The Best Shoemaker You've Probably Never Heard Of

In light of recent events (emails) and the fact that it would appear that some people are confused as to what I am actually doing, I wish to explain a few things about my first experiences with high end shoes and shoemakers. When I first discovered that I wanted to start my own shoe line, as a business minded individual, I decided that I wanted to learn AS MUCH as I could about shoes, from the retail side, to the manufacturing (both hand and machine), and everything else I could possibly absorb, in order to become a shoe designer that had credibility in regards to truly understanding not only his product, but also his customers. That being, with a business degree in Entrepreneurship from a credible university, I consciously decided to remain in retail to start understanding why men bought shoes and to start understanding why large companies purchased this shoe brand over that one. While I would have much rather been doing other things than lacing up other peoples’ shoes for them, I knew that this would be a way to get one step closer to my goals. And it was because of this step that I actually managed to land the next one, which was undertaking an apprenticeship in bespoke shoemaking with legendary shoemaker , Stefano Bemer, of whom this post is in regards to. 

I therefore packed up my bags and set off for Italy to start learning the art of true handmade shoemaking.  While many of you might think that a lot of my inspiration comes from Corthay, Bestetti, Lobb or Edward Green, it was actually Stefano’s shoes that set the foundation for my taste in shoes, and has been thus progressed by Gaziano & Girling. You see, Stefano Bemer, was very famous in the 80’s and 90’s in Italy, to a point where he was even offered to be purchased by Gucci (of whom he was already consulting for) in order to expand his name and reach. As Stefano is probably one of the only true artists that I know who cares more about leather and shoes than money, he kindly declined the request. Was this a mistake? I don’t know. But I can tell you that because he decided to remain a small artist, many of you have probably never heard of him, or seen the amazing shoes that he actually creates. This is one thing that I actually feel sad about, as I truly believe that his RTW shoes (which are goodyear welted) have the capability to rival all of the greats and possibly even be better than most of them. I don’t say this because I learned under him and therefore feel loyal to him, I say this because it is true. Not only do I have first-hand knowledge of being around them for a long time and handling them but also have owned a pair for 3.5 years that I have worn into the ground without even needing to have a resole (only one re-heel).  

Because I truly believed in Stefano and his product, I set off on an adventure the following summer in order to try and get his shoes into the US market. A lofty goal this was, especially since it was summer 2009 which was right at the beginning of our most recent big recession. That being, I took it upon myself to go and sell luxury products to stores that were cutting back on their inventory. Crazy yes, but necessary nonetheless to learn shoe industry lessons and attempt at building the brand of Stefano Bemer. The problem is that he wanted to come in at John Lobb prices and wasn’t willing to budge on that.  At first I thought that he was being a bit stubborn, but looking back at it now I feel that he was justified, as his product was worth every penny. But needless to say, without strong brand recognition, selling +$1000 to stores during a recession was not happening. Many store buyers seemed impressed with the shoes, but could simply not justify those prices at that time. I can’t say that I blame them either, but it has led to the fact that Stefano’s shoes still do not sell in America and as sad as this is to say, might not ever.  And the downfall to all of this, is the fact that he is a brilliant shoemaker, who shoes are some of the most amazing that I have ever seen and the ones that inspired me and my upcoming collection.

And while the story of Stefano ends there, I will continue on with telling you a bit more about my aspirations and how they have led me up to this point….Upon coming to England, I was in desperate need of work. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue with bespoke shoemaking or to try to use my degree to get into a corporate job and start learning the design side of things with some large shoe company. Needless to say, none of those things happened, and when the going got tough, I managed to find this job at Gieves & Hawkes, shining shoes for others. You can imagine that this was a hard blow to my ego, as I was not sure how this was going to help me get closer to my goals, but let me tell you that this job was the ABSOLUTE BEST THING that could have happened to me, a diamond in the rough. Not only did it allow me to be positioned on the most famous street in the world for men’s tailoring (which no doubt correlates with footwear) to help me network and build my Shoe Snob brand, but also allowed me to cut the bullshit and get on with my number #1 priority: STARTING A RTW SHOE LINE! I could have just stuck with working for others and maybe took over someone else’s shoe line or started my own in 20 years, but I don’t have the patience for that. I would rather give it my all now and fail, then wait 20 years just to be ‘secure.’ So that’s what I did. I just started drawing shoes and had planned to go to MICAM in order to find a factory to make them. 

