Designing one's own boots - photo story

[marc1975]

I would be most interested to see images of the shoes, after you have clocked up some millage on them.To be honest not to see how they wear, but when they have become more yours.. if that makes sense?!

Absolutely makes sense
There are only so many places you can wear this type of boot... it's sad somehow. When I put on my Dior Homme boots (that have a little less than 2 inches in heel height), my female coworker said that "this looks gay... shoes that Prince would wear...". Ok, I work in a financial services company, but it was casual Friday. I've never worn them to work ever since. I don't even know what she would tell me if I walked in with the boots depictured above or even the Rick Owens ones. Sometimes I think that either I am totally crazy or maybe just 20 years ahead of everyone else fashion-wise.

And now I have to ask... where in the EU is this shoemaker?

In Germany, near Wiesbaden.

but perhaps the upper leather could be improved?

The leather is very smooth, and definitely of good quality (it was the best quality he offered in his store).
But indeed, even my shoemaker said that he would rather use even higher quality leather, but he has problems sourcing it in Germany. He told me that if I really wanted a top-notch boot, I should visit bootmakers as John Lobb in London, or some other shoemaker (whose name I forgot) in Italy. Still, comparing this leather to my Rick Owens boots, the custom-made boot leather is better...

Cheers,
Marc

[marc1975]

New pair

Hi everyone,

I haven't posted very much lately, as I catched a very bad bronchitis, but I am feeling better now.

I had already posted the story on how I got my first pair of boots made by a local shoemaker. I had asked him to make a second pair, but this time, I didn't want to get boots made. The reason is quite simple: I've seen many boots by various designers so far, but I haven't seen any regular sort of heeled shoe that you would also wear when it's warmer outside (I usually don't wear boots during summer time).

So I ordered a pair of heeled shoes back in March at my cobbler. After a month, he called me to tell me that he had difficulty sourcing the right kind of quality leather that he needed, and that putting together the shoes might take longer.

Well... fast forward a couple of months... today I was able to pick up the new pair. They follow the same basic design as the boots, but the plateau is a little higher. The plateau with the boots was 1.3 cm (0.51 in), the plateau of my Rick Owens boots is around 2 cm (0.78 in) - which is quite thick - so I wanted just a little more: 1.5 cm (.59 in).
Due to the higher plateau, the heel also had to move up a little higher. It came out at 9.5 cm (3.74 in), which is a little less than the Rick Owens height.

My cobbler wasn't fully satisfied with the outcome of the shoes (and I also guess that he had a bad conscience because they took so long to make), so he gave me a reduction on the price. He also showed me the areas where he thought the shoes weren't perfect, but in my opinion, that's something only few people will be able to notice. Probably everyone on this forum, but I am not counting you guys as being the average

I haven't worn them (yet), as I first wanted to shoot some pics in their new state. Besides... today I was wearing boots anyway, as it's getting colder in Germany.

Here's a couple of pics of the new pair:













Cheers,
Marc

[trentk]

I thought the boots were incredible, but these look too much like mens shoes designed for women (as opposed to slightly feminine mens shoes). I.e. this, instead of this.

I think heels only work when they're (paradoxically) masculating.

"As the suit gave Marlene Dietrich extra allure, high heels on a guy give him a reckless virility. If there’s an icy hauteur to a boxy black suit on a woman, there’s a good-natured middle finger to heels on a guy, as if to say, ‘I dare you to blink at me, motherfucker’." - rick owens