The high end Chinese Shoe Thread

[BColl_Has_Too_Many_Shoes]

The “option” part is like worse than buying Porsche (though he probably should just lump handwelt as product price rather than upcharge to his so called advanced GYW)

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By the looks of it, seems you were right then. Appears to be 900€ without the additional options. I mean who needs metal toe tips, rubber half soles, and some stinking lasted trees.

Actually in terms of trees, these would work just fine ?.
They even look lasted if you squint hard enough.

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[JohnMRobie]

I’m not usually a huge exotics guy but decided I wanted to have a pair made up in lizard. Emil was the man for the job when that came to mind and I’ve gotta say, I really like how these turned out. Winson shoemaker, Aurora last, dark brown Java lizard.

Mail day from Indonesia.

 

[bernoulli]

I would usually refrain from liking or commenting on exotic shoes (not my boat) but these look great. That is even moreso because I also dislike loafers. Given you, like many members, have more shoes than you "need", it makes a lot of sense to try something new. I commend you for the courage to branch into exotics and congratulations on this well-executed pair.

I’m not usually a huge exotics guy but decided I wanted to have a pair made up in lizard. Emil was the man for the job when that came to mind and I’ve gotta say, I really like how these turned out. Winson shoemaker, Aurora last, dark brown Java lizard.

Mail day from Indonesia.
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[JohnMRobie]

First wear of the Winson’s today. Confirming pretty much what I thought that these will be limited to tailoring

 

[Adhazem]

I’m not usually a huge exotics guy but decided I wanted to have a pair made up in lizard. Emil was the man for the job when that came to mind and I’ve gotta say, I really like how these turned out. Winson shoemaker, Aurora last, dark brown Java lizard.

Mail day from Indonesia.
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Wowww! That is a stunning pair!

 

[Kangnamstyles]

First wear of these OT deer hatch norvegese chukkas.

 

[boot_owl]

First wear of the Winson’s today. Confirming pretty much what I thought that these will be limited to tailoring
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really loving how the line created by the belly scales creates a faux split toe effect. Colour is perfect too.

I wonder if there's a nubuck or suede version that looks good...

 

[JohnMRobie]

really loving how the line created by the belly scales creates a faux split toe effect. Colour is perfect too.

I wonder if there's a nubuck or suede version that looks good...

That would be really cool. It was local and I believe he mentioned he got it from a friend of his so might be possible?

 

[Adhazem]

Then the purchase was a stylistic preference versus craftsman or company related. Seems a valid enough reason to proceed with the commission.

Probably mentioned this on another thread or on here, purchasing a pair of shoes with your eyes is not necessarily a poor decision. Provided they fit (to be determined) an item that appeals to you visually will tend to get a lot of usage.

As to how they should fit, @Jmr928 referenced my personal preferences already, but the common refrain is, "that's a personal choice." You may also read or hear, "fit is subjective".

Screw that personal choice or subjectivity nonsense. Minimum you should be aiming for is tightness at the back (ankle and heel) with looseness in the front (toes). Ideally, zero movement at the heel. Think of the heel and ankle as your security blanket. That isn't right and the darn shoe is slipping and moving around causing all sorts of issues.

Ummm so yeah...Jmr928 stole my thunder and the line I was going to use. Who cares I'll state it regardless ?. The wet suit covers from the heel to the ball of the foot (or the body), while the toes (the head) should have freedom of movement.

When you receive that trial pair focus on that first and having ankle support (I did mention the back afterall) while hopefully having movement at the toes.

So I got my trial pairs. Two pairs were basic construction which is what I expected the trial shoe to be like. But to my surprise the 3rd one is actually a fully welted spade sole crust shoe with a fiddle back and everything. I tried them on and gave feedback. One was too small and I didn’t even try standing up. It was a smaller size of the other. The other two pairs fit very well I thought. Zero…friggin zero heel slip feels wonderful. Most of my shoes slip, some more than others. Did feel like a wet suit but with a bit of pinching at my little toe. That should be straight forward to fix. The instep will probably need some more accommodation as the V gap was a bit on the generous side.

Bonus picture I snagged of the transition from the sole stitch to the waist stitch. Also it’s hard to see in pictures but the fudging is really well done. Matches the stitches perfectly.

Cheers guys!

 

[JFWR]

I’m not usually a huge exotics guy but decided I wanted to have a pair made up in lizard. Emil was the man for the job when that came to mind and I’ve gotta say, I really like how these turned out. Winson shoemaker, Aurora last, dark brown Java lizard.

Mail day from Indonesia.
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Holy Hell those are amazing lizard shoes.

