Dude! We should have met up! I'm in Birmingham.

C&J Birmingham is one of my fav store, the staff is lovely and I tend to stop by weekly for a chat lol.

A 2nd store is opening soon in a few months time. Was supposedly earlier but someone drove into the shop front whilst it was still being renovated.

Did you get any shoes? There's a nice Handgrade black double monk.

This post has been edited by Kelvw: Jul 12 2016, 07:33 PM

Nope. Didn't get approval from my finance minister.

Yes, fully agree the store manager (cant remember his name), the lady and a young new chap in training are all very helpful and pleasant!

Yes, i did! Bought the antique brown wholecut weymouth....

Am leaving for london in 1 hour... Plus, the wife and kids are with me atm... Anyway, I visit London quite a few times in a year (usually for meetings)...will let you know in advance (will PM u) before my next visit!

Nik

This post has been edited by nikfs1881: Jul 12 2016, 11:52 PM

Must be Mark the store Manager and Linda. Nice purchase! Quite a shopping spree for you 😄

@Sweerpuff get it first and then ask for forgiveness later lol

Yes indeed, Mark and Linda! i went there again to buy a pair of shoetrees just before i took the train from Birm New St. Thought of buying the HG trees (aesthetically looks better than main line trees) but was advised against it. I was told the HG trees are designed for 348 last and not suitable for 337 last....

Anyway, some pics of the new pair of CJ taken using my mobile phone:

nice score! I need to get some HG trees as well which is so much nicer than EG's for the same price. Personally now having have both EGs and CJ, I would say CJ Handgrades are pretty good value for money and the full leather insoles are so nice. Also the welt stitching is concealed which is rather neat.

I always envy you guys when you get additional 20% off tax free. Makes it even a better buy.

I was going to drop by today but the rain just put me off. How do you like the new station? pretty awesome eh?

Nik: More poison for you if you're still in London tomorrow. I will be checking it out on Friday instead but I'm keeping my expectations down.

Guys,what is your opinion on cheap suede vs expensive suede shoes based on the leather quality alone?is it that noticeable like cheap calf?

Hahaha.... Thanks... Too many unworn shoes already. Missus starts to make a little bit of noise - which i think is well justified! Two pairs for this trip are good....if i go there, i'm pretty sure i'll end up with another pair for sure - might as well avoid the temptation. 😬

In Bicester earlier - very disappointing. Thought i'll see Cheaney outlet - apparently it was closed after only few months in operation in Bicester.

Pls keep us posted on the EG sales.... Will not stop by but still interested to hear about it from you! Read about EG sales in other forums - seems like hits and misses for most people that went there and prices are a bit high for subs and older stocks. But great deal for the trees at GBP35 - we paid gbp95 a few days ago! *speechless*

This post has been edited by nikfs1881: Jul 16 2016, 08:58 AM

Quite difficult to answer your question objectively. What exactly do you mean by cheap suede vs expensive suede? Are we comparing Cheaney suede vs Lobb or Gaziano suede? Or are we comparing clarks suede vs CRockett Jones suede? If the latter, yes, there will be noticeable different, not just the leather quality but the difference would still be very glaring in terms of the whole shoes constructions - the welt, in sole, sole, stitching, feel and the moment you put your feet inside the shoes - you'll most definitely feel the big difference! If you are just comparing the suede leather quality alone putting aside the whole shoe constructions, from 50meters away, you will not see much difference - take a closer look, you will notice a notable difference - more prominent difference once you slot your feet in!

This post has been edited by nikfs1881: Jul 15 2016, 06:25 PM

Added another one pair of country boots.... Time to pack and go home! Lesson learnt: don't visit Jermyn St, Savile Row during summer and winter sale! Extremely dangerous!

This post has been edited by nikfs1881: Jul 16 2016, 05:21 AM

hahhaa your better half not giving u an earful!!??

Well, at the opposite end of the affordability spectrum, here's a look at the made in Italy double monk I got from Bata KLCC. Currently with 50pc off @ rm149.50.

Came in brown colour, but Iayered a couple of cognac shoe cream over it, and I find that it makes the colour more interesting.

Quite a bargain, if you ask me. Will take more photos of how it holds up to one day of wear, which includes 30mins walk by roadside and housing areas.



This post has been edited by SweetPuff: Jul 18 2016, 04:02 PM

ok wor... leather or PVC?

Leather! Pretty decent quality too. Sole is partially leather as well. As far as I know, only KLCC Bata carries this range.

For this shoe, they only have size 42.

This post has been edited by SweetPuff: Jul 18 2016, 05:01 PM

@SweetPuff: Can't go wrong with a pair of double monks.


@nikfs1881: Going home already? There're more shoes you haven't picked up yet
I thought you said 2 pairs...where did the 3rd one come from? You gotta show the Trickers.

Bicester is a hit and miss but more miss most of the time. The Cheaney pop up shop was there for a short period of time but only up to Easter I believe. There is Church's though.
You should make a day trip up to Northampton instead, may be easier to get around in a car hopping from one factory to another.

This is what you missed at Beicester, not much really but they do have some nice selections in there and it's not subs.






As for the EdwardGreen sales, not much that I fancy. There were rows and rows of shoes. Most were either old factory stocks or seconds and they weren't cheap either. Old stocks were at £500 and seconds at £400. I did get a pair of ShoeTrees at £35 but they were old stocks, the newer ones were still retailing at £95. They told me the wood was different and they've switched suppliers. I managed to get a matching belt instead which I was pleased.

Here's how it looks like. No crowd yet in the morning. Even when it opened there weren't many people. It started to pick up by midday.





My belt, tree and polish haul.





Decided to head back to Jermyn Street again which wasn't a wise move. I ended with another pair of Edward Green which I shall be picking it up next month after my break

Here's some more pics of that super budget double monks:






Just want to highlight that the original colour would be brown, and that I've layered the shoes with cognac and light brown cream.


@Kelvw: What's the damage of the belt?

Looking good bro.. With ur skill polish with darker shade,The patina looks really awesome.. Macam sudah ages...
I dont see double in any of my local bata shop. Guess is only exclusive in KLCC Outlet

Guys zeve shoe ok or not? Any of u have bought this brand? The quality seems ok and the price is affordable.

The web is this http://zeveshoes.com

P/s : i have no relation towards zeve or commission.lel

This post has been edited by Mrsaitama: Jul 19 2016, 02:37 PM

i've seen it as well but need to find some time to go there and try it on

They are having an event in KLCC isetan this week (thu to Sun) , can drop by after 530pm to check their shoes out

This post has been edited by spacelion: Jul 19 2016, 03:43 PM