While I cannot give any recommendations in Klang Valley, I do believe that the Isetan in KLCC carries a range of Woly and Church's shoe care products. I remember getting a tube of neutral shoe cream from them a year ago. Even then, I can't give my guarantee that they will have polish or creams in the colours that you want. So don't make that special journey!
Well, I believe that Beau is right in this case. For shoes, most good ones are made in Northampton and from what I hear, if one went to the factory stores there, a pair of C&J can be had for around £100. In London itself, I know of a store selling Loakes for £65 for entry level ones to £85 for those in calf skin. They do Barker calf skins for just below £100. The great thing is that the store is easily accessible and the same prices apply all year round. Plus, they're not seconds. There's a Church's outlet store in Bicester where seconds of their custom grade shoes go for £160. If one can afford them, London gives access to the real John Lobb (not the Hermes owned company) and George Cleverly!

I don't really want to talk about shirts and suits here for the fear of being chastised (there is a suiting thread after all), but since I am asked... The average ready to wear shirt here is much better than the average tailored shirt in Malaysia (be it MTM or supposedly bespoke). For around £25, one get purchase shirts of very decent quality from Charles Tyrwhitt, Hawes and Curtis and T.M. Lewin (I include Lewin with trepidation). They come in a large variety of fabrics (twill, herringbone, pindot etc) and styles. Going a few steps higher in the hierachy of shirts, Turnbull and Asser do offer shirts for around £50 during the summer and winter sales.

Suits are quite a different story however. Most MTM or bespoke suits are hideously expensive. Almost all the lower end tailors outsource their work to Thailand, China or Nepal. Like many tailors in Malaysia, they don't actually know the difference between MTM and bespoke. The ready to wear scene is good though. I just bought 2 suits from Charles Tyrwhitt (one of them a 3-piece) for less than £600 with alterations included. They are made from pure wool (I think they are 110s) fabric milled in Yorkshire and are half canvassed (horse and goat hair). Working cuffs too! Having said all of this, most clothes here are too large for me and need alterations which adds up to the cost.

To sum up, I believe that Malaysia may be cheaper if one really takes the extra mile or in some cases miles. On average though, England is probably cheaper given the prevailing exchange rate. Furthermore, sales assistants and shop owners in England tend to be more knowledgeable than their Malaysian counterparts which takes a lot of frustration away. Please forgive me for being very bourgeoisie by mentioning money (£) very often in this post. I mean to cause no offence but only to provide a point for comparison.

i have to say that i have shallow knowledge on shoes, well today i just bought a pair of "dunno what" shoes, and it happened to meet my all my requirement (i really meant it when i said it met all the criteria i have in my mind", i always wanted a brown and with the specific pattern which desired, unfortunately due to the problem i have with my toe, i hardly wear heel shoes, so the prerably would be flat base....

Problem now is, i really need to ask all the gurus here, which type of pants to suit this shoes?
and a little information bout this shoes to be taught also a great help to me...can't google up any information by itself...
giancarlo nori is the name

You may wish to try Suit Supply at 9 Vigo Street ( The old Ozwald Boeteng Shop ) They are a Dutch company that does a fully canvassed MTM for prices which are slightly higher than what you paid for your Charles Tyrwhitt suit. 

i have to say that i have shallow knowledge on shoes, well today i just bought a pair of "dunno what" shoes, and it happened to meet my all my requirement (i really meant it when i said it met all the criteria i have in my mind", i always wanted a brown and with the specific pattern which desired, unfortunately due to the problem i have with my toe, i hardly wear heel shoes, so the prerably would be flat base....

Problem now is, i really need to ask all the gurus here, which type of pants to suit this shoes?
and a little information bout this shoes to be taught also a great help to me...can't google up any information by itself...
giancarlo nori is the name 

IMO, Vass provides the best price-quality ratio there is in the market, esp. now with the hungarian forint in the shits...Good thing that the F last also happens to be my absolute favourite last.

I've built a pretty good rotation of cheap-ish shoes off SF, eBay and outlets, and hope to replace them slowly with only Vass. Hopefully the forint stays shit.

Show off time!

Greetings

That's a pair of semi-brogue oxfords I reckon. Clearly, it has cemented, synthetic soles which is not to my liking. However, I doubt even 1 in 1000 people will notice that, so I'm just being a pain. For most shoes, I prefer to polish them at least once before I wear them. It gives makes them look less crass in my opinion. Trust me, it does wonders especially on lower end shoes. Just a word of caution, while most leather can be polished, avoid polishing patent leather.

I would match your shoes with a pair of jeans. Something that looks a little on the vintage side will be good. Make sure they're not too baggy ! As your shoes look quite contemporary, I would avoid wearing them with anything more formal than jeans, khakis and cords included. If you want to make a little statement, wear them sockless with shorts! In Malaysia's climate, don't forget to powder your feet if you did that.

