The high end Chinese Shoe Thread

[clee1982]

Actually going to Hangzhou this summer for a bit wonder if I can do some get away from the in law to visit a few…

 

[Zipster1]

What is the top 3 Chinese Shoe brand now in tends of craftmanship and quality?

 

[zzzzzzzzhl]

What is the top 3 Chinese Shoe brand now in tends of craftmanship and quality?

The top two would unarguably be Acme and Oct Tenth. Third place could go to Jimjun, BW, or Yearn. I am not too sure because I am not very familiar with their specs (I do personally believe their shoes have less last definition comparing to the top two), so welcome anyone to add on that.

Acme's regular line is hand-welted, hand-lasted, with hand-stitched outsole at 10 spi (or 12? Sorry I forgot the detail). Great last definition. Fudging matches stitches very well so essentially "hidden stitches". Offsetted heel block from waist. Acme also has a Marvel line which is positioned as a more accessible one. Less last definition and the outsole is machine-stitched.

Oct's newly launched Metropolitan line is hand-welted, hand-lasted, with machine-stitched outsole. Great last definition. Fudging matches stitches pretty well but execution is not as neat as Acme. Offsetted heel block from waist.

 

[clee1982]

I thought there bunch other smaller guys, also TM love Jim Jun over the others and he got a lot of shoe (pretty sure his Jim Jun is bespoke though)

 

[JohnMRobie]

Acme's regular line is hand-welted, hand-lasted, with hand-stitched outsole at 10 spi (or 12? Sorry I forgot the detail). Great last definition. Fudging matches stitches very well so essentially "hidden stitches".

Any shoe with a hand stitched outsole will match the fudging…

 

[zzzzzzzzhl]

Any shoe with a hand stitched outsole will match the fudging…

Yes, you are entirely correct. Thanks for pointing that out, haha. I was thinking about execution of the fudging when I typed "very well" and didn't realize the obvious, so here is an edited response.

Acme: Handwelt construction with hand-stitched outsole, so fudging matches stitches. Finish of the fudging is great, by which I mean the dimples created by fudging are deep and neat.

Oct: Handwelt construction with machine-stitched outsole, so fudging doesn't entirely match stitches. Finish of the fudging is less impressive than Acme.

 

[ryanluo23]

ACME 8 series wholecut Chelsea

你喜欢吗？

 

[clee1982]

don’t need more Chelsea at the moment thought that looks sweet

 

[JohnMRobie]

Checking back in after having worn the ACMEs enough times that I’m able to provide at least some comparison - I’ll share longer term thoughts on the leather and how they hold up later on.

I was struggling to think of what the best comparisons would be to things in my collection. I initially thought about Saint Crispin but my sense was that StC and ACME, aside from price point, are so different that it didn’t make sense. I thought about G&G but a factory made Goodyear shoe didn’t make sense even though price was comparable and they’re both sleek. I thought about some independent MTM and bespoke makers but this pair from ACME was RTW not their MTM or bespoke.

Instead I settled on Yohei Fukuda RTW, Meccariello RTW and Yeossal MTO (with last modifications) with the hand sewn outsole upgrade. All on the sleeker side of things, all hand welted, all easy enough to order basically off the shelf.

Standard Disclaimer applies: These are all my shoes. I don’t review things often and don’t try to be an influencer and paid for all of these because I’m a sick person who has too many shoes. That being said I’m not a shoemaker, have no training and am just an idiot who likes clothes.

Price: The Fukuda’s are the most expensive at $2,300. ACME are next at $1,550. Yeossal came in third at ballpark $900-1,000 with options, last adjustments and the hand sewn sole upcharge and trees, Meccariello was least expensive at like €700 including shipping at trees (price has gone up since then.)

Components and make: Leather on shoes at this price point should all be good and it is so it is more down to leather properties and what you’re after than whether or not it’s good leather from a good tannery. The Fukuda leather feels a bit more supple and is split a little thicker. The ACME leather feels a bit more dense and is split a little thinner. The Meccariello leather is a crust with all the ups and downs of crust so it’s not a super easy apples to apples with the box calf from the other 3. I don’t have any box calf from Meccariello to compare to. As far as components go - Fukuda, Yeossal and ACME use leather heel stiffeners. Good luck getting Antonio to tell you what he uses for his stiffeners. ACME is the only one in this batch that uses leather toe puffs.

