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Yohei Fukuda is one of the most acclaimed Japanese bespoke shoemakers today, and many shoe interested men have drooled over his pictures in various social media etc. Including myself. Now I also got to experience them in reality, here’s a buyer’s guide to the brand with my order of a pair of full brogues as framework.
An online giant’s own quality footwear brand, the cheapest of the Hungarian manufacturers of fully handmade shoes, and a British Frenchman, that’s what is offered in today’s three outsiders post.
Hiro Yanagimachi is one of the pioneers of the new wave of Japanese bespoke shoemakers which established themselves in the last 15 years. He offers MTO, MTM/semi bespoke and full bespoke, and with a newly developed international last and planned visits to Europe and the US, he is one of the Japanese makers who is of the most interest for us over here. I give you a large buyer’s guide to the brand, with a pair of MTO split toe derbies that I ordered as a framework.
For those who are interested in quality shoes Ebay can be a real gold mine. The range of both new and second-hand shoes are huge, and the chance to make real bargains increases if you have the energy to engage a bit extra. Below are some good tips.
Three outsiders is a series of posts highlighting less know brands (it has come to nr. 11 on the Swedish site and to align with that we start off at 11 here on the English version of Shoegazing). In this post about a Spanish newcomer in the lower price range for quality shoes, another Spaniard who has many years behind it but still is relatively unknown, and an American brand with a very Italian shoes made in Turkey.
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Portuguese Carlos Santos is a manufacturer which has buzzed a little under the surface for many years, but never really been established widely. Next Saturday they are visiting the Shoegazing Super Trunk Show in Stockholm, and to make you and myself a bit better informed of them, here is a review of a light brown Goodyear-welted 3-eyelet derby from their standard line.
Cheaney is one of the major manufacturers in Northampton, England, and a few years ago they launched a new top line called Imperial, which feature oak bark tanned soles and a quite extreme fiddle waist. After some initial problems in the manufacturing, with very late deliveries as a result, they have now stabilized the work process of the Imperial line since some time back and it’s growing in popularity. Shoegazing have tested a pair.
London is one of the best cities in the world for those interested in classic quality shoes. The capital of England contains a large number of shoe stores and bespoke shoemakers, basically an excellent selection of almost everything you can be looking for. Shoegazing guides you to it, and for those who have no plans of visiting the city there’s hundreds of pictures which hopefully can act as some inspiration.
