To Go Bespoke Or To Not Go Bespoke

Bespoke model made by my friend, for his friend

Let me first define what bespoke means. By definition from a dictionary, in what would be termed as 'old speak,' it would mean 'spoken for.' As in, a garment that is spoken for by someone, is owned and was created specifically for them and no one else. It will fit them perfectly (at least in theory) and should not fit anyone else in that same manner as we are all shaped differently.

Now that we have the definition out of the way, we can begin to talk about what it means to go bespoke, whether or not it is better than RTW or MTO and whether or not it is worth it's price. First off, you will have to bear in mind that I have made bespoke shoes, I own several pairs of them and wear them regularly, so in a sense, I am somewhat bias on the subject at hand, but will try to be as objective as I can be. And to also make a point of clarification, let's say that bespoke is strictly going to be something that was made by hand, not by machine, as I believe that this coincides with the true definition of what it means to be a bespoke product (at least in terms of shoes and suits...).

Riccardo Bestetti bespoke model

Is it worth it?

To answer this question will very much depend upon you, the person who is in prospect of buying them. You will have to ask yourself several questions:

1. Do I have messed up feet that cause me pain?
2. Is it extremely hard to fit my foot into a ready to wear shoe?
3. Can I afford it without blinking an eye?
4. Do I care about what goes on my feet?

You will usually find that the common consensus is as follows: If your feet are fairly straight forward (i.e. they are normal and can fit very comfortably into most RTW shoes, then you truly do not NEED a bespoke shoe. Now this has nothing to do with wanting one but simply the fact that if you have good feet then you do not fall under the category of people that get bespoke for health purposes. Because of this, being worth it or not will be entirely up to how you perceive the importance of fit, design, and the ultimate in superior quality. I cannot answer this for you, but can tell you that the bespoke shoes that I own, fit me better than the rest of the shoes that I own, and because of that are therefore more comfortable. But then again, I do have a slight problematic foot that is relatively flat, narrow and very low volume, which makes it hard to fit into RTW shoes that don't have narrow widths. 

Gaziano & Girling bespoke shoe

Why is it so much more expensive (and time consuming)?

People often seem incapable of fathoming the concept of paying upwards of $3000 for a pair of shoes, yet will happily pay that and even more on a suit....I have never understood this, but will hopefully be able to explain to you why the prices are as so. First off, you have to understand that it is rare that a bespoke maker is able to do the entire process all by himself/herself. You will find that many jobs these days (like closing) are outsourced. And more times than not you don't have all of these people under one roof, so therefore time constraints start to take place as the shoemaker finds themselves waiting for others.

The process is as such:

1. The last maker (and/or pattern maker) comes to measure your foot. At that same time you decide what  shoe you would like to have (i.e. design) and look at the coloring, leather, materials etc. that you like. If you choose something unique, you are creating more work for the pattern maker who will have to cut a new and unique piece of work.

2. They then take those measurements to create a precise mold of your foot, what is called a 'last'

3. After that, the pattern maker will design your pattern by way of the last. That means he uses your specific last to then create your specific pattern. If this design is something unique to you, the pattern maker might take extra long to get it right.

4. After the pattern is cut, they then cut out the leather and give it to the closer to sew all together. This part is usually outsourced so therefore they need to wait on them to complete it.

5. Once the upper is sewn together, they will attach it temporarily to the last to create a trial-fit shoe for you, to make sure that the last fits the way that you would like it to. This process involves you coming back or them coming to you, which increases the total amount of time for the process.

6. Once you have sorted this out (assuming there are no adjustments to be made), you then have to have the shoe 'made,' by the maker (this is the bit that I learned, and as you can see is just one part of the entire process).