Attention to detail: The closing and skiving on all four is very clean. No complaints on any but I don’t grade super hard on this. The Fukuda probably takes the number one spot there but we are splitting hairs. In terms of outsole stitching - Meccariello is machine sewn and is clean. Fukuda is machine sewn and is very clean with deep, decorative fudging. Yeossal has the highest SPI and the fudging is purposeful with the hand sewing but is less decorative. The ACME is higher SPI than Fukuda and lower than Yeossal and the fudging again serves a purpose since they’re hand sewn. They’re all clean which again should be expected when you’re spending a grand plus on shoes.

Comfort/Fit: The stiffeners on the ACME and Fukuda are the most extended and stiffest of the bunch. They provide very good arch support. Not in the same neighborhood as my Saint Crispins or bespoke shoes but very good. The Yeossal and Meccariello after that. Both have good arch support for my high arches but are just a little shorter. Sizing I defer to what the brands tell you. These range from 9UK to 10UK and they all fit my goofy feet.

Unboxing/extras: If you care about boxes and extras - The Fukuda came with the wooden box with the woodworking joints that’s really nice. The ACME box is very heavy duty sort of lined cardboard and has some unique shaping. The Meccariello box is the standard cardboard with a thumb hole to pull it out and the Yeossal box is their heavy duty cardboard with the drawer that pulls out with a leather pull tab. Bags from ACME are the nicest and are velvetish lined tweed, Fukuda are tweed, Meccariello is sort of a basic cotton feeling thing that gets red **** all over your shoes, Yeossal are a velvet feeling bag. They’re all fine and my boxes basically get tossed anyways. The Fukuda, ACME and Yeossal trees are all treated wood. The Fukuda trees are wonderfully light, they’re all hollowed. The AM trees are the unfinished sort of rougher feeling. They all do their job though and are easy to get in and out.

Not sure what I missed but some comparison photos below.

 

[kg13]

Hi! Anyone here have experience with Gordon Jim Jun shoes? The MTM and regular line both seem interesting but reviews are rather scarce

 

[Emospence]

Hi! Anyone here have experience with Gordon Jim Jun shoes? The MTM and regular line both seem interesting but reviews are rather scarce

I got two pairs from them from recommendation by thundermarch. One worn for 2+ years, one 1+ years. Both look and feel great and are still going strong

 

[Drzdave58]

Anybody have experience with Chinese shoemaker yanwooden?

 

[kid1002]

I visited Roiluxe over the weekend. Roiluxe is the exclusive stockist of Oct Tenth RTW in China, and, fun fact, they were also the first stockist of Mattina before Mattina decided to open their own retail store in Shanghai.

I have a pair of dark brown suede single monks being MTOed (in the making), but I decided to try on a few pair of Oct Tenth's RTWs.

Shown in the below is Oct Tenth's 'Massenet' Tassel Loafers in black calf. It's in Oct Tenth's Huang last, which, in the brand's own words, "features a soft square toe and curved last shape that follows the natural form of the foot". This is also the last I'm having my single monks made in. I'm wearing a pair in size 6.5 here.

Overall I love the last shape, but it's a real pitty these just don't suit my feet off the rack. My right foot is half a size larger than my left, and my right foot also has a higher instep with a more prominent bone. The left shoe fits alright, but my right foot immediately felt some hyperemia after squeezing into the shoe.

I would say, however, it's still a relatively forgiving last for average folks and maybe even for those with only the slightest of flat-footedness.

My single monks will see a fitting shoe arrive roughly in a week time, and I'll likely ask Oct Tenth to make my right shoe half a size larger than the left.

 

[clee1982]

Roiluxe is in Shanghai too? I assume much easier to get to than OT’s factory?

 

[kid1002]

Roiluxe is in Shanghai too? I assume much easier to get to than OT’s factory?

Yes - Roiluxe is in Shanghai too. They are in the central part of the city no less. Can't get more convinient than that. They share the same RTW stock with Oct Tenth, so if they say something's not in-stock at Roiluxe then it would be the same case buying from Oct Tenth directly (and vice versa).

The only downside of buying Oct Tenth at Roiluxe is that MTO is not an available option yet.

Oct Tenth's factory is an hour+ drive from the city, but I can also get stuff delivered from them on the same day, as I'm also based in Shanghai.