Ordered a bunch of C&J and quite dissapointed... am I missing something?

Being a member here for quite some time I finally decided to get some C&J's. So last week I ordered 5 pairs of C&J (all different lasts) in my correct size to see what I like. Here are the lasts I got:

348
337
236
341
325

I was quite dissapointed in the fit of all of them... but maybe I am just expecting too much? I have not owned nor worn alot of dress shoes in my life so please let me know if my experience is normal.

It seems like all of them (although they fit comfortably length/width wise) left a large vacant space between the vamp of the shoe and my foot... This in turn created significant wrinkling in the leather of that area and just felt weird. i knwo the shoe will most likely not hug my foot in that area but this wasnt even close, regardless of the last...

Besides the above major pet peeve, the 236 just felt too frumpy and Trad. But the worst was the 348 Hallam, the area described above literally pinched my foot, so bad it hurt to the point of being unable to wear them, I dont know if it was just the wrinkling of the leather of the cap toe stitch part bending into my toes.

The only possibly bearable one, was the 337.

My old Bruno Magli 'Maioco' captoes fit/felt 100x better than the Hallam, no gap in the vamp area of the shoe.

Those lasts may not be for you. Quality is no guarantee a shoe will fit well. Every pair of feet is different.

Is is possible that they are too long? Maybe you need to go down in size and up in width.

Originally Posted by DocHolliday

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Those lasts may not be for you. Quality is no guarantee a shoe will fit well. Every pair of feet is different.

I figured if I tried just about every current last they make, one might work, each is quite different.

Originally Posted by rebel222

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Is is possible that they are too long? Maybe you need to go down in size and up in width.

I thought this, but my heel is not slipping at all, which I assumed was the sign of a shoe being too long. big toe on left foot leaves about .5" and on right .75" (since right foot is a bit shorter than left.

I went with 9.5 E (10.5D) in all the above lasts. I do have a 9 E (10D) arriving in the 341 that I am going to try but have a strong feeling it'll be too short on my left foot.

You are missing something ... Maybe the lasts do not suit your feet and maybe you needed a different size for certain lasts. There is no such thing as correct size. I have Church's in 7.5F, 8F and 8.5F; size required can vary between - i. lasts from the same brand and ii. dfferent shoe brands. I do find my C&J shoes need 'breaking in' whereas my other English shoes do not; however, that does not mean C&J's are inferior to similar brands.

Originally Posted by DocHolliday

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Those lasts may not be for you. Quality is no guarantee a shoe will fit well. Every pair of feet is different.

Exactly.

This is part of a long and boring post from me on a different shoe thread:

"Your feet are possibly the most complicated and most individual part of your body (no sniggering at the back please). The answer to all these "last X fits me, will last Y" or "I take a 12.5G in Berlutis, what will fit me in Allen--Edmonds seconds" posts is no-one really knows, except you when you try a specific pair on."

I'm in the same boat as you. I have in my long adult life bought precisely one pair of C and J's. They are probably my worst fitting pair of shoes, but they aren't awful and they were on heavy discount in a sale long ago. An hour spent annoying the very helpful people at the C&J shop more recently led me to the conclusion that there is NO combination at all of C&J sizing, width, and last that fits my feet.

The issue is not C&J, who make quite nice shoes. The issue is my feet, which don't fit them.

Ditto Cleverley RTW (another 20 minutes discovering my feet and their shoes really don't work). Ditto JLP. And respect for the guys at C&J, JLP, and Cleverley for not trying on some BS about how they'd wear in, or it was a cold day and they'd fit better when warm or whatever in the interests of a quick sale - all basically said "sorry - this doesn't work" and I said "OK, I'm buggering off back to EG and Fosters and quickly stopping by Church's to see if they still have any D fittings, coz I know they all fit me".

Edit: especially the guy at JLP on Jermyn St, because one of the pairs I tried on nearly fitted (less badly than my old C&Js), and were obviously very nice shoes, but he pointed out why they didnt quite fit welll enough. Maybe he was hoping for a bespoke order, but the fact that I was wearing well-fitting EGs probably told him that wasn't an option. That is what I call service.

well that is a fuckin bummer... I had already picked out a number of styles I really liked and was goin to stock my dress shoe collection... now back to the drawing board!

I may try the 337 on one more time, as I think it actually felt pretty good. I was really hoping the 348 worked. The problem is, I dont really know what else to look at locally (i.e., Boston).. cant afford EG, JL, Vass etc. yet, and not into the 'fashion' brands for dress shoes.

I am not really sure what else is avail. in boston area to try out besides maybe Santoni or Zegna xxx.

you bought 5 pairs of C&J, that has to be like 2 vass. could that be an option for you?

The correct size is whatever size fits your foot for that last and that manufacturer. I have 11D, 11.5D, 10.5F (UK), and 10F (UK) shoes that all fit nicely. It makes it very annoying to buy through the mail but there's really nothing you can do about it short of trying on every shoe in person.

Originally Posted by pg600rr

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well that is a fuckin bummer... I had already picked out a number of styles I really liked and was goin to stock my dress shoe collection... now back to the drawing board!

I may try the 337 on one more time, as I think it actually felt pretty good. I was really hoping the 348 worked. The problem is, I dont really know what else to look at locally (i.e., Boston).. cant afford EG, JL, Vass etc. yet, and not into the 'fashion' brands for dress shoes.

I am not really sure what else is avail. in boston area to try out besides maybe Santoni or Zegna xxx.

How about instead of having 5 C&J, you get 2 EG's? Another thing is that shoes will form to your feet over time (breaking in). So of course, new shoes may not be as comfortable as your pair of Bruno Magli right now.

Who buys FIVE pairs of shoes instead of one test shoe from online?

I suspect the OP subscribes to the great internet "buy before you try, then return 90% of what you buy" philosophy.

Originally Posted by Luddite

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I suspect the OP subscribes to the great internet "buy before you try, then return 90% of what you buy" philosophy.

Such philosophy is actually supported by many online retailer like Zappos. They encourage you to buy, and return if you want, shipping both ways are on them. They even have a TV ad for that.

For many of us, if we want EGs or C&Js, the Internet is the only option. As a customer, I am fine paying shipping both ways to try on shoes I do not have access to. As an online seller, I would recognize this and live with the fact I am going to get returns in exchange for sales I would not otherwise have had.