Let's just assume that before taxes a bespoke shoe costs £2500 (which is close to the average out here in England). Now let's assume that at best, the shoemakers (owners of the company) take £1000 profit out of that, after all expenses. Now let's just assume that it's a two man firm and they can make 100 pairs a year (which is a very good number in bespoke shoe terms). That equates to £100,000 a year, but divided by 2, coming to a total of £50,000/year for each person. Now, this is all best case scenario, so let's just say that this is a good year for a pair of bespoke shoemakers. So, considering the amount of work put into a year's worth of doing this, it's not all that glorified in terms of making A LOT of money, is it? So, when you ask yourself why a bespoke shoe cost so much, you will see that a lot of work goes into it, a lot of hands touch it and there is not as much profit as you may think....it's far more for the love of making quality shoes then it is for the ambition of becoming rich!

Shoes Below: George Cleverley "Churchill" model, one bespoke, one RTW, can you tell which one?
(Pictures Courtesy Of: Leather Soul)

Can you tell the difference?

Okay, well let's now assume that you don't have problem feet and that money is not an issue. Do you still go for bespoke? Well, I certainly would and the reasons are because, for one, I am a shoe freak. Not only do I want a shoe that no one else has, a shoe that is unique to me, my taste and compliments my wardrobe perfectly but also a shoe that stands out as being made from the best materials around. You instantly see this when you see a bespoke shoe. It's not like you can spot them a mile away on someone's feet but when up close and personal with one, the distinct qualities that make it bespoke are evident and to me speak wonders about the shoe and the person, i.e. someone who appreciates fine footwear. And maybe I am bias saying this because I have spent so much time around both bespoke and RTW shoes, but not only can you tell the difference aesthetically but also in terms of psychologically, as I believe that wearing something that is made for one's self provides a feeling of pride and happiness, much stronger than any RTW shoe can give you....but hey, that's just my opinion! You will have to decide this for yourself...

Shoes Below: Gaziano & Girling (one bespoke & one RTW)

Today's Favorites: Customer's Berluti Shoes

I never seem to tire of old Berluti shoes. Every time I have to shine them, even though they are not my favorite shoe, I seem to enjoy them more than anything else. Partly because the leather shines so easily and therefore makes my job a lot more pleasurable, but mainly because of the fact that even when they come to me all beat up and knackered beyond belief, after a bit of polish and elbow grease, they become like pieces of antiquity art. And while I am sure they look stunning when a customer just purchases them, I can't help but feel that their true beauty lies within a few years of them aging. The patina seems to become much more intricate and can even be intensified or taken down a notch with a bit of polish. Being the glutton that I am for unique coloring, I always do my best to bring out the undertones in the leather......which only makes beautiful shoes like this, look even better!

2012: The Year "Made In..." Moniker Loses It's Strength

It used to be a point of pride telling someone where your shoes were made. Especially if your shoes happened to come from your own country. It was more of an exotic appeal telling someone (if you were American) that your shoes were made in Europe. But now, these things don't really exist anymore. I, frankly, don't really care what country a pair of shoes were made in, so long as I know that the construction is good, the leather is high grade and the design looks good on the last. With all of those things up to my standard, the shoe could be made in Antarctica for all I care, and I believe that more of us are feeling like this. The reality is, no one should care what country your shoes are made in so long as the quality of the craftsmanship and leather, is high. It's a false (and naive) belief, thinking your shoes 'must' be good because they were made in such and such acclaimed shoe making country.

Shoes Above By: DC Lewis 

50-60 years ago, it used to be a guarantee that if your shoes were made in America, England or Italy, that you must have been wearing a beautiful, well-made shoe. But now it's no mystery that certain factories in Italy, either have 80-90% of the shoe fabricated in China, India or Brazil and then send it over to Italy to finish off the last 10-20%, slapping on the "Made In Italy" moniker and allowing the world to believe it was a well-made shoe produced in an artisan country. That's called hustling at it's finest. But we, the people, are (hopefully) becoming more aware of these things, these hustles and are wising up to the fact that good shoes can be made in countries that you would have least expected. And what, anyway, separates a country from being good shoe producers to not? Why were England and Italy rooted in fine footwear? Because at one point and time, creating a product was not about making money, it was about creating something that you could be proud of, something that could make your country known for. And it didn't hurt that men from these countries, truly used to appreciate the art of dressing well and therefore took pride in creating pieces that represented that.

