Shoes Of The Week - Alden Collaborations

While I have lots to write about for my trip to Paris, it needs to be organized and the posts are going to be longer ones, so bear with me on these things. For the meantime, I wanted to talk about Alden and how they seem to be such busy bees with their collaborations with other brands. As I have stated in many earlier posts, I believe that this idea of collaborating is the way of the future in the shoe industry. While it has always been about, it seems that it has really taken off, since 2010. Obviously, as most of the world went into recession a few years back, companies had to start thinking about alternative channels of distribution, and it seemed that collaboration gave the best of both worlds, for all parties involved. It gave the designers/shoe brands something new to create and an alternative way of making money, it gave the collaborating brand something different from their usual, and maybe stale collection and all-in-all the collaboration gave the customer another option, in case they were not liking anything at that present moment. That being, I have thoroughly enjoyed all of the new saddle shoe models that Alden has been producing for the likes of Unionmade (pictured above & below) as well as Blackbird (very bottom), which is a very popular boutique located in the neighborhood where I grew up, Ballard, Wa. And while I feel that Alden has done a good job of going relatively outside of the box with the likes of these color combo's, I am hoping that the next time I see this shoe, it might be in green or red or some other non-traditional color. We shall see...

Enjoy your Friday and check back soon for my trip to Paris posts....

-Justin, "The Shoe Snob"

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Globalization: The Rise & Fall of the Shoe Industry

As it quickly creeps up to the end of another 365 day chunk of my life, I thought that it would be nice to reflect on what has happened, what is happening and the possibility of great change to come, within the shoe world. Let me start off by saying that for most of my life, I had the feeling that 2012 (the year that I turn 28) was going to be a significant year for me. I don't why, but for some reason I always felt that age 28 was going to be a year of greatness, where many significant things happen. While I won't divulge into the personal things, this upcoming year will hopefully mark my official entrance into the shoe industry, not only as someone who has supplied the world with information, but more so, as someone who supplies the world with a product that they can truly appreciate. However, the more time that I spend in the shoe industry, observing everything around me, the more that I feel there is so much to work on, as I truly believe that for many, the idea of quality has been swiftly replaced by the idea of a high profit margin. This unfortunate idea has led to the demise of many brands.

I most likely would have never thought of these things one year ago, but as I try and work out the pricing of my own shoes to make a fair price for my customers, the more that I realize that so many shoes are insanely marked up, for what seems to be solely for the purpose of their name being etched on the shoe somewhere. This idea hit me quite hard when I was wondering around the shoe floor of Galleries Lafayette in Paris a little while back. Never before had I realized that so many brands charge incredibly high prices for such low-quality products. It simply boggled me. There were shoes that were in the same category of pricing as Edward Green but were about 1/100 of the quality. Go figure....It suddenly dawned on me that because of globalization, companies around the world were able to flourish internationally and take their business to levels never seen before, but also outsource cheaper labor while at the same time raising their prices. And in 2011, this is what we are left with. But I believe that I am not the only one who has noticed this and others, like me, are hoping to use globalization in a positive way to get more fair prices to the people.

There was a time when the US and the UK (more so) flourished as shoemaking industries and were known for making only high quality products. But once these companies became able to use factories across the world where laborers charged a significantly lower fraction of the cost in respects to their native workers, many of these factories dried up and disappeared, leaving only a memory of what used to be great. But now, as factories across the world are sprouting up in places that you would have never thought of, able to do good work for fair prices, there could be a change. This change may not occur next year, or in 5 years, but I am betting that many people (consumers) are becoming more conscious of what makes a shoe worth it's cost and companies will start wising up to the fact that people will not buy a £600 shoe when it is only worth £50.....

Photos Courtesy Of: Style Forum
They show a goodyear welted boot made to order from Vietnam

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Hand-Stitching The Apron: By Enrile

Have you ever wondered why an apron-toe shoe might cost more than its cap-toe or wingtip counterpart? Well, more likely than not, it is because that 'apron' (as it is called - the stitching on the toe/vamp area), was put together by someone sewing it by hand. That handwork (as it is called) costs extra money. Now this might be slightly off the subject at hand but I must stress this importance --as I continue to hear incorrect usage of the term 'handmade'-- that this 'handwork' does not mean that the shoe was necessarily 'handmade.' There is a difference. The reason that I state this, is because not too long ago, I walked into a British designers' shoe shop, and upon entering (and looking at a pair of shoes), some doorman had the nerve to tell me that the shoes were 'handmade.' While I did not say anything in response (as the designer was there as well and I did not feel like having a dispute with my wife around), I was quite appalled by how this guy was just throwing this term around, especially since I have made a pair of shoes by hand. Needless to say, these shoes were not 'handmade' and were clearly made by Cheaney, easily recognizable by the insignia inside of the shoe. They don't make 'handmade' shoes (Cheaney), and at best they may do a 'handgrade' shoe. This one presented (by Enrile) might well be considered (as this one was welted by machine), for the amount of 'handwork' that was put into it.

This one presented (by Enrile) would also be considered 'handgrade' (as it was welted by machine), for the amount of 'handwork' that was put into it. But don't be fooled, they can also do a complete handmade shoe, so should desire the client.... Now, while I will say that, in reality, having the sole stitched by hand versus machine, really makes no difference when in comes to practicality. There is only bragging rights that separates the two. In fact, having a machine stitched sole (on the welt), will almost always look a lot cleaner than a hand-stitched one. But, when it comes to the apron, a hand-stitched one will almost always look better than its machine stitched counterpart, so long as the person doing the stitching is experienced. But, doing this is very difficult, as it is easy to mess up, and once you puncture that upper leather, it is very hard to conceal it should you have made a mistake. That being, your stitch marks have to be spot on, without any mistakes. This differs with sole stitching as you can make a mistake and hide it with the fudge wheel (the tool that makes the indented edging on the welt).




















Since as I have done this twice (while apprenticing), I will try to explain it as best as I can, as the pictures only give you so much. However, the way that I did it, was a bit more difficult than the way presented here as the leather was not already split, giving an indication of where the apron needed to be. When I did it, I had to last the upper as usual, but only hold it into place as opposed to completely last it over permanently. That's because, I had to stitch the apron directly onto the leather while fixated to the last, not while it was just floating about. So after lasting the upper and fastening it relatively taut to the last, you have to draw on the apron (as best as you can) directly to the upper with the magic silver pen (that erases off of leather). Once you feel that you have the apron (two lines - outside and inside) drawn to perfection, that is when you start making the punctures with the awl (needle-like tool) and thread the stitches through. But like I said, every step must be dead on or you end up with some dodgy stitches like the few that were on the shoes that I did (unfortunately I don't have any pictures....sorry). Nevertheless, stitching the apron by hand is one of those details that just really makes the shoe look nicer. Not that it makes a huge difference in whether or not the shoe holds up, but it will always be an added touch of luxury!

http://enrileshoes.blogspot.co.uk/

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