands. It almost feels MTO by comparison. I like that Nicholas is plain-spoken and doesn't fluff things up. He also knows his craft really well and you can talk to him about shoemaking because he's an actual shoemaker. When you're working with a salesperson, it's just not the same thing. I find it off-putting when the sales pitch is about how so-and-so celebrity ordered this shoe, and how such-and-such famous person bought this other thing. I felt like I put up with it at Cleverly, and then at the end, with all that happened, it just left a sour taste in my mouth.

I think in one of Kirby's videos, he mentioned that Cleverly had a "limited edition" alligator leather for their 60th year anniversary or whatever. I'm all for the romance of clothing -- genuinely -- but at some point, you have to wonder how this differs from ordering from one of those companies featured in Robb Report stories.

Another show of good, honest work from Nicholas:

 

[Texasmade]

If you're on a budget you hop on the Eurostar and go see Dimitri Gomez. Philippe Atienza has an incredible CV and is barely more expensive than Gomez.

Eurostar doesn’t exist in Texas. For Cleverly’s faults, the one thing they do well is travel to a bunch of cities regularly to see clients.

 

[ixk]

Eurostar doesn’t exist in Texas. For Cleverly’s faults, the one thing they do well is travel to a bunch of cities regularly to see clients.

For sure, yeah.

Feels like the best solution would be to organise a group bespoke fitting session from a smaller maker.

 

[dauster]

While Berluti's RTW is more than slightly overpriced, their bespoke department is second to none. Anthony Delos is an excellent shoemaker, and he has access to all the leathers from the LVMH group.

The question is will I be dealing with Delos only if requested and starting the process in Paris- still waiting on a response from the Paris boutique about working with Delos directly- would be ideal for sure.

 

[dauster]

If you're on a budget you hop on the Eurostar and go see Dimitri Gomez. Philippe Atienza has an incredible CV and is barely more expensive than Gomez.

Good suggestions but both Gomez and atienza don’t speak to me that much in terms of design. Of course they make great shoes...thanks though

 

[dauster]

It's genuinely hard for me to think of ways my orders with Templeman could have been improved.

If you want a straightaway experience where you just order shoes, such as you would at any other company, you can do that. You just go, pick your leather and style, and basically pay for your order. That's basically how it goes with Cleverley.

But if you want to be pickier about the details, it's crazy how specific you can get. I mean, you want to be a reasonable person and not over-the-top. But I've sent Nicholas photos of the exact toe shape I wanted, sent him long emails, and even called him over the phone. Since I'm in California, afternoon my time, which is convenient for me, is night time for him. But it works cause I'm working with a maker directly and not a brand.

I couldn't even get a straightaway order correct through Clev. I can't imagine specifying things to this level of detail.

I also remember receiving my second order, which was for that JM Weston inspired split toe. That's the order I got super nit-picky about. At the end of it, I was at the hotel room with him looking over the final delivery. And I noticed a split-and-lift stitch used for the side seam, which I wasn't expecting. I thought it was going to be a normal stitch. Nicholas decided that a split-and-lift stitch would look better, but seeing me surprised by the detail, he even offered to remake the shoes. (I ended up liking my shoes and kept them).

Similarly, two friends of mine said that Nicholas asked to take back his shoes after seeing them worn for a while because he spotted something that the client didn't even see. Just cause he wanted to adjust them.

Compare that, again, to Cleverley. Shoes rock back and forth, and people are trying to figure out if that's the twisted last.

But most of all, I'm finding that big-name houses are more like brands. It almost feels MTO by comparison. I like that Nicholas is plain-spoken and doesn't fluff things up. He also knows his craft really well and you can talk to him about shoemaking because he's an actual shoemaker. When you're working with a salesperson, it's just not the same thing. I find it off-putting when the sales pitch is about how so-and-so celebrity ordered this shoe, and how such-and-such famous person bought this other thing. I felt like I put up with it at Cleverly, and then at the end, with all that happened, it just left a sour taste in my mouth.

I think in one of Kirby's videos, he mentioned that Cleverly had a "limited edition" alligator leather for their 60th year anniversary or whatever. I'm all for the romance of clothing -- genuinely -- but at some point, you have to wonder how this differs from ordering from one of those companies featured in Robb Report stories.

Another show of good, honest work from Nicholas:

Indeed sounds amazing and the fact that he visits the Bay Area even better. I am indeed looking for a boot maker that I can order many shoes from. Maybe I’ll try Nicholas once he visits the bay again.

Hopefully I’ll have the balls to go for some Berlutis next summer - I really like Delos’s work ...

as always styleforum is awesome in sharing feedback - thanks to everyone here- everybody (including my wife) thinks I have gone crazy lately trying to update my wardrobe...

 

[dauster]

The service with JL has been top notch. Of course it helps that I live in a city that has a boutique. Paul, David, and the Houston team have always been friendly and responsive to my concerns.

I also commissioned a pair with Corthay and one of the SA’s has always treated me well. He took my friends and I out to dinner the last time I was in Paris.

I met George Glasgow Sr. in London once. Very friendly guy but wasn’t too great on selling me on using Cleverly for bespoke shoes. I looked at the samples and while nicer than RtW; they were no where near the level of JLSJ, JLP, G&G, Berluti, or Corthay. If you really wanted bespoke shoes and were on a tight budget, then Cleverly is the way to go.

In earlier posts it sounded like you weren’t too happy how your JLs turned out in terms of fit but maybe I was reading too
much into it - as always

 

[Texasmade]

The initial fit was off as there was too much volume in the toe box. I have really wide feet and it felt like they over compensated to give my feet room to flex the shoe while walking without my pinky toes rubbing. I told Paul when he was in Houston last December that there was too much space. He saw them on my feet and marked them up to send back to Paris. They redid the uppers and reduced all of the volume out so the fit is much better now.

 

[poorsod]

Years ago I went to a GC trunk show to order a case made from their Reindeer leather. Glasgow Sr was upset that I didn’t make a bespoke shoe order too. That turned me off from them

The initial fit was off as there was too much volume in the toe box. I have really wide feet and it felt like they over compensated to give my feet room to flex the shoe while walking without my pinky toes rubbing. I told Paul when he was in Houston last December that there was too much space. He saw them on my feet and marked them up to send back to Paris. They redid the uppers and reduced all of the volume out so the fit is much better now.

have you posted pics of your JLP? It’s been too rich for my blood but these days G&G is getting up there in $$$ too. Manton used to talk about the density of the JLP sole. Do you notice if the soles feel different.