Therefore while many of you think that I should stop shining shoes and go back to ‘shoemaking’ I have to tell you that bespoke shoemaking was never my priority, only a means to an end. It was a way for me to become a shoe company owner who truly understood why his shoes were worth the price. So, I will actually stick with the shoe shining (as I need to pay bills), use that to build my brand awareness (and believe me it does), all while I get this shoe line off of the ground. Obviously, this has been something that I have been talking about for a long time, and because of that some of you may think that I am just putting about and might be ‘lost.’ But in reality the realization of my goals has almost come to fruition, shoe buyers are interested, and like any other start-up company, I have to go make it happen. Nothing comes quick and easy, especially when you are dealing with factories and first collections. So to all of you who doubt me, please continue doing so, because for me it will feel all the better to prove you all wrong. And for those who support me and believe in my goals, I truly thank you. I promise that I will give it my all to not let you down!

And just in case you are tired of the John Lobbs, the Edward Greens or the Berlutis and are looking for a new shoemaker to try out, do me a favor and go to Florence and pick up a pair of Stefano Bemers. I promise that you won’t be disappointed…

To all of those that get direct emails from my blog and therefore do not go to the actual URL, please do check out this link below for my new shoe polishing contest, where you can win prizes.

http://the-shoe-snob.blogspot.com/p/shoe-polishing-monthly-contest.html 

 

-Justin, "The Shoe Snob"

The Beauty Of Made To Order Shoes

Gaziano & Girling St. James II, Courtesy of Zimmermann & Kim

Have you ever seen the coolest shoe ever, only that it came in just black or just brown or just some other color that you really didn't fancy, or just thought was plain boring. I have....about a million times. And what did you do when this happened? Probably nothing, because what could you do, especially if this brand did not have any custom offerings program, more simply known as MTO. Well, for me that is a shame, because the person gets all worked up, only to be left disappointed in the long run. Now, that doesn't mean that every brand in the whole world should have MTO, because it really depends on the factory that produces their shoes, how low they want to make their minimum order and for how much of a mark-up in price (for each shoe) they want to do this at. Some brands don't have a choice, some do. But the ones that do, for me, have a great advantage because the more that time goes on the more that I feel that there are higher numbers of people like me who simply are not satisfied with the common offering available. They want something unique, something that no one else has, something that other people go 'WOW' at.... And if they are creative enough, the executioin of MTO can do this just for them...

Many Pictures Courtesy Of: Leffot and L'atelier du Chausseur

I put every picture that I have of the Corthay Wilfred above here....how many do you think came as a stock color offering? Probably about 2 or 3, maximum. But how many of them blow you away? Many none, maybe all of them? Maybe you are the guy that just wants a black or brown shoe? Who knows. But nevertheless, the beauty of MTO is that it allows for the designers/shoemaker to offer a much broader selection of his work. And because of this, the designer may actually be happier. I say this because a concoction that is created by the customer might resonate closer to what the designer would ideally like to make, as opposed to what he actually does, which will most likely be what the 'average consumer' wants. I will be honest with you, when I first thought about starting my shoe line, I just wanted to make extremely unique shoes, much like the bespoke ones that I have made, but as the time gets closer to launching, the more that I realize that I cannot just make what I like, but have to appeal to majority. But fret not, because I am bold enough to take the risk of doing a happy medium by creating things that mix between what I want to see in the market, but also what I believe could appeal to the masses.

G & G, Courtesy of Zimmermann & Kim

Saint Crispins, Courtesy of The Armoury

Edward Green, Courtesy of Leather Soul (I believe)

The only real downfalls of Made To Order shoes, is the amount of time that it usually takes to receive them (which requires a lot of patience) and the possibility of creating something ugly that you will then be stuck with. The second fright will really just be up to you and your idea of pairing colors and/or leathers. But the time constraint, albeit frustrating, is really out of many makers hands. If you think about it in a logical business sense (which every company has to), the factory will always want to put the order of 1000 pairs of shoes, before the order of 1 or 2 MTOs. It would be ideal if each factory just had a section that was strictly for MTO shoes, but that would most likely not be practical without a guarantee of about 100 orders/month, if not more. Therefore, as this will most likely never be the case, the only real downfall to getting a shoe that you customized, is the time that you have to wait for it. But like most good things in life, they are usually worth waiting for....

Shoe Sizing.....Yet Another Thing To Work Out

Photo Courtesy Of: Big In Japan

Most of you probably think that I am some kind of chord stuck on repeat, with all of the posts I have about my shoes this and my shoes that, but I'll truly tell you, if ever you have been involved in the production of a new product, it takes a whole lot longer than one might imagine to get it up to scratch. Granted, some people may rush this out and have it out in no time, but if you are entering a market that is a bit saturated, you are going to want to make sure that your product differentiates itself the best that it can, so that it does not get lost in that sea of monotonous product, but rather stands out like the breath of fresh air that everyone needed. Now, in no way am I guaranteeing that my product line will be that breath of fresh air for you, but you can bet that I am doing my best to make sure that it is as close as possible in every which way: from style, to fit, to quality/price ratio etc. First and foremost, I had to get the style (patterns) and last shapes right, because inelegant and/or ugly shoes just won't sell no matter what the case. And now that I have this pretty much sorted out, my next hurdle is to make sure that I get the sizing right, not only in how I label my sizes (making sure that my 10 does not fit like an 11), but also in how I offer my range i.e. 7UK-11UK.

