Visit to Budapest & Northampton

[turbotol]

Hi,

I'll be in Europe (UK, Germany) for work next week and am thinking about going to the factory stores in Northampton (only 20 miles away from where I need to be) and possibly a quick visit to Budapest for some Vass shoes. I have searched this forum a lot but have a couple more questions:

Northampton:
- is Crockett & Jones only open on Fridays and do you need to make an appointment?
- do you need an appointment to visit the Edward Green factory/buy a couple pairs of shoes? How much does a pair cost at the factory? Is it reasonable to expect I will be able to find a decent selection, for example the newbury, banbury, ... on 888 last?

Budapest:
- are all Vass shoes MTO and if so, do they require a second fitting? or in other words, can I expect to walk out the store with a couple pair or have them shipped to me?
- does anybody know Vass opening hours/days?
- as I will not have all that much time, how long does it take to get from the airport to the city?
- am I crazy to visit a city like Budapest mainly for shoe shopping?

Thank you for all your help.

 

[AndrewRogers]

Originally Posted by turbotol

Budapest:
- are all Vass shoes MTO and if so, do they require a second fitting? or in other words, can I expect to walk out the store with a couple pair or have them shipped to me?
- does anybody know Vass opening hours/days?
- as I will not have all that much time, how long does it take to get from the airport to the city?
- am I crazy to visit a city like Budapest mainly for shoe shopping?

Thank you for all your help.

1 Not all Vass are MTO. They will have some stock of just about all lasts, including the F and the U. MTO can be shipped on to you afterwards if you order them in shop and they are MTO. Shipping is expensive, though.

2 Can't answer.

3 Can't answer.

4 Are you crazy? We all are! Really, though, you cannot go wrong with a pair of Vass for the price you will pay in Budapest.

 

[Concordia]

Originally Posted by turbotol

Budapest:
- are all Vass shoes MTO and if so, do they require a second fitting? or in other words, can I expect to walk out the store with a couple pair or have them shipped to me?
They have extensive RTW selection, which might not be exactly what you want. Even if you do have to go MTO, however, it is best to try on sizes and lasts as each last has a strong personality.

Originally Posted by turbotol

- does anybody know Vass opening hours/days?
Not exactly, but it is pretty close to standard shop hours. If you Google "Vass cipo" you might get something more definite.

Originally Posted by turbotol

- as I will not have all that much time, how long does it take to get from the airport to the city?
Nothing outrageous-- maybe up to 20 minutes with no traffic. I wasn't really paying attention.

Originally Posted by turbotol

- am I crazy to visit a city like Budapest mainly for shoe shopping?
Sure. But why else do you visit SF?
If you're thinking only in terms of rarefied dollars and cents, it is a good financial proposition. A little R&D up front will potentially give a lot of payback down the road. And the Forint is weak now.

Originally Posted by turbotol

Thank you for all your help.
No sweat.

 

[hangthree]

Budapest is a great city to visit. The Vass shop is very small and somewhat hard to find, but worth a visit.

 

[comrade]

Crazy? Certainly not!

Budapest is worth a visit.
If you need a hotel suggestion and are flush,
look into the Gresham Palace (Four Seasons)
If you love Art Nouveau architecture and
superb service in a completly updated hotel,
it will be an experience you will not forget.

Re: Vass. A small shop that's a bit hard to find
off the main shopping street. The shoes are
extraordinary " in person". Sadly, they couldn't
fit me OTR

 

[Pengranger]

Originally Posted by turbotol

Hi,

Northampton:
- is Crockett & Jones only open on Fridays and do you need to make an appointment?
- do you need an appointment to visit the Edward Green factory/buy a couple pairs of shoes? How much does a pair cost at the factory? Is it reasonable to expect I will be able to find a decent selection, for example the newbury, banbury, ... on 888 last?


- C&J are open on Friday afternoons from 2.00 pm to 5.30 pm and Saturday mornings from 9.30 am to 1.30 pm. Handgrades are £220, and others range from £80 to £160ish.
- you do need an appointment to visit EG. I don't think you save too much. Maybe £100 off?

 

[turbotol]

So I got my ticket to Budapest. It will be a short trip (about 24 hours total) but hopefully worth it

Are there any other (shoe) stores worth a visit? Any restaurant recommendations?


Have people always set up an appointment with Edward Green by phone or can you do it by email and if so, does anybody have the email address?

Next week should be exciting/expensive week of shoe shopping.

Thank you for your all your help

 

[turbotol]

Is it possible to visit the Gaziano & Girling factory? Do you have to set up an appointment?

 

[The_Foxx]

I hope you are planning to visit the Lobb factory store in Northampton! Depending on the prices, you could probably make a small profit by selling pairs of size 9.5E shoes here on the forum. To guys like me, for example.

 

[Concordia]

Originally Posted by turbotol

Are there any other (shoe) stores worth a visit? Any restaurant recommendations?


Koronya does real bespoke shoes for about 3x Vass prices, give or take. E-mail him before you go, as his workshop is out in one of the suburbs. The street address on the website and cards is a tailor shop that carries some of his more avant-garde creations RTW.

For food, the traditional Hungarian I had is mostly like Austrian, only cheaper and less good. In central Pest (not so far from Vass), a standby is the Central Coffee House (however that's spelled in Magyar). One side is tabletops with an emphasis on coffee and pastries, the other side has tablecloths and more of a food/wine tilt.

I stayed in the Astoria hotel (very nice 4-star place in a busy central location). Their Mirror CafÃ

seems to be a bit of a tourist destination, but has some very good food in a nice setting.

The best meal I had was toward the northern end of Andrassy Blvd, about 2 Metro stops past Oktagon Square. Can't remember the name, but it is in an art gallery on the west side of the street, in a very grand town house. That was really first class at the international level, and they had a very good selection of local wines. A search of guidebooks might turn up the name.

 

[literasyme]

FAIK, the EG factory isn't really worth it, as they don't have a proper factory store. Might as well go to the Jermyn Street shop.

Lobb is a must -- serious, serious discounts over retail. You might also want to stop by Tricker's while you're there, and, unless you're put off by SF doctrine on the matter, Church's (their factory store prices are very competitive, unlike their stupidly overpriced retail).

 

[turbotol]

I was going to look for a EG newbury on 888 last or a banbury boot on 888 last. What models at Lobb are comparable as it sounds like you better know what you are looking for when you visit the factory stores?

 

[Philip1978]

Originally Posted by Pengranger

- C&J are open on Friday afternoons from 2.00 pm to 5.30 pm and Saturday mornings from 9.30 am to 1.30 pm. Handgrades are £220, and others range from £80 to £160ish.
- you do need an appointment to visit EG. I don't think you save too much. Maybe £100 off?

How big are the mistakes on the ones for 80 pounds?

 

[turbotol]

by the way, seconds are 360 pounds and firsts are 420 pounds at EG factory now

 

[bobbers]

how did your trip go?