Where would you buy Vass?

The beveled waist is great

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Added on July 24, 2010, 1:46 amMost of the offices have now move across the river to Canary Wharf but I tend to stay in the West End so no problems in getting stuff if time permits,. Many of the Jermyn Street vendors come over to the offices by prior arrangement as with tailors & boot makers etc. You'll be surprise how many individuals would be waiting to have their suits fitted during lunch.

You can get goodyear welted shoes at Herrings in Knightsbridge for less than STG100 ( if you go for the entry level collection. ) I'll pass you the address once I locate the card.

Your best bet for horsebit loafers is probably Stateside. A Gucci Horsebit loafer in driving shoe soles can be had for around USD90 from some of the outlets there.

This post has been edited by beau: Jul 24 2010, 01:46 AM

What's your budget ? Off hand I would suggest a trip down to PLal's for a pair of goodyear welted ones. Isetan Gardens was selling discounted Alfred Sargents but sizes are limited.

Edward Green?

is another over priced & over hyped designer.

Went to Thomas Chan in BSC that does bespoke shoes. I am considering having him copy my aging pair of Poulsen Skones in an Oxblood wholecut.

The lady didn't understand what "goodyear welt" means .I also enquired about the lasts & fittings. The sales lady seem flustered and suggested I call the designer directly

The estimated costs are RM$700 and takes approximately a month to complete. I will call him and make enquiries on the above issues . Hopefully this can be a potential source on well constructed reasonably priced shoes without the ensuing Cantonese exchanges!!

There was no opportunity to inspect the finished product as the sales lady kept showing me the RTW products in an attempt to deflect my questions . I'll provide an update after I've had an opportunity to speak to the designer.

I'm not expecting much in the way bespoke shoes are made here.

There were 2 places I am aware off that made shoes , "Classic" along Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman and one in Komplex Dang Wangi near ALT.

I accompanied a friend to Classic some years back . The measurements consisted of tracing his feet on a paper pattern. There were no measurements of the instep, arch etc. No fitting was given before the shoe was "closed" ( finished )

The end result was not very inspiring either. The shoes look fine from a distance but were a tad rough rough the edges.

Oh well -hope springs eternal!!

Further to my last posting , I spoke to Thomas Chan. The conversation was pleasant & he seems to know his stuff. a big change after encountering the sales person at one of his outlets.

1. The price of RM$700 is for the machine made rubber soled variety. The fully handmade bespoke version will cost approximately RM$2,000 & will take 2 to 3 months. It's still faster & cheaper than the Lobbs or other European Bespoke shoes that will take a minimum of 9 months to a year for the first fitting. At STG400 , it will be the same price point as a entry level RTW Lobbs or EG or the custom grade Church's purchased in London.
2. The shoe can be made with goodyear welting as well as insoles to cater for any deficiencies with one's feet.
3. He will make a last of the feet & have 2 fittings before the shoe is closed.
4. The downside is the leather available. He can only provide Italian leather which is thiner than the English variety

He said he will have to make the shoe personally as the sifu who is experienced in making these types of shoes has just retired.He seems to know about the double stitching that is a feature of Lobbs. He suggested having a double layer of leather if the client requests for thicker leather

Food for thought but I will probably explore the other 2 outlets I spoke about before deciding on whether to pursue the bespoke path a la Malaysian.

I would be happy to defer to Lanatir to take the lead share with us the results of his efforts. Thomas Chan is reasonably articulate in English & there will be no need to translated "bevel waist" & "whole cut" to Cantonese!!

BV-I asked him about Shell Cordovan leather & he didn't seem to know about it. His ability to make shoes in different types of leather depends on where he can procure his leather which seems to be Italy. I think the Italian leather is softer & thinner ( 2 mm v 3 mm for the English variety ) If you are interested, pm me & I will pass his cell phone number to you on condition that you share pictures of the fruits of your commission with the forum.

I will check out Classic at Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman as well as the one at Wilayah Compleks before I revert with an update.At RM1,000 or RM1,500 I may have given it a go but at 2k I would save my money & buy a EG or another nice shoe when I am next in the UK.

I have a pair of boat shoes from Allen Edmonds which has repairable soles. The repair service is excellent & I have been using it for some years. They recently sent me a free pair of shoes when there was an inordinate delay in repairing my shoe without me having to request it. Now that is service you don't see in Malaysia!!

Nice

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Added on August 1, 2010, 8:37 amNo luck in locating the two shoe makers in the Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman area I wrote about in my previous thread.

However, I came across San Lee shoes located in Taman Midah, Cheras. This company apparently specializes in custom manufacturing of dancing shoes & offers bespoke services. Not sure if anyone here has tried them .

This post has been edited by beau: Aug 1 2010, 08:37 AM

Scribes?

Any info on customized Scribes? ( Not that I'm interested )

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Added on August 15, 2010, 2:18 pmGood choice of stuff at Ikano, especially the Saphirs The down side is dealing with the bespectacled lady who is a typical charm school drop out at the counter . No complaints about the workmanship & repairs

This post has been edited by beau: Aug 15 2010, 02:18 PM

The workmanship is not in contention, it's having to deal with the bespectacle dragon at the counter.

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Added on August 16, 2010, 9:19 pmSaphirs are great. They really bring life to the shoes.
I would use the Renovateur to soften & protect the leather, cream in the correct color & finish off the shine with Saphir's Pate de Luxe to give it that extra shine.

