How many of you are into shoes... (Dress Shoes)?

[dddrees]

Originally Posted by Abdullah71601

The chains that carry EG, Alden, C&J, and others online and elsewhere do not have them in the store here in AUH for the most part, and there isn't representation from the major shoemakers except for Weston and Berluti. There is a local shoemaker called "The Cobbler" that is priced in the Alden range (higher for bespoke), but I'm reluctant to test drive them without hearing from someone who has them.

I see exactly what you are saying about differences in lasts. I was surprised by the amount of change from one last to another from the same brand.

This does sound promising however. As long as they have a store you typically can have them order it and try it on before you actually buy it. Not as ideal as if they stocked a good selection of models and sizes, but a lot better than doing the online thing of buying before trying.

If your really interested I think they have a Cobbler shoe thread on Styleforum. If nothing else you can conduct a search. If I remember correctly a thread comes to the top every once in awhile but not often. Just because they are not extremely popular on Styleforum isn't conclusive on way or another. But certainly not in the same league as John Lobb.

Various Lasts for shoemakers can achieve a couple of different things. Like you said even among the same shoemaker these different Lasts can make a big difference. However with respect to most of Gaziano and Girlings Lasts the toe box is the only difference on their various Lasts with the exception of their Decco Last. But most shoemakers have a number of various Lasts, so even if you can't get a good fit with one you may with another. Most will have a round toe Last, a chisel Last, and a Loafer Last. These are fairly typical but generally they'll have some others as well. Lasts are designed by shoemakers.to achieve various stylistic looks as well as to accommodate a good portion of people's feet. Certain Lasts look better for boots, some look better on oxfords, and some work better with derbies.

When sizing various Lasts, I've been very fortunate that for the most part I wear the same size from one Last to another Last not only on a good portion of those by one shoemaker but also for other shoemakers as well.. Sometimes what you'll find is that some may have to take a wider size in one Last vs another or a different length and width in another sometimes for the same shoemaker. Personally I find having to take a different length typically means that particular Last is not a good fit for your foot. Generall I find it best when the ball of my foot fits in the widest part of the shoes and when their is a thumb nails distance between my largest toe and the end of the shoe. If I'm trying to force my foot into a different size the ball of my foot is no longer quite at the widest part of the shoe. Trying to force a square peg into round hole is never an ideal solution.

The bottom line is that these are RTW shoes as such these Lasts were not designed specifically for you. However you may find certain Lasts will work better than others. After all most people don't end up purchasing Bespoke footwear, so RTW works just fine for the majority of folks.