Greetings everyone

I have a question for all you sifus.

I am troubled since I bought my first pair of Loake 1880s coupla weeks ago (from PLal, where else?). After a couple of
wears, trying to break in the shoes (about 20 minutes each time), when I took a look at the sole, I was pretty shocked to
find that the sole stitches near the toe were actually flattened, by being in contact with the ground! There was no wear
in the sole at the toe area, but it seems the stitch channel is so shallow, that the stitching threads actually stand proud
of the rest of the sole, and strike the ground with each step. This happened to both right and left shoes.

My question: Will this cause premature failure of the sole stitching, cos to my mind, the constant abrasion must eventually
tear and break the threads, at the toe (without the sole being worn down much). Is this a case of manufacturing defect
getting past Loake QC? I had speaks with Sham, the PLal boss, but he just said it's "normal", and "no problem", and that
if I was really concerned, to stick a rubber half-sole on, but I am not convinced.

(BTW, is this the way to post: by hitting FastReply? Again, first time posting!)

Thanks Damien for the tip. Kindof ironic, that Loake stresses to never add any stick-on soles to their shoes, and here we are, needing to do just that, in order to cover up
defects. Feels likes I paid full-price for seconds...

Oh hi, niakulah. Thanks for dropping by! These are the pics (hope they show up, cos Post Preview dont show the pics)- ones right, ones left.



I think even toe taps are out, cos the cobbler would need to shave off about 1 mm or so,
right? which would shave off the threads at the toe!

@Kelvw Hi, Kelv, thanks for your views! BTW, I do miss your new shoe postings, been too busy, huh?

@niakulah Vow! So they really DO shave off the toe threads - OMG. If you did not tell me your experience,
I would have gone: That shoe is kaput!

Anyway, thanks guys. I feel much better. Now I can go clickety-clacking for a while, on the leather sole,
before I put on a topy!

Whoa! Great job with the mirror shine! Pity we don't get C&Js over here....

Man, every time I read your posts, I need to put on sunglasses!

I see the shoe horn gets a fair bit of use?

Haha. Ignoramus Me thought the streaks were caused by wear! Tsk tsk

Beautiful color! Would the soles be rubber, seeing as the shoes are for rough weather?

Hi, Guys,

What do you think happened to this tin of Pate De Luxe, Yellow? Bought it coupla weeks ago,
just got around to opening it. Swear it was in my living room the whole time, not near any
heat source or sunlight! The vendor says it's perfectly fine? Exp date is 06/20, btw.

Oh sorry, niakulah, I put the question mark in the wrong place! The wax
IS Yellow, just that there's a ring of dark stuff around the edge of the tin, and
the tin rim seems to have blistered looking vertical lines. They told me it was
the "beeswax surfacing". I guess it may work OK, but I'm just curious as to
the cause?

Seems they are "permanently closed" instead of moved, according to "curiositykills": https://amalaysianman.blogspot.com/2015/01/...-ferragamo.html

This post has been edited by stfsoelyn: Sep 17 2018, 11:11 PM

Thanks very much for clarifying! Though it does put a dent in their reputation, in my mind, at least!

If you want strictly KL, then either Isetan or Tangs may occasionally have good imported shoes. If willing to go further afield, then for your
budget, the only game in town is P.Lal, at Jalan Gasing in PJ: they have good English shoes for very reasonable prices (I am not affiliated with them, btw.)
Their biggest advantage, over online, is you actually try out the shoes, and buy what really fits your feet.

This post has been edited by stfsoelyn: Nov 3 2018, 02:55 PM

Whoa! Congrats on a great find!

Hi, guys.

Just wondering, if anybody is using Meermins, do they still suffer from the squeaking issue?

I recently bought 2 pairs from shoetreeproject.com (they are Singapore based), for about RM258, inclusive of shipping, which works out to about RM129 per pair. They're supposedly made of "American Red Cedar". I have no way to confirm that, but they seem to be of good quality.
Muji also sells red Cedar shoe trees - they were RM 121 back in 2018, but they are single tube, as opposed to normal twin tube. These were made in China.
And then, of course, Lazada and Taobao also have cedar shoe trees.

This post has been edited by stfsoelyn: Oct 25 2019, 11:39 AM

At today's exchange rate, your price works out to about RM145, but if you buy 2 pairs, the price per pair comes down to about RM133 per pair, even after taking into account the increased weight and hence, shipping charge!
Both they and Muji pack a small piece of sandpaper, along with the shoe trees, for you to "refresh" the cedar smell when it fades, so I guess that is a small indication of whether it is real cedar. (If that fails, there's always pure cedar oil! Come to think about it, we could just buy any el-cheapo wooden shoe trees and rub cedar oil into them: after all, we just want cedar for its insect repellent and aroma features, no? Most wood will still absorb moisture as well as cedar)

This post has been edited by stfsoelyn: Oct 26 2019, 10:48 AM

You would either buy from Straits Establishment, cos they're close by in Singapore, and usually free (but slow) shipping,
or else buy from afinepairofshoes. If you don't mind paying a premium, and cannot wait, try WJ & Co in Bangsar Shopping Centre.

Loake's products are probably made by Dasco, which is reportedly owned by Saphir group's owner Alma, so I guess should be good (someone correct me if I'm wrong). But some of the stuff at P Lal seems to be very old, and I once checked out one of their polishes, and found it looked like someone had used some of the polish!

This post has been edited by stfsoelyn: Oct 26 2019, 02:01 PM

I think they may have imroved : my shipment from a few weeks ago came in a box, with a "Fragile" sticker label, and each bottle of Pammadier was individually wrapped in bubble wrap.
But yeah, its a hassle when you get broken stuff: you don't know whether to claim from the courier or from the vendor.

More than 2 weeks!