Fashion and circumstances change very quickly in our exciting times.
Planned obsolescence, production in 3rd world countries and the rise of synthetic materials have transformed most of our goods including the production of shoes. Words like "quality" or "handmade" have lost their true meaning and have deteriorated to marketing terms. Like "democracy", "organic", "free speech" and so forth. If you believe it, the joke is on you.
We are supposed to purchase as much shit as possible, throw it away as soon as possible and buy something shiny and new as soon as possible. The slaves who make this shit are paid as little as possible, the profits are supposed to be as high as possible, the pollution and piles of garbage must be as huge as possible in order to charge us as much taxes as possible to have the best economy possible.
Well, I am an old fart, an angry old white guy, one of most redundant members of modern society and I like the old fashioned way. As in having quality stuff which lasts for a while.
Historically, a customer in need of new shoes would go to a shoe maker and have his measurements taken. Then the shoemaker would make a “last” out of a block of wood and shape it according to these measurements, producing a model of the customer's feet upon which the shoe was built. Using leather only, the customer would end up with a pair of shoes which fit perfectly, would last for many years and could be repaired if needed.
What used to be the only choice back in the days for footwear has become a luxury affordable only to the privileged, while the uneducated masses have to cope with well...less.
If you are in the market for new dress shoes for men in 2018 you have essentially four categories available.
Mass produced garbage from $39.99 - $150
The biggest category today are mass produced shoes made out of mostly synthetic materials.
Some of them actually use some leather for the upper materials, but in my observation the tendency goes toward full synthetics. They look and feel like leather, but more and more of them are not.
All of the shoes in this category have soles made out of synthetics and many of them have fake stitches to simulate quality. The soles are always glued on but are made to look as if they were stitched. It is fascinating to observe to what length the deception goes. The insoles are made out of cardboard. These shoes are produced mostly in China or other low wage countries by slave workers, have a life span of maybe a week, are uncomfortable and if you consider what you get for your money, very expensive. They will look like shit in just a few days, and fall apart quickly. Fortunately the fashion has also changed and most folks, at least here in California run around in flip-flops or sneakers and the average citizen has not much need for dress shoes anymore.
Mass produced upscale shoes from $200-$500
These shoes are mostly made out of leather, at least the visible parts and have a better durability.
You could wear them for a few years, some companies even offer a refurbishment service.
However, there is plenty of deception found in them as well. Most of them are made in the same factories as the cheap ones, with the same machines, operated by the same slaves. These shoes are also made with the “Goodyear” method, another interesting deception for the gullible. Praised by some as the “Gold Standard” this is anything but. On quality shoes, the insole, the upper and the “welt” are stitched together, which has to be done by hand. If the Goodyear method is used, a strip of fabric is glued onto the insole and stitched together with the welt and the upper using a “Goodyear” machine. This makes mass production possible. They hold up good enough but are hardly superior quality. The outsole on these shoes, even though made from leather, is being stitched together with the welt by a machine, leaving the threat exposed. Some claim to be “Made in the USA”. This might be true in some rare occasions, however there is also the option of putting on the label “Made in USA” if only a part of the shoe was assembled in Puerto Rico, while all the components were fabricated in the same slave camps as all the other crap. The same goes for the label “handmade”. If a machine made, mass produced shoe sports a fancy, handmade decoration stitch on it, it is fair game to call it “hand made”. Nice, huh?
Mass produced Ready-To-Wear Designer shoes from $1,000-$2,000
For affluent folks there is a huge variety of very nice looking, pretty well made shoes available.
But they all have a major flaw in my opinion. They are made to fit as many people as possible.
No two feet are the same, even your left foot is different than your right foot. Sure, if you are lucky you can find a pair of shoes which fits good enough. And folks who can afford to spend $2,000 on a pair of shoes mostly own not one but many pairs of them. So, if you find a designer who happens to have a last fit for your feet you will have some good looking, well made shoes which will last a long time since you don't wear them that often. Almost all Ready-To-Wear shoes are made with the Goodyear method. There are also a few companies now who sort of produce 'Made-to-Measure' shoes. They will take your measurements and glue some cork onto their lasts to make it fit better.
Made-To-Measure from 2,000- “If you have to ask...”
These are the kind of shoes I would like. They look exactly the way I want, are made on my personal last, with the best materials available, using the best techniques to make them. They are good looking, comfortable, last a lifetime, can be repaired. Unfortunately the shoes I would like to own cost about 5,000 Euros, have a one year waiting period and need two trips to Vienna for measurements and fitting of the trial shoe. Honestly, I am too much of a miser to shell out that much money for a pair of shoes.
So, what other choice do I have? Got to make them myself...
I will probably make a little post about my latest effort on making hand made shoes with no craft, skills or professional tools in the near future. In the meantime you can visit my website http://shoes.alexanderleeb.com/ for some of my past projects if you are interested in handmade shoes.