Designing Bespoke Shoes with Your Shoemaker

Video Description

The second installment of our Bespoke Shoe series covers the conversation that will shape the finished shoes: https://gentl.mn/bespeaking-design-bespoke-shoes #bespeaking #bespokeshoes #notsponsored SHOP THE VIDEO: → Navy & Yellow Shadow Stripe Socks: https://gentl.mn/striped-socks-navy-yellow SEE THE FULL BESPOKE SHOE SERIES PLAYLIST HERE: → https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwC33qrNZRbD7TbLzHKmPoji72brt3bTh gUIDES YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS: → Top 10 Men's Style Books: https://gentl.mn/top10-men-style-books-1 → Measuring Feet For Bespoke Shoes: https://gentl.mn/bespokeshoe-measuring → How A Dress Shoe Should Fit: https://gentl.mn/dress-shoe-fitting → Allen Edmonds - Has Quality Decreased?: https://gentl.mn/allen-edmonds-shoes-value → Vegan Leather Guide: https://gentl.mn/vegan-leather-1 → Crocodile & Alligator Leather - Why Expensive?: https://gentl.mn/crocodile-alligator-leather-1 VIDEO CREDITS: → Script: E.J. Daniels & Sven Raphael Schneider → Camera: Chris Dummer → Editing: Jonathan Oster → Visual Supervision: Preston Schlueter Bespoke Shoes Created by Amara Hark Weber Visit Amara at https://harkweberstudio.com IMAGE CREDITS: → Kopitinphoto → Van Del Breekel → Parisian Gentleman → Cater's News Agency → Shoegazing.com → Carmina → Wayman Bespoke Want to see more videos? Subscribe to our channel! → https://gentl.mn/youtube Become a part of the Gentleman's Gazette community - support us on Patreon! https://gentl.mn/patron ________________________________________________________________________ Gentleman's Gazette https://gentl.mn/website-homepage-GG2 https://gentl.mn/classic-accessories-FB2 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gentlemansgazette Gentleman Quiz: https://gentl.mn/gentleman-quiz-2 00:00 Bespeaking Your Design Introduction “Bespeaking” basically means discussing the shoe that you finally end up with. You’ll be able to follow the entire process along the way. We’ll provide food for thought, and we talk about things like the last, the broguing, the leather, and all the details such as the heel pitch that goes into a custom pair of shoes. 00:56 Why is Bespeaking Important? Basically, it’s the opportunity for you to dream out loud about your perfect shoe. Since you’re building a pair of shoes from the ground up, the sky’s the limit. 02:00 Bespeaking: It Pays To Do Your Research While shoemakers will be perfectly fine with starting the bespeaking process in person, we believe the real bespeaking process starts long before the first conversation. Why? Well, think about it this way: the more research you do beforehand, the more things you can point out that you like and dislike, the easier, more fluid, and quicker the entire speaking process will be. 05:52 Tell Your Shoemaker About Your Vision Most shoemakers want an idea of what they want to talk about, so they don’t forget about anything. 11:32 Listen and Let Your Shoemaker Guide You I learned quite a bit in those conversations, so be all ears, listen to your shoemaker, and let them guide you. They know what they’re doing. Heels are another important topic in bespoke shoemaking, and they actually take quite a bit of time if you build them up by hand. 13:09 Negotiate On Your Special Requests You also want to mention any special requests. For example, someone may not like any metal in their shoes, so instead of a metal shank, you have to use a wooden shank; instead of metal nails, you have to use wooden pegs. 15:30 Have An Open Conversation Most shoemakers will also have a base way to do things if it’s not specified by the customer. If there’s a contradiction between something that you want or something that you read and a shoemaker and their ability, just discuss it, and bring it up. 21:34 Know Your Options What did we ultimately decide on? You have to stay tuned for the final product reveal. Once you’ve talked about all the individual details, it’s time to look at them in conjunction and bring it all together. 26:37 End Your Meeting Well Eventually, once you’ve discussed all the details or you’re simply exhausted, your first bespeaking meeting will come to an end. At this point, your shoemaker will have a very good idea of what it is that you want, they will be able to start on the last, and order the leather.