Shoes

[moktan]

And I thought audio was a deep enough rabbit hole. Here is another pair of shoes made for me by Oblum Shoes, Hyderabad.

After getting into the bespoke shoe "hobby" (thanks to Moktan), I came to know of a very highly sought after leather type called Shell Cordovan. Google is your friend for those who would like to know more. In short it is the tissue that is located under the horse rump that is used in making a variety of items - shoes and wallets being some. There are a few leather manufacturers that specialize in shell cordovan. One of the oldest and widely respected is Horween Leather Co. in Chicago.

I was in Downtown Chicago in September. The Tannery Row in West Chicago is the exclusive outlet for Horween Leather Co. operating almost as an extension of Horween but also has a wide variety of offerings from other tanneries. They were located about 15 mins from my hotel in Chicago. I picked up some Shell Cordovan in what is known as Color 4 which is a brown color shell. Shell Cordovan is an entire subject by itself and I will leave it at that. But will be happy to share more if there is interest.

Back home in Hyderabad, I went over to meet Tarun Oblum to make a pair of shoes for me and I asked for them to made in what is known as a Long Wing Derby or Blucher. Enclosing pictures of my brand new pair of Shell Cordovan Long Wing Derbys.


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Welcome to the cordovan club….my Carmina , Bridlen and Alden Cordovan shoes…the Bridlen cordovan is from Shiniki while the other two are from Horoween…..

 

[Nikhil]

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Welcome to the cordovan club….my Carmina , Bridlen and Alden Cordovan shoes…the Bridlen cordovan is from Shiniki while the other two are from Horoween…..

Thanks Moktan. If it wasn't for this thread I would probably never have come to know of bespoke shoemaking.
Bridlen, Carmina and Alden ... wow! Did not know that you had those in your collection.


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[narcissus]

What an awesome thread, love it…. Thanks to @moktan …. I’ll come to the shoes in a bit, but right now I desperately need a leather cleaner for my new sofa. Everyone in Bombay knows how dusty it can get…. Calling all leather connoisseurs to help me out with this issue. Can the “Meguiars Gold class” leather cleaner/conditioner (used by car owners for their leather seats).

 

[moktan]

What an awesome thread, love it…. Thanks to @moktan …. I’ll come to the shoes in a bit, but right now I desperately need a leather cleaner for my new sofa. Everyone in Bombay knows how dusty it can get…. Calling all leather connoisseurs to help me out with this issue. Can the “Meguiars Gold class” leather cleaner/conditioner (used by car owners for their leather seats).

That or this .. https://amzn.in/d/9FFawA2

 

[ssf]

I am usually extremely weary of following my wife into the mall as I have often bought things that I did not need but yesterday, I let my guard down. The destination was "Metro" to exchange my son's shoes.

Once inside the store, I made the first mistake of asking for the price of a shoe I thought suited me. The owner of the store was immediately at my side extolling the virtues of the shoe. I was reminded of our Members reviews of their favourite audio purchase. Finding the price reasonable and the shoe fitting my tastes, I gave him the go ahead for the purchase. He then brings out another shoe, almost like magic, out of thin air and presents it before me. Again, a simple shoe which suited my taste and was pretty comfortable to wear, soft leather and all, i asked for the price. He evasively said that the price was on the Box. I did not give it a second thought thinking that it would be in the same price range as the one I had already selected and having like the comfort of the shoe, I told him to pack that as well.

On to the billing counter, I was desperately trying to get a peek at the computer to see the final amount of the bill and I saw an amount of 22,000/- on the screen. Must be someone else's bill I told myself and boldly handed over the card for payment. When the device grandly announced the receipt of 22,000/-, I was stunned. I desperately asked the owner of the store for the bill and there was the culprit. The second soft ordinary looking shoe was 12,000/- odd rupees. My voice audibly shaking, I told the owner that it was not fair on his part to bill me the shoe without having informed me of it's price first. I had the option to remove the shoe from the bill but by that time I had already fallen in love with it's soft leather. The owner reassured me that this was a very durable shoe and that I could use it for rough use as well. Although I could not see myself wearing them for the next football practice with my son, he was right. I could easily wear this shoe to my next visit to the supermarket without it attracting any attention.

But as I was walking out the store, i could not shake the nagging feeling at the back of my head that I had just bought the 'Bose' of shoes, 'DaVinchi' by Metro.

 

[Nikhil]

Sorry to hear that ssf but shoes need not be an expensive exercise. I also buy shoes from "seconds" shops that flog very good shoes at very reasonable prices. The shoes I buy from these shops are in the range of Rs 1,200 - Rs 1,800 and they are extremely decent value.

Here is an example of a brogue pair that I picked up for about Rs. 1,800 a few months ago.

 

[ssf]

Sorry to hear that ssf but shoes need not be an expensive exercise. I also buy shoes from "seconds" shops that flog very good shoes at very reasonable prices. The shoes I buy from these shops are in the range of Rs 1,200 - Rs 1,800 and they are extremely decent value.

Here is an example of a brogue pair that I picked up for about Rs. 1,800 a few months ago.

Lovely shoes, Nikil. My intention in the post was not to complain. I found the owner of the shop to be a very clever businessman who accommodates all his clients requests including return of purchases without any reservations. This attitude of his has made it my wife's favourite go to place.

I was however surprised that an ordinary looking shoe although of good quality could cost so much. Thanks again for the heads up on "seconds".