The difficult thing about sizing is that most countries have their own way of calculating it, thus creating a bit of confusion for many consumers that are trying to make an international purchase. For example, if you go to Japan, a lot of their shoes are measured in centimeters. If you are American (or are also on the imperial system), you are going to have a tough time figuring out your size without having to measure your feet, and vice versa for people from Japan coming to the UK or US. Now this becomes an even bigger problem when calculating the width sizing as well, and then imagine having to buy online....it's a mess, and can create a lot of confusion for both the customer and supplier. Every now and then, you can find quite an accurate chart (like the one below), that will differentiate for you what one size might convert to in another system, but even this means nothing in reality, because what it really boils down to is how the shoemaker/designer decided to label his stock lasts. For instance, my "UK7E" last (which would should equate to a US 8D, or about EU40.5) in reality, fits like a UK7EE (which should then equate to a US8E, and bump up to a 41). Now, I could keep my shoes labeled as UK7E and just have them be a shoe that runs a bit on the generous size, or label them a UK7EE, and be standard. Now, funny enough, while they do not look wide by any means, having that "EE" would deter many Americans from buying them, because in their mind, that signifies quite a wide fitting shoe, even though my shoes are not wide, just a bit generous.

So what I am doing now, in order to get this right, is having my shoes made up for me (keeping the way that they are now) in a 6.5E, but then also having them pretend as if my 7E is really a EE, duplicating it and then shaving off one width to make it an actual 7E. That way, I can compare and hopefully get an accurate account of what they really are. But someone who has a bit more experience in English fitting shoes told me that right now, they would compare my width to a C&J 'EX' fitting, which would be in between an E and an F. This is not exactly what I had in mind when making the shoes, but I know that this fitting is quite appreciated by the English people whom tend to have a broader forefoot, and high insteps. But that being, while deciding my sizes (and how to label them), I have to take into account, not just the English gentleman, but everyone else. So, as I continue to explain each predicament that I come across, I hope that you can now more easily understand why my range has yet to be released, even though I have been talking about it forever now....

Just because I know that you all hope to see new shoes when reading the blog, I will show you another color combination that I am offering my balmoral boot in:

Marc Guyot: Colors, Colors, Colors!!!

If there is one thing that I like about Marc Guyot, it's the fact that he is one guy who is certainly not afraid of a bit of color. Whether or not you would fancy the outfit he wears or the shoes that he makes, you have to respect him for having the courage to be different. While certain things may be considered ostentatious, I find them pleasingly different, especially in a world that sometimes feels overly monotonous. This new range of shoes that he has, gives a whole new meaning to the idea of colored shoes, where not only are there bold colors being used, but bold colors being combined! While this is certainly not the first time that a shoe designer has done this, I must say that some of the combinations caught me by surprise. They did so by making me realize that certain colors that I would never think to wear, nor combine, actually look amazing well! What I am referring to is the split-toe derby in orangy-brown/puke green. Now, in no way is that description an attempt at insult (what other green would it be), but an actual realization of prejudices (orange colored leather - never fancied that before?) being overturn by the power of observation through skilled design by Mr. Guyot himself! Nevertheless, I tip my hat to Mr. Guyot for being a man that does what he likes, and not necessarily what everyone else likes!

Shoe Pictures Courtesy Of: Parisian Gentleman
Marc Guyot Photo Courtesy Of: The Dandy Portraits

Balmoral Boot Porn

I was never quite the biggest fan of pairing black with a burgundy and/or an oxblood/merlot type of color, but I must admit that the more that I studied this prototype of mine (for wear-testing), the more that the combination of colors grew on me. Having friends and colleagues try it on, wearing jeans, suits, dress casual trousers etc., the more that I felt that these colors actually go quite nice together. It never presented itself as being too dressy for one thing, yet too casual for another. Meaning, that when my colleague tried it on with his navy suit, I felt that it complemented the outfit quite well and when tried on underneath a pair of jeans, it happened to smarten up the outfit. That being, while it's contrast is subtle and not in the least ostentatious, it still provides a great deal of pleasure to the eye, overcoming the monotony of two colors too close in tone. I am still not sure if this will be a colorway that I offer for my first collection, but nevertheless, I am now pleased to have at least had it made up, which gave me the chance to absorb its subtle yet elegant contrast....