Gaziano & Girling Appreciation & Shoe Appreciation Thread (including reviews, purchases, pictures)

Sorry to bump with an old pic but what last is on this croc?

Originally Posted by ianGP

Click to expand...

Sorry to bump with an old pic but what last is on this croc?

Its baby alligator in a bespoke last

Originally Posted by cdmoore1855

Click to expand...

Its the object of some nocturnal emission for spoo

FTFY

Originally Posted by cdmoore1855

Click to expand...

I wear them anytime but usually as an alternative to black, especially with a suit. They are dark enough to pull this off, even through they really dark brown.

Luk Cha will take some on foot shots on Saturday

Unless you know what they are most people would never guess they are Stingray

^ Well done.

Originally Posted by SpooPoker

Click to expand...

^ Well done.

Oh yeah?

Originally Posted by Wes Bourne

Click to expand...

Oh yeah?

I love going back in time

Since I know next to nothing on the bespoke footwear process, can somebody enlighten me on a few things? When you are getting bespoke, since you are going that route to get the best fit you can how much say do you have on the style of the last? Will you always end up with something chiselled, or is that dependant more on which maker you are using? To some degree, since it is your foot, will you end up with a similar looking last regardless on which maker you employ?

Originally Posted by patrickBOOTH

Click to expand...

Since I know next to nothing on the bespoke footwear process, can somebody enlighten me on a few things? When you are getting bespoke, since you are going that route to get the best fit you can how much say do you have on the style of the last? Will you always end up with something chiselled, or is that dependant more on which maker you are using? To some degree, since it is your foot, will you end up with a similar looking last regardless on which maker you employ?

i had so much say that i never had to end up with something chisselled.

all the makers i used recommended a similar looking shape for my orders.

Originally Posted by patrickBOOTH

Click to expand...

Since I know next to nothing on the bespoke footwear process, can somebody enlighten me on a few things? When you are getting bespoke, since you are going that route to get the best fit you can how much say do you have on the style of the last? Will you always end up with something chiselled, or is that dependant more on which maker you are using? To some degree, since it is your foot, will you end up with a similar looking last regardless on which maker you employ?
The chiseled toe is just a style. Manufactures who buy chiseled toe lasts are more or less limited to a chiseled toe for every and any model they make on that last. To a bespoke maker a chiseled toe last is just a starting point...or an annoyance. A bespoke maker can take any last (if he is not making lasts from scratch) and shape it any way he or the customer wishes. In fact, I once had a lastmaker tell me that any good shoe/bootmaker ought to be able to take any size last and convert it to any other size last. Perhaps a bit of hyperbole there but fundamentally valid...and the same applies to shape. As to similar shapes by different makers...yes and no. It depends, of course, on what you regard as "similar." To the unexperienced eye, all lasts look vaguely similar if you discount styling points. And it also depends a lot on the design philosopies and fitting philosophies of the maker. For instance, the girth measurements associated with a high instep could be incorporated onto the last on the top of the cone or, in some cases, with some makers, to the lateral or medial sides of the last. Such considerations will definitely affect the look and "style" of the last...if not the fit.

Originally Posted by luk-cha

Click to expand...

Its hard to see in that light.. are those black stingrays?

Originally Posted by SpooPoker

Click to expand...

Its hard to see in that light.. are those black stingrays?

They are my dark brown one's. Darker enough to be almost black

Originally Posted by cdmoore1855

Click to expand...

They are my dark brown one's. Darker enough to be almost black

cell phones and seedy hotels for ya hahah

Originally Posted by DWFII

Click to expand...

The chiseled toe is just a style. Manufactures who buy chiseled toe lasts are more or less limited to a chiseled toe for every and any model they make on that last.

To a bespoke maker a chiseled toe last is just a starting point...or an annoyance. A bespoke maker can take any last (if he is not making lasts from scratch) and shape it any way he or the customer wishes. In fact, I once had a lastmaker tell me that any good shoe/bootmaker ought to be able to take any size last and convert it to any other size last. Perhaps a bit of hyperbole there but fundamentally valid...and the same applies to shape.

As to similar shapes by different makers...yes and no. It depends, of course, on what you regard as "similar." To the unexperienced eye, all lasts look vaguely similar if you discount styling points.

And it also depends a lot on the design philosopies and fitting philosophies of the maker. For instance, the girth measurements associated with a high instep could be incorporated onto the last on the top of the cone or, in some cases, with some makers, to the lateral or medial sides of the last. Such considerations will definitely affect the look and "style" of the last...if not the fit.

Your wisdom in these matters is always very much appreciated.