Shoes Above By: Run Of The Mill

But now you see that many companies live off of a name, an idea, a tradition that they no longer stick to in reality, only in false theory. The idea of creating a great product at a great price has changed, and the only thing that high level CEO's (as many companies have been bought out by conglomerates) care about is profit margin and taking the necessary shortcuts to maximize that margin. It's sad really, but I have a feeling that this will change as people are starting to see that the shoes that they have been purchasing for 20-30 years, no longer feel as good as they used to, look as good as they used to and no longer last as long as they used to. They see that their favorite brand has shirked quality for quantity and money and therefore need to find another brand to make up for them. And this is where you see an upsurge in small brands coming out, like DC Lewis and Run Of The Mill, brands that appear to care about quality and honest price control. And I believe that brands like these two, others similar and mine will be the new wave of the future in shoes. At least I hope so......

Happy New Year to all!! Let's make this a year to remember!

Sincerely,

Justin, "The Shoe Snob"

What I Am Wearing

It's been quite a lovely Fall/Winter season here in London, weather-wise, which has allowed me to wear things that would be otherwise saved for the Spring/Summer, such as this light gray Prince of Wales (POW) suit. While I think that I have only been able to wear it once (as it was just recently completed), I am eagerly awaiting the warmer weather to be able to flaunt it's beauty. I had always wanted a POW suit and now that I finally have one, I am excited to see all of the wonderful combinations that I can create with it. Here, unfortunately, I went the boring route with my black loafers, as even though the weather might have been relatively nice, you just never know when it might start raining. And to take a chance with my shoes, for me, is just a no-no. But as soon as Spring comes, you can bet that the browns, blues, suedes and tans will be the only shoes that I will be pairing with this suit....

Shoes: Miro by Septieme Largeur
Suit: Old bespoke, altered for me by Chittleborough & Morgan
Shirt: Can't remember, but not Primark this time...from TK Maxx (in US = TJ Maxx)
Tie: Either XMI or Ike Behar

A Return To Italy (and Stefano Bemer)

Over my quick holiday visit to the in-laws in Perugia, Italy, I managed to pop over to my old town of Firenze (where I once lived for circa 1 year). I had the intention of going back to Stefano Bemer's shop (where I learned to make bespoke shoes) and saying hi to all of my old colleagues, as well as hopefully snapping some pictures of any new models made. Being that plans don't always happen they way that you want them to (and that fact that my wife was waiting for me at a nearby cafe) I was unable to take any pictures, as my time was rushed having to explain to my friends what I am currently up to while trying my best to speak in rusty, broken Italian. It was quite unfortunate, though, as Stefano was not around and I was unable to tell him of my progress, of which I hope that he would have been proud to say that it all started at his shop, my entrance into the bespoke shoe realm.... Nevertheless, I remembered that while living there, I had taken many pictures of the shop that I don't believe I ever posted on the blog, and thought that now would be the perfect time to do so.

If you look at the picture at the very top, you can see that two of the bespoke shoes that I made (#2 & #5) came from the patterns of the shoes second from the left and third from the right, only that I slightly altered minute details such as coloring, piping thickness and last shape. Looking back at these pictures (which only make up a small amount of the entire collection), I must say that Stefano Bemer, while relatively unknown by the majority of people, makes some of the most beautiful shoes that I have ever seen! He is excellent, in my opinion, at pairing certain patterns (designs) with certain last shapes as well as putting together wonderful color combinations. With that in mind, I still wonder why you don't find his shoes selling at more outlets around the world....

While I had a great time in Italy (living there and learning) and would not have traded that experience for anything in the world, I realized that during my short and nostalgic visit back, that I have truly found myself in probably the absolute best place that I could be for making my goals come into fruition (that being London). It makes one realize how funny and coincidental life can be. And if you would have asked me 6-7 years ago, whether I could see myself being and living in London, I would have said, "no way!"  But now I am here, and I feel like I have found my second home, a place that I enjoy and can feel comfortable and secure in. It's a great a feeling and am glad to have had this trip back to Italy to be able to experience it......Anyway enough of the sentimental babble, I hope that all of you had a wonderful holiday season and are getting ready for a great New Year's celebration. 2012 is going to be a great one!!