Greetings

I'm glad that my initial post has proved to be of interest. Since this thread is for shoes, I shall keep it that way. I will post a more thoughts and rants about the British tailoring scene in the suiting thread. Without a doubt, shoes are cheap in the UK as long as one know where to go. The last thing I want to do is to pay the full RRP for commonly available shoes. Edward Green, Lobb, Berluti and shoes from a few other artisans are the few that I will be willing to pay full price for if I had the money.
That's a pair of semi-brogue oxfords I reckon. Clearly, it has cemented, synthetic soles which is not to my liking. However, I doubt even 1 in 1000 people will notice that, so I'm just being a pain. For most shoes, I prefer to polish them at least once before I wear them. It gives makes them look less crass in my opinion. Trust me, it does wonders especially on lower end shoes. Just a word of caution, while most leather can be polished, avoid polishing patent leather.

I would match your shoes with a pair of jeans. Something that looks a little on the vintage side will be good. Make sure they're not too baggy ! As your shoes look quite contemporary, I would avoid wearing them with anything more formal than jeans, khakis and cords included. If you want to make a little statement, wear them sockless with shorts! In Malaysia's climate, don't forget to powder your feet if you did that.
I've paid them a visit. I don't fit into their RTW and asked about their MTM. The entry price is £350 but I was told that it usually runs to £450 or so. Well, maybe for Christmas.

Before I move on to the suiting thread, I shall leave you folks with a photo of one of my workhorse shoes. For suede, it sure has taken a lot of punishment and has surprisingly held up quite well. Pictured with it is a replica Victorian shoe horn. I like how the handle has a little dog thing on it.

Those Lobbs are very nice.

But these are nicer still.
[attachmentid=1688660][attachmentid=1688662][attachmentid=1688666][attachmentid=1688667]

Thx for the info...
i'm just a novice for shoes...
just some thought in mind,
unsure what made the sole, but it did feels like leather...
i really can't derive whether its synthetic or real coz i can't locate any indicator with the little hide icon...
besides, what else can i do to identify?
can it consider as a full brogued oxford? but i'm unsure whether its a oxford or derbies coz i not sure the tongue is stiched over the lace (will check it out tonight after work) since it have a wingtip and more punched through heel counter, and furthermore, its ballet flat. and 1 more thing, i suspect the shoe is blake stiched, not cemented >.<" correct me if i'm wrong....i bought a wrong shoes  , blake = less robust

oh...and btw, i bought it at robinson the garden, great deal, coz they're having sales till this monthend (july).
spotted a few pair of florsheim with 30% :-) and a lot of italian made shoes and some london, looks descent...
since its friday, pay a visit there, u'll never regret...

If you are into driving shoes & loafers, Fins ( available at Selfridges from STG90 onwards ) are great value. A pair in suede worn with linen pants would complete the Cote D'Azur look.

RTW Berlutis are not good buys ( blake soled ) if you are looking for longevity ( see my comments on one of the threads above. )
However, if you are minded to get a pair, the best place to buy them is at an outlet outside Milan which is similar to Bicester Village.
Edward Greens are difficult to find cheap in the UK but they sometimes have factory close outs in Northampton. Great shoes -will last a lifetime with proper care. Lobbs have occasional close outs at Northampton as well for selected customers .

Hope this helps. BTW there's a shoe outlet off the Edgeware Road that does Alfred Sargeants, Cheneys , C & J's etc at reasonable prices. Not sure if you've come across it or it's still there.

Unfortunately my London trips are short ( 2 to 3 days max ) , filled with meetings & catching up with old friends & very little shopping!!

Nice enough, but somewhat pricey...



http://finsforhim.com/products.asp?id=4&action=george-loafer

IMO, Vass provides the best price-quality ratio there is in the market, esp. now with the hungarian forint in the shits...Good thing that the F last also happens to be my absolute favourite last.

I've built a pretty good rotation of cheap-ish shoes off SF, eBay and outlets, and hope to replace them slowly with only Vass. Hopefully the forint stays shit.

Show off time!

I just clicked on the pic to enlarge it and indeed, it does seem to be blake stitched. That is assuming that the outline on the sole is actually stitching rather than a print that looks like stitching.  Blake stitched soles is still better than cemented soles.  Cemented soles means that it's just glued on. There may be a little sticker inside the shoe indicating the composition of the shoe but an easy way to tell if it's leather or otherwise is to scratch it. This can be done with a fork or just by wearing and walking in it for a while. By scratching the surface (pardon the pun), it will be clear what's inside! It's definitely not a pair of full brogues. Full brogues have much more punching.

Thanks for the heads-up about Robinsons but I'm in the other corner of the globe!
I really like the whole Cote D'Azur look. I have a pair of Paul Smith loafers for that purpose! The only thing is, I've worn it far too many times without no-show socks and it looks a little scruffy now. It's time to bring it to a leather specialist. What I have in mind now is a pair of horsebit loafers. I was in Milan in December. Too bad I missed the Berluti outlet. Then again, while I like the distinct Berluti leather, I doubt I can pull it off.

Well, I presume that your meetings are in the City. There are lots of nice shops on Cheapside and the Royal Arcade. That means you don't have to run off to Jermyn Street or Old Bond St.

Where can I find a decent oxford?

Where can I find a decent oxford?