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Many men dream of bespoke shoes. Even those who do not dress classically. Since most people have never met a wearer of bespoke shoes, the legends about them persist stubbornly. For example, that bespoke shoes offer a maximum of comfort. A famous bespoke shoemaker from Vienna is said to have asked his customers before ordering whether they wanted a handsome shoe or a comfortable one. That question sums up the problem very well: a handsome shoe is not necessarily pleasant to wear, and the comfortable shoe does not necessarily match our ideas of elegance. The idea that bespoke shoes should above all be comfortable is relatively modern. Around 1900 elegance still came first. The outward form of the shoe had to submit to aesthetics. Women shaped their figures with a corset back then too; whoever wanted to be beautiful had to suffer. That is also why there were no fittings for bespoke shoes at the time. Building a trial shoe would have counted as an absurd waste of material. Probably the legend that bespoke shoes had to be broken in by a servant also dates from those days.
A man with 300 pairs of shoes in his wardrobe will not necessarily pick a fight over one pair of bespoke shoes that does not sit quite so well.
Bernhard Roetzel
Form or function
Even today bespoke shoemakers do not necessarily agree on whether form or function comes first. Most would certainly claim their shoes are extremely comfortable and fit better than off-the-peg shoes. But if you look at the models in the display cabinets of some makers, it is hard to imagine the shoes shown being adapted to individual foot shapes. Though of course display models present the ideal. Very many customers will leave the shop with quite different shoes.
With a trial shoe or without
Most bespoke shoemakers today work with trial shoes. They safeguard themselves that way and also take some of the customer’s fear that the expensive shoe might pinch in the end. Though the trial shoe is of course never identical to the final product. It is made from different leather, and the substructure usually differs from the final product too. The finished shoe cannot be tried on; the customer only gets to see and feel it once the work is complete. It is different with the tailor. When he cuts the first fitting from a neutral cloth and only then cuts the “real” material, the customer will of course also try on the suit in the final cloth. If the bespoke shoe pinches, the shoemaker must either stretch the leather locally or, in the worst case, take the shoe apart, alter the last and build the shoe up again. That rarely happens when a trial shoe was made beforehand, but it does happen.
Whether it is more often necessary with those shoemakers who work without a trial shoe is hard to quantify. All bespoke shoemakers admit to occasional failures, but rarely name exact figures. The fact that some very old bespoke shoe firms can operate economically without trial shoes seems to speak for their success rate. Though the complaint rate is surely also connected to the shoemaker’s reputation and his way of dealing with customers.
The aura of the great names
Some famous names have such an intimidating reputation that many a customer simply will not dare to seriously demand that the shoe be rebuilt. Or the clientele there is perhaps so well-heeled that there is no interest in drawn-out complaints. A man with 300 pairs of shoes in his wardrobe will not necessarily pick a fight over one pair of bespoke shoes that does not sit quite so well. And one must not forget that only a certain proportion of customers order more than once, or want to. It is not at all unusual for a customer never to order again after the first pair. Not because the shoe was bad, but because the bespoke shoes were meant from the start as a one-off experience. That is why many bespoke shoemakers charge for building the last separately on the first pair. Or they require instead that the customer order several pairs at once.
Who really comes away happy
There are very many very satisfied wearers of bespoke shoes. But not every shoe enthusiast who has worn quality welted shoes for years will be happier with bespoke than with what he is already used to. In fact most bespoke shoemakers will admit that their product is only better by nuances than a very well-fitting off-the-peg shoe. The great “aha” moment comes above all to those bespoke customers who move from a cheap average shoe to a welted full-leather shoe. But you might experience that great gain in fit with a maker of welted ready-made shoes too, one who offers several last shapes and width fittings.
