Why Lobb Paris Bespoke Is The $#!+

[tlmusic]

Originally Posted by JLibourel

Maybe its just the philistine in me (Sometimes I worry that AAAC's Cruiser and I are brothers at heart!), but I too was wondering how many people would be able to discern, at normal viewing distance, any appreciable difference between Manton's JLP black punch-cap bals and my A-E Byrons.

The heel is the giveaway. At even ten feet, one can see how the heel of an Allen Edmonds Byron hangs way out the back. I am not an expert, but I believe the design is called 360 degree welting. English oxfords usually do not have this feature.

BTW, yesterday I wore a pair of Black AE Byrons, and was very jealous of the Lobbs.

 

[dah328]

Originally Posted by JLibourel

Maybe its just the philistine in me (Sometimes I worry that AAAC's Cruiser and I are brothers at heart!), but I too was wondering how many people would be able to discern, at normal viewing distance, any appreciable difference between Manton's JLP black punch-cap bals and my A-E Byrons.
Does the number of people able to discern at normal viewing distance the difference between the two shoes have any bearing on their qualitative differences?

 

[spectre]

Originally Posted by dah328

Does the number of people able to discern at normal viewing distance the difference between the two shoes have any bearing on their qualitative differences?

Exactly my point.

 

[medwards]

Originally Posted by von Rothbart

JL St James was demoted to 2 Royal Warrants recently. But there're still 3 warrants displayed in the store front last time I passed by.

John Lobb (St. James's) holds two Royal Warrants -- to His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh and His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. They have changed their website and some of their printed material accordingly. I haven't been past the shop recently, but I am surprised that they had not made that change as well.

 

[well-kept]

Originally Posted by medwards

John Lobb (St. James's) holds two Royal Warrants -- to His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh and His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. They have changed their website and some of their printed material accordingly.

Have they changed their insole covers? Three-warrant Lobbs may be future collector's items.

 

[dah328]

Originally Posted by spectre

Originally Posted by dah328

Does the number of people able to discern at normal viewing distance the difference between the two shoes have any bearing on their qualitative differences?
Exactly my point.
Actually, I'm saying that both you and JLibourel do not recognize the differences, not that the differences cannot be seen from a reasonable distance.

 

[vitaminc]

Originally Posted by dah328

Does the number of people able to discern at normal viewing distance the difference between the two shoes have any bearing on their qualitative differences?

Or are you just worshiping the shoes because it's John Lobb bespoke?

Self esteem/epeen issues aside, are you honestly able to tell the difference between a pair of John Lobb bespoke to AE PA's shape/design and a pair of simple AE PA?

 

[Manton]

Originally Posted by vitaminc

Self esteem/epeen issues aside, are you honestly able to tell the difference between a pair of John Lobb bespoke to AE PA's shape/design and a pair of simple AE PA?
I absolutely can, and the differences seem so obvious to me that I wonder how anyone who claims to be interested in shoes could miss them.

 

[Deluks917]

Originally Posted by Manton

My one pair:

I was thinking to myself that If I ever owned a clothing company I would probably rip off that shoe. Very impressed.

 

[vitaminc]

Originally Posted by Manton

I absolutely can, and the differences seem so obvious to me that I wonder how anyone who claims to be interested in shoes could miss them.

If a bespoke shoes is made into the same design and similar lasts but yet looks different, wouldn't they be failing their jobs?

So besides the quality of the leather, what else is different from 3 feet away?

 

[well-kept]

Originally Posted by Deluks917

I was thinking to myself that If I ever owned a clothing company I would probably rip off that shoe. Very impressed.

It's not rip-offable. That's the point.

Forget the ten-foot test. The distinctions are apparent at a greater distance because they are not differences of degree. They are differences of spirit and of essence. It's the difference between a woman possessing true and intrinsic beauty and another, perhaps lacking those qualities, who has tried to make herself up to resemble what she isn't. If you can't discern THAT difference from a city block....

 

[Manton]

Originally Posted by vitaminc

If a bespoke shoes is made into the same design and similar lasts but yet looks different, wouldn't they be failing their jobs?

So besides the quality of the leather, what else is different from 3 feet away?

The shape. And also the design. Yes, the basic design is the same, a punch cap is a punch cap. But that shoe has an upper clicked from a unique pattern just like a suit. I can't explain it in words, but if I could show you in person, with my shoes and an AE, I could make a case for how the upper pattern is subtly different and nicer on my shoes.

Then, of course, there is the fit and the construction, which are worlds apart.

 

[vitaminc]

Agreed on the fit and construction but I probably have much more to learn in terms of appreciation.

 

[alliswell]

maybe it's the engineer in me, but I think that the trees are more interesting than the shoes. The first thing I'd do if I had these shoes was try the trees in all my RTWs to see how well/badly they fit.

 

[Manton]

Originally Posted by letmebefell

maybe it's the engineer in me, but I think that the trees are more interesting than the shoes.

OK, you are a dork. If you can make me seem well adjusted, you are a BIG TIME dork.