Cutting It Apart: $10,000 John Lobb Shoes (RTW vs. Bespoke)

About this video

The Gentleman’s Gazette team dissects and compares a $1,000+ John Lobb Paris ready-to-wear loafer with a $10,000 John Lobb London bespoke shoe, examining the construction methods, materials, and quality differences between factory-made and handmade footwear. The team finds that while the bespoke shoe demonstrates superior craftsmanship and customization, the ready-to-wear shoe uses some synthetic materials and pressed leather products that surprised them given the price point.

Key takeaways

• The Gazette team notes that bespoke shoes are truly customized for individual feet (e.g., asymmetrical heel heights) and are entirely hand-constructed with leather throughout, while ready-to-wear uses nails, thermoplastic heel caps, and synthetic materials
• The Gazette team observes that the ready-to-wear John Lobb uses a channeled Goodyear welt construction with metal-reinforced shank, but the bespoke uses hand-welted construction with a leather lip instead of a gem band and no internal shank
• The Gazette team expresses some disappointment that the $1,000+ ready-to-wear shoe uses pressed leather products and synthetic materials for heel and toe caps rather than full leather throughout, especially compared to the all-leather bespoke construction
• The Gazette team concludes that while John Lobb bespoke offers excellent fit and handmade quality, comparable bespoke shoes from lesser-known makers in Italy or Austria may offer similar construction at the price of ready-to-wear, making them a better value proposition

Episode details: published September 17, 2021 · 56K views · 35:28 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. The style guidance summarized here is the Gentleman’s Gazette team’s own teaching and opinion, presented for education; product recommendations are theirs, not ours. Summaries are written by Self Growth Videos from each video itself.

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