Might be cheaper if you order them on line .

There's a shop in Sri Hartamas that specializes in leather restoration. I'm having an old pair of shoes restored there.

Feel free to pm me if you are interested in the source for both

This post has been edited by beau: Aug 16 2010, 09:19 PM

The suede loafers are nice.

Ferragamos are comfortable but the ones to get are the "Tramezza" Good Year welted range.

My dislike of them stems from the lack of robustness as compared to Church's

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Added on August 17, 2010, 12:56 amCare to share your find?

$5 versus the factor of four for Saphir would make it a good buy

This post has been edited by beau: Aug 17 2010, 12:56 AM

Kotmj,

You'll find many of the more sartorially knowledgable individuals concur with you. Why pay for all the advertising & marketing glitz . One may not be fashionable but one will always be well dressed if one chooses wisely.

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Added on August 17, 2010, 9:55 pmBetter have the brakes & suspension ( as well as common sense ) to go with all the power. Otherwise the driver of the vehicle will be dressed by a mortician!!

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Added on August 17, 2010, 10:09 pmLocal customer service has a long way to go. In the UK ( & US ) the customer is king and most retailers adopt the attitude that a customer is always right ( see Nordstroms & their no questions exchange policy )

Sad to say , the retail trade here has poor standards. Not only do the shop assistants have poor product knowledge, some of them tend to treat customers like imbeciles .

Two recent events come to mind:-

1. A friend bought two pairs of Tods from the boutique in KLCC. He discovered that one of the pairs that was given to him was not the correct size. The anguish he received trying to effect an exchange was unbelievable to say the least!!.

2. An elderly Chinese gentleman who was not well attired was denied a test drive in a vehicle of a European persuasion. Unknown to the sales personal in the show room , this gentleman could probably buy up all the cars in the show room with his pocket change!!

There should be a concerted campaign to deny these idiotic sales their commission by boycotting shops that have poor customer service!!

This post has been edited by beau: Aug 17 2010, 10:09 PM

Glue doesn't cost much hence the 50% discount

There's no accounting for taste-monkey see , monkey do!!

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Added on August 18, 2010, 11:00 amMost of the staff in the local shoe shops think that "Blake" refers to the model of the shoe & "Goodyear" has something to do with your car!!

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Added on August 18, 2010, 11:01 amPlanning to have a similar gathering again in Kuala Lumpur and/or Singapore?

This post has been edited by beau: Aug 18 2010, 11:01 AM

They have to fit the jacket in quick time before rigor mortis sets in. No need to show the shoes as the bottom half of the coffin can be kept closed to cover the mutilated limbs resulting from the car crash. Otherwise buy the stripe pants from Kotmj's bundle shop.

Most folks focus on the engine & HP without taking a holistic view of the driving experience & safety.Good tyres are also essential.

Great thing about shopping in the West is the fact that they treat everyone as a potential customer which should be the case. The customer may not be able to afford the product today but you want him to think of how well he was treated & aspire to owning your product , purchasing it one day when he can afford it..

Paris & Parisians in general may be arrogant but the warmest & best customer service I've encountered there was at Charvet the shirtmakers. Made me feel as welcome as a kampung wedding!!

Good tyres are essential to safety & performance. I usually use different widths in my front & back to give mine better handling. Downside is the costs as tyres can only be swapped left to right & not rotated in the normal manner .

Interesting although I'm not partial to square toes. It could do with some polish & glazing at the quarters & toes to give it a bid of patina . Care to provide more details on the shoes & where you got them from?

Hate to rain on your parade but what you've paid for a RTW Armani here could have bought you a started Hand made to measure version in Italy!!

Good thing your dreams have come true

Shoes:- I prefer the horse bit (snaffle) without the colored canvas , preferably in a driver's shoe configuration. Colored canvas speaks of too much bling as with bamboo snaffle

It's good to know that the marketing machine is effective on some members of the population.

Perhaps the picture was not well taken but the jacket looked too tight on you .

This is worse than I thought :- you have paid for a GA jacket what you could have gotten for a starter Armani MTM suit.

Are you sure that this is their own manufactured item ( the Borgo 21 ) or a sub contracted make by Vestimenta ? Given the fact that this was discounted may suggest that it's the fused version before the higher priced non fused versions.

A good test of whether this will withstand time is whether you are able to wear it without too much shame in a few years time.

Think of those wedding photos where friends have worn white 3 piece suits a la Saturday Night Fever!!

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Added on August 22, 2010, 8:32 amps Don't apologize for being a sucker for bling. Just remember that less is more and those who have don't need to show. Why look like a bill board or something from a magazine when one can have individual style ( which doesn't have to be expensive or designer brand dependent )

For what you have paid you could have made a bespoke suit in London & still wear that several years down the line ( provided your weight remains constant & opted for a more classical style ). You may not be considered fashionable but you'll always be regarded as well dressed.

By getting on the designer bandwagon, you will constantly be required to keep in trend otherwise you will look dated and everyone will know that you've been wearing that "Armani " jacket for the umpteen time!!

You should also poll women on what they think of men who succumb to bling!!

All seems superficial & shallow but this is really my personal opinion. However to each his own otherwise the world will be a bland place.

This post has been edited by beau: Aug 22 2010, 08:32 AM