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The high end Chinese Shoe Thread

Psyko

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@Kangnamstyles And now to the obligatory question: any significant differences in construction quality and finishing between the brands? And initial impression of leather quality, though hard to assess unworn.
 

Kangnamstyles

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I'll say this much. You most certainly don't lack color in your recent haul. Your one pair of Waymans offers up more color than my entire collection ?.
Lol thank you sir. I do admit that I love colors. I found my way into the gyw and eventually handwelt rabbit hole by discovering dandy shoe care patina on tumblr 7 years ago.

I try not to repeat a design or color when purchasing something new.
 

Kangnamstyles

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A picture can speak thousand words and that’s why it’s the best translation. Now that’s why I don’t know how OT is getting that wrong.
When I asked Tom about what happened, he told me that they may have google imaged a different photo of the GG Margaux patina. I had sent him a specific photo and specified that I only wanted the facing/laces and elastic area to have a very subtle hints of the purple. But somehow that got translated to make the facing completely purple...
 

saurabh

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When I asked Tom about what happened, he told me that they may have google imaged a different photo of the GG Margaux patina. I had sent him a specific photo and specified that I only wanted the facing/laces and elastic area to have a very subtle hints of the purple. But somehow that got translated to make the facing completely purple...
Okay gotcha. In my case there was no explanation for that mistake and I also sent a picture of EG Rosewood color and needed slight burnishing on the toes/heels . And instead the shoe came out completely different what I had ordered with dark black patina on the toes/heel.
 

Kangnamstyles

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@Kangnamstyles And now to the obligatory question: any significant differences in construction quality and finishing between the brands? And initial impression of leather quality, though hard to assess unworn.
That's a very good question. To me they look nearly identical in terms of construction quality and finishing, especially between OT and Yeossal. The lazyman and spt loafers are identical in terms of the sole other than the color.

The Wayman beats out the YEOT (yeossal/OT) pairs in terms of build quality when looking at the heels. I'm forgetting the proper name, but looking at the shoes from behind (heel view) the heel stack top line where it meets the upper is clean and straight for the Wayman, but uneven for the YEOT.

Another difference that I noticed is the insole. Both the Wayman and Yeossal pairs look identical as the heel to arch area have a liner (?) and then the forefoot area you can see the stitch holes for hand welting. I've seen this in my Winson and AMeccariello hw pairs as well. BUT in the OT insole area, the liner is for the entire insole and I don't see the tiny holes at all, if that makes sense.

7711B2C9-2D5D-498C-891E-B47512A37B8C.jpeg AC3B2D1D-35F0-4002-8B11-4EE1D0F3E550.jpeg

It's a bit tricky when it comes to rating the finishing because I ordered custom patinas rather than their already existing patinas, but based on the loafer, lazyman, and Wayman austerity, the Loafer is the only one that got my request perfectly. The Wayman is second, they got the color wrong but it still looks great from a quality perspective. The OT lazyman got the color completely wrong for the facing, but I really liked the job they did elsewhere.

I don't have the most experienced/critical eye when it comes to looking at stitching and etc, so please feel free to take a look and judge for yourself.
 

Kangnamstyles

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Okay gotcha. In my case there was no explanation for that mistake and I also sent a picture of EG Rosewood color and needed slight burnishing on the toes/heels . And instead the shoe came out completely different what I had ordered with dark black patina on the toes/heel.
Did Tom address it for you hopefully? When I asked him about it, he offered to darken that area up before sending it to me, and I still wasn't happy with it, so I sent it to Hancore to make perfect.
 

saurabh

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Did Tom address it for you hopefully? When I asked him about it, he offered to darken that area up before sending it to me, and I still wasn't happy with it, so I sent it to Hancore to make perfect.
In my case the SpTD was returned to him as the shoe came out completely different from the order specs and the fitting advise was also incorrect so now my pair will be remade but this time not choosing the patina and instead going for the Mahagony Utah grain SpTD.
I doubt there was a way to rectify both the issues on the original pair.
 

Kangnamstyles

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This is funny/interesting and I am the opposite. I try to order the same design what I like with different colors/leathers like for example SpTD :)
Haha, that's usually my next step or my excuse when I occasionally do repeat a design like the SpTD (my 1st was Dover in clove suede; 2nd was SoH George in ebony utah; next one will be smooth calf since I got suede and grain covered)
 

jischwar

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In my case the SpTD was returned to him as the shoe came out completely different from the order specs and the fitting advise was also incorrect so now my pair will be remade but this time not choosing the patina and instead going for the Mahagony Utah grain SpTD.
I doubt there was a way to rectify both the issues on the original pair.
Mahogany utah should be nice!
 

