Bespoke Shoes Archives -

Benjamin Klemann Shoes – Part 3

December 25, 2015 by Torsten

A tight, apparrently perfect grip around my heels. That was my first impression, when slipping my feet into the trial shoes at Klemann’s.

I walked around a little in the workshop, and we discussed the fit. It was difficult for me to come up with improvements, yet Benjamin wanted to tighten the shoes sligtly above the insteps and the front feet. He marked the adjustments on both uppers and lasts.

Most importantly perhaps was a small stylistic change: We both wanted to lengthen the shoes and the caps to create more slender looking shoes. That is classic trick at the bespoke shoemaker, when the feet are bulky like in my case. We decided on half a centimeter, that is, 1/5 inch. I hope that is enough.

After the fitting Benjamin measured my feet again, and he said that they had shrunk. Only millimeters, but the change was real. It can happen, if for instance you loose weight. A pair of well fitting shoes have to accommodate for those small fluctuations, Benjamin added.

Before I left we discussed a pair of bluchers, which Benjamin has on display in the shop. People often get the model wrong. Real bluchers of German descent are derby shoes with uppers like wholecut shoes but with laces flaps attached to the vamps. The story goes that the Prussian field marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, who fought in the Napoleonic Wars, asked for waterproof shoes (at that time boots), and his shoemakers came up with this model with few seams. Inevitably, it would later be known as “Der Blücher” in Germany.

Read piece one on Klemann here.
Read piece two on Klemann here.

All photos: The Journal of Style

At the Old Fortress

April 22, 2015 by Torsten

Men rarely wear a necktie on weekends anymore. They feel it will be awkward. I have written about that before. It can be done though. Butler shows how.

He is taking a walk by the old fortress on a Sunny, yet somewhat cold spring Sunday. He wears a bespoke golden sport coat from Steven Hitchcock, moleskin trousers from Cordings, a cashmere tie from Teo Grimaldi, a shirt from Turnbull and Asser, bespoke nubucks from John Lobb (St. James’s), shades from Retrosuperfuture, and …

… a silk crêpe handerchief from Grunwald, a favourite of his, I should remember to say.

Photos: The Journal of Style

Benjamin Klemann Shoes – part 1

April 16, 2015 by Torsten

Classic models from Benjamin Klemann Shoes

I have numerous bespoke shoes from the Warsaw shoemakers Tadeusz Januszkiewicz and Jan Kielman. The former has made me the better fitting shoes, whereas the latter has made me shoes with a perhaps slightly more flattering shape. Now I will test a new shoemaker: Benjamin Klemann in Hamburg, who according to my sources is the most recognized shoemaker in Germany. I hope he can unite excellent fit, proper construction, and charming style.

Klemann is one of supposedly three shoemakers in the world, who stock the famous Russian reindeer leathers from the Danish vessel “Catharina von Flensburg”. It sank outside Cornwall in 1786 on its way to Italy, and in 1973 it was discovered by divers from Plymouth. In the cargo the divers later found well-preserved reindeer hides, which had gone through a long and now forgotten tanning process in St. Petersburg, Russia. The story has since shrouded the leathers from Catharina in mystery. I have read mixed reports about them though. Some say they are prone to crack. Others praise their extraordinary patina. I will talk to Benjamin Klemann about the Russian reindeer leathers.

I will also ask him about different welting methods and expressions, for instance how he looks at double stich welting, storm welt, and the veldtschoen construction.

Another thing I will ask about is his view on the Budapest or Central European shoemaking tradition and the English shoemaking tradition. He has trained in both schools, and I guess something must differ, not only in styling but in construction methods and techniques as well.

In regards to the shoe model that I will order, I have a punched cap oxford in mind.

Stay tuned for more about Benjamin Klemann shoes …

Photos: Benjamin Klemann

Oliver Moore Bespoke Shoes in New York

July 6, 2014 by Torsten

It is somewhat puzzling that real shoemakers are so rare in Manhattan. The place is huge and rich, and people walk a lot down streets and avenues. There ought to be a demand for several traditional shoe craftsmen.

That said, the one I found, Oliver Moore, situated in the retail shop Tru-Form Shoes at Lexington Avenue, is a real shoemaker for sure. You just have to pass through the front shop with fine ready-to-wear shoes to talk to owners Paul Moorefield and Joan Silverman, and they will take you down steps to a basement, which reveals a genuine workshop.

Their small team of craftsmen bring the shoes through all the traditional steps of bespoke shoemaking. They will measure the customers’ feet noting peculiarities, and they will create an individual wooden last.

[Welting shoes by hand]

[Trial shoes]

They will also make a pair of trial shoes to be worn at home for some days, before they build the actual pair of shoes. As many readers will know, a famous firm like John Lobb in St James’s skips this step of making a pair of trial shoes.

Like most bespoke shoemakers and craftsmen in general, Paul and Joan don’t advertise with famous people in the customer list but I found that author Tom Woolfe is there.

[Half loafers, half monks, an old pair of bespoke shoes]

[Old pair of bespoke summer shoes in braided leather]

The first pair of bespoke shoes including lastmaking is 3.300 USD. Subequent orders are 600 or 700 USD less, as far as I remember.

Photos: The Journal of Style

Suit from Musella and Shoes from Myhre

May 7, 2014 by Torsten

I’ve seen two suits in real life from Milanese bespoke tailor Musella Dembech. This linen suit I like a lot. It is made for Jeppe. Jeppe has a demanding build for a tailor but Musella Dembech handles it well.

Shoulders are beautiful: light, with a little room, natural.

Although the linen is crumpling, you see that front and back balance, and sleeves too, are well executed.

The jacket is unlined. Jeppe tells that is goes for the sleeves as well. That is the way Musella Dembech makes them, unless you ask for lining, specifically. The four button front with the lapel rolling to the lower button row, is also a favourite of Musella Dembech.