Working Shoe for Young Exec - Part 2

[Carnage]

Thanks for such detailed information. The pricing a bit steep though. For Bespoke to be at 6.8K. With this money, can fly to Japan multiple times for bespoke shoes fitting and with 2-3k left to spare for bespoke suits...

Btw, I'm curious which bespoke shoe makes bespeak for less than 3k.

Yohei Fukada does it for 600k yen, Spigola does it for 440,000 yen.

Hiro Yanagimachi is 350 - 400k yen.

 

[darthsid11111]

Hi guys. Is there any place I can buy Cedar Shoe Trees under $20 and also cheap welt brushes and horse hair brush? TIA!

Would like to know abt the welt brushes too!

Sent from the exploded Death Star using GAGT

 

[SquallLH]

For ppl in the US (whom i suspect where most of the positive reviews are from), AEs are the goto entry level GY welt shoes mainly due to easy access within their market.

IMHO, at similar pricepoints considering current exchange rates and VAT deductions on UK and EU goods, better deals are avail for UK and EUR brands.

Never tried AE, and probably never will. Purchasing shoes is a very emotive experience. Either they "sing" to you, or they don't.

Yeah. The american shoes DNA is not everyone's cup of tea. Not mine either.

Fashion very subjective thing, may it be American Italian English etc fashion no right or wrong.

One thing with AE, buy at the right time factory seconds can go as low as usd$100 it's cheap

I would say AEs are in general solidly built and I rank them with Loake 1880 range in terms of quality. Definitely higher than EEA, LLYR and the normal Loake lines for the GYW shoes available here in SG.

Design wise, they are definitely not as sleek as the spanish and uk makers and their QC aren't very consistent in regards to the comestic details (i.e. pinking, broguing & etc) so those shoes returned for such comestic issues or didn't get past the factory QC gets relegated to the factory sale as factory seconds.

Yes they resole it to you, via Leong T. I can't remember the costs involved but it's in the hundreds. Phillip said that it would be like a brand new shoe and they would take into account how the shoe was fitted in and the way the wearer walked.

Not sure about what the above meant, I didn't clarify. Didn't know you could tell so much about a person's walking gait just by the soles of his shoes.

I mean I know stuff like being a heel striker, but I thought that was for running.

Thanks for the information, interesting to hear how they can predict the gait haha

 

[All in a Day]

Fashion very subjective thing, may it be American Italian English etc fashion no right or wrong.

One thing with AE, buy at the right time factory seconds can go as low as usd$100 it's cheap

I had wanted to recom him to contact the resident US expert but u've replied already anyhow.

Aesthetical preferences aside, to me it's really all about access. It is not impossible, but just alot more challenging to pick up bargains the way u are able to being physically in the US, as with for Redwings and various other American brands that get grossly inflated when they arrive on Singapore shores, more so when offered in a physical store.

 

[All in a Day]

Hi guys. Is there any place I can buy Cedar Shoe Trees under $20 and also cheap welt brushes and horse hair brush? TIA!

taobao 10 char

 

[All in a Day]

just noticed my meermin monk... the heel of the sole very stiff and hard (think they use wood?), besides heel pad, what other solution to make it more comfortable?

Keep wearing till u get used to it lor!

Comfort is a state of mind that your body can condition your brain to accept over time

 

[koburn]

Keep wearing till u get used to it lor!

Comfort is a state of mind that your body can condition your brain to accept over time

Alternatively, just wear the shoes for half a day.

 

[lirahs]

Hi guys. Is there any place I can buy Cedar Shoe Trees under $20 and also cheap welt brushes and horse hair brush? TIA!

Cedar shoe trees:
Taobao.

Welt(applicator) / horse hair brushes:
Dasco products available at Mustafa.

 

[likehotbutter]

Hi guys. Is there any place I can buy Cedar Shoe Trees under $20 and also cheap welt brushes and horse hair brush? TIA!

The link is right on the front page...

But if you mean locally, then no

 

[13thngell]

The link is right on the front page...

But if you mean locally, then no

Will mustafa carries shoe trees and brushes?

 

[urbanturban]

Will mustafa carries shoe trees and brushes?

I have seen brushes there.

 

[Darknight55]

Never tried AE, and probably never will. Purchasing shoes is a very emotive experience. Either they "sing" to you, or they don't.

Yes. Its an experience.

Bought 1 when I visited SF. The staffs were friendly, and helpful even though I wore casual (SAF asics & hoodie). Use a brannock on my stinky feet, put on shoe for me, tie shoe lace for me
Advised on shoe care taking stuffs, how long it will take certain shoes to break in etc.
And that guy was retired too, just helping out in the store.

AE 5 last is the most comfortable last for me (of all AE shoes). Not much breaking in required.

 

[SquallLH]

Yes. Its an experience.

Bought 1 when I visited SF. The staffs were friendly, and helpful even though I wore casual (SAF asics & hoodie). Use a brannock on my stinky feet, put on shoe for me, tie shoe lace for me
Advised on shoe care taking stuffs, how long it will take certain shoes to break in etc.
And that guy was retired too, just helping out in the store.

AE 5 last is the most comfortable last for me (of all AE shoes). Not much breaking in required.

Same here, the sales in SF, on Sutter Street did impressed me enough to drop money on my first pair of AEs. That and with Comgateway was how I ended up with 7 pairs of AEs. Probably good to last me for the next 5-10 years It's probably not as value for money now that USD has risen almost 10% against SGD since then.

That said, Carmina really is on another playing field in regards to leather quality and aesthetic. If given a chance to reallocate my shoe funds again, I'll buy a couple of AE classics daily beaters (Strands, McAllister/Cambridge) + Alden Cordovan Indys and spend the rest of the funds on Carminas or Vass. I'll also reduce the amount of money spent on shoe care

Less is more I guess in this case of limited funds and poison galore, better to save up and get the pair you want instead having 2-3 pairs of shoes you don't mind having around

 

[koburn]

Same here, the sales in SF, on Sutter Street did impressed me enough to drop money on my first pair of AEs. That and with Comgateway was how I ended up with 7 pairs of AEs. Probably good to last me for the next 5-10 years It's probably not as value for money now that USD has risen almost 10% against SGD since then.

That said, Carmina really is on another playing field in regards to leather quality and aesthetic. If given a chance to reallocate my shoe funds again, I'll buy a couple of AE classics daily beaters (Strands, McAllister/Cambridge) + Alden Cordovan Indys and spend the rest of the funds on Carminas or Vass. I'll also reduce the amount of money spent on shoe care

Less is more I guess in this case of limited funds and poison galore, better to save up and get the pair you want instead having 2-3 pairs of shoes you don't mind having around

Totally agree with you on the proper allocation of limited funds! There are just too many brands out there...

 

[Carnage]

Carmina is opening a boutique at Capitol Plaza.

 

[dark_aLLeY]

Carmina is opening a boutique at Capitol Plaza.

When will it open exactly ??

 

[urbanturban]

When will it open exactly ??

July...according to a Straits Times article.

 

[dark_aLLeY]

July...according to a Straits Times article.

can sic the article?

I would like to know the exact date.

 

[arcfire]

can sic the article?

I would like to know the exact date.

Wondering if there would be any opening promotions....

 

[koburn]

Wondering if there would be any opening promotions....

I can only imagine that if their pricing is substantially higher than internet prices, i-gents in Singapore will flock to the outlet to try only to go back home and click online...