 

[JohnMRobie]

So I got my trial pairs. Two pairs were basic construction which is what I expected the trial shoe to be like. But to my surprise the 3rd one is actually a fully welted spade sole crust shoe with a fiddle back and everything. I tried them on and gave feedback. One was too small and I didn’t even try standing up. It was a smaller size of the other. The other two pairs fit very well I thought. Zero…friggin zero heel slip feels wonderful. Most of my shoes slip, some more than others. Did feel like a wet suit but with a bit of pinching at my little toe. That should be straight forward to fix. The instep will probably need some more accommodation as the V gap was a bit on the generous side.

Bonus picture I snagged of the transition from the sole stitch to the waist stitch. Also it’s hard to see in pictures but the fudging is really well done. Matches the stitches perfectly.

Cheers guys! View attachment 1696172 View attachment 1696173 View attachment 1696174 View attachment 1696175 View attachment 1696176

Did these all come at the same time? So you’re just trying different sizes or lasts - not getting a few rounds of trial pairs for your modified last? Looking at these - I wonder if you’d be able to get a trial pair in the modified last? Given the amount of work it looks like they need and the price of their pairs, I know I’d hesitate to place an order without a subsequent ability to try the modifications out.

 

[Adhazem]

Did these all come at the same time? So you’re just trying different sizes or lasts - not getting a few rounds of trial pairs for your modified last? Looking at these - I wonder if you’d be able to get a trial pair in the modified last? Given the amount of work it looks like they need and the price of their pairs, I know I’d hesitate to place an order without a subsequent ability to try the modifications out.

That’s a great point. Yes they all came together. I’m not sure to be honest what their plan is. I will ask to get an additional final trial pair before they start.

 

[JohnMRobie]

That’s a great point. I’m not sure to be honest. I will ask to get an additional final trial pair before they start.

Definitely worth asking about. It sucks to have to abandon a pair midstream from a maker you want something from but I did that recently with Siroeno Yosui unfortunately because the modifications I needed were pretty extensive and thankfully Ken Kataoka was honest with me when we spoke about my fitting that we weren’t confident about the outcome at that point. Given he’s a bespoke maker I think we could have gotten it better but neither of us was confident enough to proceed remotely so he got moved to the bespoke list whenever I can be measured in person in Tokyo.

 

[BColl_Has_Too_Many_Shoes]

That’s a great point. Yes they all came together. I’m not sure to be honest what their plan is. I will ask to get an additional final trial pair before they start.

So I got my trial pairs. Two pairs were basic construction which is what I expected the trial shoe to be like. But to my surprise the 3rd one is actually a fully welted spade sole crust shoe with a fiddle back and everything. I tried them on and gave feedback. One was too small and I didn’t even try standing up. It was a smaller size of the other. The other two pairs fit very well I thought. Zero…friggin zero heel slip feels wonderful. Most of my shoes slip, some more than others. Did feel like a wet suit but with a bit of pinching at my little toe. That should be straight forward to fix. The instep will probably need some more accommodation as the V gap was a bit on the generous side.

Bonus picture I snagged of the transition from the sole stitch to the waist stitch. Also it’s hard to see in pictures but the fudging is really well done. Matches the stitches perfectly.

Cheers guys! View attachment 1696172 View attachment 1696173 View attachment 1696174 View attachment 1696175 View attachment 1696176

Those look solid. Fantastic to hear about the heels fitting as they should. That's then your baseline pair that you would use for sizing.
I also agree that the toe and instep should be an easy fix provided of course there will be additional fittings.

Which brings me to @Jmr928's point. Never have I heard all trial pairs coming in before you were provided the opportunity to voice what requires adjustment in the trial pair. Here's hoping that what you received were fitting pairs as it relates to a sizing reference.
Therefore, I'm hoping that you will still have your additional trial pairs that you paid or will pay for.

If that is not the case and you would be required to pay an additional fee for trial pairs, I'd negotiate whatever I could.

If nothing occurs after that negotiation (meaning complimentary fitters), I would implore you to look into Yeossal for a similar last. Pay for those similar lasted Yeossals, provided they fit of course, in a crust leather. Something in a lighter color. Thereafter and since you are based in the US, reach out to a Greg Park (or patina guy of note). Show him the way you want the shoes to look and you would have saved yourself some bucks on a pair that will look extremely close (if not the same) to these here.

 

[BColl_Has_Too_Many_Shoes]

^^^^^^ on a personal note, I can't believe I suggested someone have something patina'd. I guess when I'm attempting to save someone money desperate times call for desperate measures ??‍♂️.