BColl_Has_Too_Many_Shoes

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Lol thank you sir. I do admit that I love colors. I found my way into the gyw and eventually handwelt rabbit hole by discovering dandy shoe care patina on tumblr 7 years ago.

I try not to repeat a design or color when purchasing something new.

So you use several different patina artists? You mentioned DSC & Hancore. Any particular reason why you switched/branched out?
 

Kangnamstyles

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So you use several different patina artists? You mentioned DSC & Hancore. Any particular reason why you switched/branched out?

DSC was my first ever patina project and before I really knew what I was doing or knowledgeable about shoes (still learning a lot from reading you guys' posts). I sent him my old dark brown Mezlan alligator penny loafers (profile photo shows the new version in forest green). He's based in Italy and is overloaded with work, so it was super expensive to ship there, he is more expensive than local (US based) artists, and it took almost 6 months to get them back. He's also not fluent in English, but he nailed the patina I wanted based on photos I sent him.

Hancore (Greg Park) does patina work for French brand JM Legazel and now is based in NYC with J.Fitz. I discovered his work via IG/Shoesnob blog. As you know (from the Winson thread), I won a free patina from his contest (he drew names from an IG post. He's doing another round so go check it out) and sent him my Winson Vanquish boots, and they came out spectacular. He returned them to me in 2 weeks.

So after seeing those boots transformed, I decided to send him my OT and just dm'ed him through IG to tell him what went wrong and what I wanted (GG margaux patina). He completely understood what I wanted and I gave him permission to change it up/use his artistic intuition, he went to work, sent me progress photos and how he changed it. The job cost me $120 (much less than DSC) and again, the time frame was only 2 weeks.

Once it's safe to travel again, I'm going to meet him and take his patina classes in NYC.

@Kangnamstyles Thanks for a very informative response!

How would you rank them in terms of waist witdh and arch support?

Sure, happy to share.

Wayman beats out YEOT for waist width and arch support based on fit (I haven't measured) due to the MTM process. My feet are nearly symmetrical, medium arches, and are fleshy so it offers an easier fit for RTW. My problem areas are the toe box, vamp, and instep as my feet are slightly wide, medium high instep. So that's why I chose the Huang last for OT (Tom advised me to based on how the SoH on contemporary almond pinched my toes and big toe joint slightly).
 

BColl_Has_Too_Many_Shoes

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DSC was my first ever patina project and before I really knew what I was doing or knowledgeable about shoes (still learning a lot from reading you guys' posts). I sent him my old dark brown Mezlan alligator penny loafers (profile photo shows the new version in forest green). He's based in Italy and is overloaded with work, so it was super expensive to ship there, he is more expensive than local (US based) artists, and it took almost 6 months to get them back. He's also not fluent in English, but he nailed the patina I wanted based on photos I sent him.

Hancore (Greg Park) does patina work for French brand JM Legazel and now is based in NYC with J.Fitz. I discovered his work via IG/Shoesnob blog. As you know (from the Winson thread), I won a free patina from his contest (he drew names from an IG post. He's doing another round so go check it out) and sent him my Winson Vanquish boots, and they came out spectacular. He returned them to me in 2 weeks.

So after seeing those boots transformed, I decided to send him my OT and just dm'ed him through IG to tell him what went wrong and what I wanted (GG margaux patina). He completely understood what I wanted and I gave him permission to change it up/use his artistic intuition, he went to work, sent me progress photos and how he changed it. The job cost me $120 (much less than DSC) and again, the time frame was only 2 weeks.

Once it's safe to travel again, I'm going to meet him and take his patina classes in NYC.



Sure, happy to share.

Wayman beats out YEOT for waist width and arch support based on fit (I haven't measured) due to the MTM process. My feet are nearly symmetrical, medium arches, and are fleshy so it offers an easier fit for RTW. My problem areas are the toe box, vamp, and instep as my feet are slightly wide, medium high instep. So that's why I chose the Huang last for OT (Tom advised me to based on how the SoH on contemporary almond pinched my toes and big toe joint slightly).

I am sure that there are countless reasons for not doing this "he went to work, sent me progress photos and how he changed it." Saying that, progess pictures (regardless of maker) is so helpful. The pictures ensure your commission is correct. It provides reassurances that your shoes are being worked on. You are essentially provided a time table which illicits excitement (because you know soon you would wear the shoes). Sadly, very few partake in that action ??‍♂️.

Anyways, that is a phenomenal price, as well as a quick turnaround time. Considering you were happy with the results and he completed all your requests, sounds like he should be on people's radars ??.
 

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