Best,

Justin, "The Shoe Snob"

Happy Holidays!

Dear All,

As we wind down another year, I just want to thank all of you that have been loyal readers, commentators and advocates of the blog and my aspirations. Without all of you, it would be hard to continue writing.

Alas, I am finally off to have some much needed 'away' time in the beautiful country of Italy. And while I can't wait to go stuff myself with pasta and wine, I regretfully admit that I will out of touch with the computer world while there, not being accessible to the blog or my email. That being, enjoy these pictures of 3 new models by Riccardo Bestetti, which are simply breathtaking....

I will return on the 27th for more blogging and until then I wish everyone a happy holiday season!

All the best,

-Justin, "The Shoe Snob"

My Prototype Adjustments

I'm back! Sorry for the long time without posting, but I did not have time nor much access to anything while away on my quick trip to Spain. But alas, I am home and decided to give you another little morsel of what I have been up to. So needless to say, you can see here just what I have been doing while away, and how I am going through the rounds of adjusting my prototypes in order to create the ideas that I had floating in my head. Now, you might think that what I have been showing you is nothing that special (in terms of unique designs), and that is purposefully done as I don't want to give away of my ideas before my shoes are ready for distribution. So, at first I showed you my take on a cap-toe and now I am showing you my take on a nice brogue. I decided that I did not want to go straight into designing a full brogue, as every other shoe company in the world has one. Obviously I will eventually need to make one, for all of you classicists out there, but in the meanwhile being the sucker that I am for saddles, I decided to introduce the 'saddle brogue.'

As you can see, there have been adjustments made with a silver pen indicating what needs to be changed. The sharp corner of that saddle did not flow well with the smooth, soft line of the wing cap below it, so I am having the pattern maker round it out a bit in order for the lines to be in sync with each other. This will give the shoe a little bit more balance as I believe that it is a bit on the clashing-side at the current moment.

For some odd reason, it would appear that the toe sits very high off of the ground, but I can assure you that this is not the case, as I am not a fan of toes that curve upward. Obviously, a shoe needs a bit of space between the toe and the floor, due to the way that we walk, but I think that the fact that there is a piece of glass that sits on top of the table, it would appear as if the surface is lower than it actually is, giving off the illusion of a toe that curves too high upward.

So, here is one more of my shoes to hold you over and to let you know that I am indeed working as fast as I can to release my collection which will consist of around 12 different designs, having two of the designs using two different lasts, making it seem that there would be 14 different designs. I am hoping (optimistically) that they will be ready by mid to late January (assuming there is no more need for adjustments) and that I can put my first order through by sometime in February (but don't hold me strictly to this). So for all of those patiently waiting, I can assure you that it is not long from now.....

What I Am Wearing - Spectators

It's not very often that I break out my pair of 1920's Chicago gangster-style spectators, but I always love the reactions that I get when I do. It's funny, because I never thought of them as "gangster-style" but this is a frequent comment that I receive amongst my colleagues here in London. I always looked at them as a very dandy-ish style shoe that elegant gentleman wore in the southern states of America when they wanted to dress up for festive garden parties or the likes of that. And while I am sure that their history goes back in a much more extensive way than that, it's just something that is embedded in my mind, being American and all. But now that I am one of the millions of viewers that watches the magnificent series, Boardwalk Empire, I can understand why they may receive this 'gangster' moniker. Nevertheless, there was a period when Church's were doing these in all types of color options (even white with yellow) and while I wanted to get one of each, I decided that I would just go with the most classic of them, as pictured here.

Shoes: Church's
Suit: MTM Gieves & Hawkes
Shirt: Primark
Tie: XMI Platinum
Socks: Mes Chaussettes Rouges