My bespoke suit will be arriving before my custom shoes will. As such, I need a good pair of shoes to wear with the suit in the interim. Not only that, it's better to rotate your pairs of shoes when possible: this allows for them to rest, prolonging the lifespan of your shoes.

However, as much as you might want to preserve your beautiful leather shoes, wear and tear will inevitably happen (unless you're filthy rich and have a billion pairs of shoes). You can always take your shoe to a cobbler, but I have always felt that you are taking your chances on them: you can never tell what your shoes will be like when they come out of that shop. I've had my share of terrible cobblers, including one who resoled my shoe so poorly that there was a nail poking through to the inside. I'm lucky that I have terribly thick skin, otherwise the nail would've punctured my foot and I would've been bleeding through my socks.

That is why you buy Allen Edmonds (or just find a better cobbler). This shoe company (apparently a high end one to boot) has a recrafting service. If your shoes are looking worse for wear, you can send them in to be rebuilt, hopefully looking nice and like-new. Their 38 step process is incredibly detailed and thorough. Considering that it only costs $95 to rework the entire shoe, purchasing a pair of shoes from Allen Edmond seems to be a very good investment. I don't know how good the leather uppers will look after they rebuild the shoe: they don't mention much of anything about the servicing that part of the shoe. But either way, I like the idea that should I need to service my shoe, the company that I bought them from is willing to back it. That reassurance is the reason I personally just sprung for a pair of Allen Edmonds myself.

Of course, the loveliest designs won't save your feet if you don't get properly measured. I know that most people only have a rough estimation of their shoe size. The fact is that they can differ from one shoe company to the next. But even so, a lot of people tend to know only that they're "between a size 9 and 10". I would wager though that most of us never truly measured our feet properly. And that was something I decided to do. Though it is by no means detailed in the way a bespoke shoemaker would measure, it'll be plenty useful to know your precise foot measurements instead of trying on various shoe sizes and widths at the department store. The links at the bottom are what helped me choose the best shoe size for my foot.

Back to the video (which I think looks like it could be an employee training video). I'm a huge fan of transparency. Honestly, when I pay a good deal of money for anything, I want to know why. I want to know what type of work goes into the product that I'm using. I want to know the origins of the parts and where it was constructed. This knowledge isn't just to make me feel better about spending that sort of money, but also to understand as much as I can about what I am using. So when I see all 38 steps of the recrafting process, I can appreciate my shoes more.

I suppose it's a matter of appreciation then. In the same way that one might see things in a new light after they take an art or film appreciation class, seeing this little video about rebuilding the shoe gave me some new insight into the work and care that goes into a shoe. Which is only fair, considering that you put the things on your feet every day.

Points of Interest

• Find Your Shoe Size - missing widths greater than E
• Shoe Size Calculator - good for seeing what width you require
• Printable Men's Foot Size Chart

May we suggest you have a gander at these?

1. How I intend to make my shoes invincible I purchased a pair of bespoke shoes from Michael Andrews Bespoke (that’s a story for another post) and I realized that I had better take good care of them. First...
2. The journey to find my bespoke suit — Part IV The journey finding my bespoke suit is a long one. You can read all three previous parts here: Part I, Part II, Part III. I was envisioning the way my...
3. A little bit of fine shopping on Fifth Avenue It was just one of those days again where I couldn’t stand the idea of staying in stuffy classroom, studying what I felt to be irrelevant material.  I was far...

The journey finding my bespoke suit is a long one. You can read all three previous parts here: Part I, Part II, Part III.

I was envisioning the way my bespoke suit would look. It would hopefully turn out to be an elegant and flattering suit. After all, I did spend many a pretty penny on the outfit. Being one with an eye for the details, I knew that I would have to remain consistent in that image. A bespoke suit deserves shoes that are consistent with it's high quality. Also being one who prefers a one stop shop, I figured that I would order a pair of bespoke shoes from the same place I ordered my bespoke suit, at Michael Andrews Bespoke.

I emailed them inquiring about the availability of one style that liked. I thought that it would be nice to have my shoes come in at the same time as my suit: that way I could wear the entire outfit on day one. In the interest of that preference, I thought that I would try to hurry up and schedule an appointment to discuss shoes. Luckily enough, my try-on suit had arrived at the studio.

I once again trekked to the Lower East Side. Having been to 20 Clinton Street once before, I expertly made my way to the studio once again. I rang the bell and glanced around, my eyes skimming the doorway for any surveillance cameras. I was buzzed in before I could spot any. Samantha greeted me this time, and by name too. Her hair was decidedly informal, as was her dress. I mentally checked to see if it was Friday, but it was not. Casual Friday could not be the cause of her more casual appearance. Perhaps it was the lingering effects of the Labor Day weekend. The same blue basement hallways that led me to the promised land were familiarly confusing, so Samantha had to guide me once again. I felt a little sheepish: navigation had never been my strong point. Samantha graciously excused my flaw, pawning it off on the fact that it was only my second time there. It surprised me to hear that: I didn't really expect to be remembered.

Samantha walked me in through the door before going to get my try-on suit. I took my customary seat on the sofa and Marian greeted me by name as well. I felt welcome in a familiar place. Everything was the same as it was before, not that I expected anything to change. As it was last the last time I had been there, I waited for a small while. There was a different set of books on the table this time. I ignored them, opting to catch up on some email on my iPhone.

Some moments later, a lean looking fellow came up to me and introduced himself as Clark. As I looked up from my phone to shake his hand, I was ever so slightly surprised to see that Clark looked very much like a hipster: shaggy hair that fell in front of his eyes framed his long face, decorated with light stubble. A navy blue T-shirt draped over his lanky frame and skinny jeans that hugged his hips. Of course I had no qualms about working with Clark, my only thought being that I didn't expect to see someone dressed like that to be working at a place like Michael Andrews Bespoke.

Knowing that I had come in to discuss shoes, Clark left me with some leather swatches. I looked over the four different sets. One was comprised entirely of felts, so I simply set that one aside. However, the remaining ones required some deciphering. One of them were designated as being for belts, while the purpose of the other two sets were unknown. I gave the two unknown sets a thorough looking through.

After what felt like too long, Clark returned. We took a seat at the round table to discuss my shoes. I had some questions about the different leathers. To me, the single most important quality was the ability for the leather to take and hold a shine. I had gone through many a pair of shoes that couldn't seem to hold on to a nice layer of wax. All my hard work shining the shoe would be fruitless, with the wax simply flaking off.

May we suggest you have a gander at these?

1. The journey to find my bespoke suit — Part III This is Part Three of the series about my journey towards finding a bespoke suit. If you missed the previous parts, read the first one here and the second one...
2. The journey to find my bespoke suit — Part V The journey finding my bespoke suit is a long one. You can read all three previous parts here: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV It was seven weeks...
3. The journey to find my bespoke suit — Part II This is Part Two of the series about my journey towards finding a bespoke suit. If you missed the first part, read it here. I just want to start off...