I've watched a few videos of Tom Ford's being re-soled and the construction methods and materials used definitely DO NOT match-up to similarly priced shoes from actual shoe makers like G&G, Lobb, EG, etc. That being said, I love watching your shine videos and find them relaxing. Thank you Kirby.
There’s something very ‘Zen’ about polishing shoes!! I’ve never really thought about it before but it is a kind of self care for gentleman!! Thank you sir!!
When you’ve done this you start to be able to feel in your fingers when it starting to take and when you need more polish etc it gets easy. Also I sometimes scrape some wax polish out into the cap of can and melt it with a lighter, rub it into shoe and wait a few minutes then go back and shine normally and you can get a mirror in 5 minutes.
As always great content. It would be great if You made a tutorial on how to clean and take care for spectator shoes. Multi color shoes have always been quite challenging to me in terms of keeping them clean and in good condition.
I'm one of those shiners that prefers to apply the wax polish only using your hands and let your finger melt that wax polish. Most of the pros do it like this. The chamois really isn't all that useful. No disrespect Kirby! I'm a big fan.
Haha. Yes. It is indeed hard work to produce a good mirror shine! And we turn the A/C off in order to minimize any audio problems! So I can really work up a sweat!
18:00 is it me or does it look like the video just skipped a part of the mirror shine process? usually it takes kirby a lot longer to add more layers and water until he starts getting a shine like that. here, it just happened all of a sudden.
You notice the haircut, also? haha. We split this video across two days. But I really didn't do any meaningful work, if any work at all, outside of the video.
Very instructive video as always, Mr. Allison. I noticed that the shoes look as if it still retained a relatively high shine. I wonder if that was the case (or if you had stripped the shoe with Renomat beforehand), and if it's the case of the former, whether it's possible to apply Rennovateur to shoes that have not been stripped of wax.
We didn't strip the shoes with Reno'Mat first. The Renovateur can still be applied to the shoes without stripping the wax, it just won't be absorbed by the leather in those areas that have that heavy, wax coating on it (the mirror shined areas). But it'll still work on the rest of the upper.
Dear Kirby, I would not say that Blake construction is a reflection of the way Italians construct shoes. Italy has amazing craftsmen that produce beautiful hand welted and Goodyear welted shoes. Easily visible in your Stefano Bemer video. It is typical for Designer brands, who sell completely overpriced products. Many want to benefit from the Made in Italy label at a low cost. Tom Ford has obviously a much higher profit margin, when they order Blake constructed shoes. Even tough I really like Brioni, when it comes to clothes, with shoes they do the same. You can learn a lot about a brand / company, when you look at this aspect. What product quality does a company sell outside their core business and the products that they are most known for. If we take Kiton for example, they sell high quality garments and also manufacture shoes to the highest standard. At least with some of their shoes. I am someone, who really focuses on quality and style but if someone purely wants to buy into the Tom Ford or Brioni lifestyle and they are happy with it, it is okay. Will you show more designer items in the future? Would appreciate it , if you could analyse their products in terms of quality and maybe contrast them. Tom Ford vs. Savile Row?
anton bach Tom Ford is definitely a brand that you never know what you are going to get. I have seen this brand with better construction and a lot worse. What never changes is the $2400 plus American price.
Hey Anton, thank you for your comment. Generally speaking, I do associate blake stitch construction with Italian shoes. Now, of course, there are certainly exceptions to this, and by no way do I say it in a way to diminish Italian craftsmanship. But it is certainly something you expect from the Italian fashion labels.
Kirby Allison what are your thoughts on the quality and craftsmanship of Tom Ford shoes? Are they worth buying? Especially since they come in at a higher price point then those of Edward Green and Gaziano & Girling.
They are absolutely NOT worth buying. You need to be engaging in an independent approach , here. As is said above: 1,900 euros for the pesky, flimsy blake stitch poppycock. I guarantee you that you are simply paying for the brand name. I challenge you to an exercise in comparison: take this TF shoe in your left hand, then, take a G&G or E.G shoe in your right. Then, you will understand. Leave the blake stitch for summer loafers.
Tom Ford is a designer brand. You are paying for a fashion forward/Tom Ford aesthetic with a high mark up. Tom Ford suits and their footwear are around the same quality as GG and EG. Only difference between these brands are EG and GG are shoemaker brands. TF is a designer brand. But to say they are a same quality to Suits Supply and Carmina is an exaggeration.
I know Tom Ford suits are made by Ermenegildo Zegna, and usually have some more premium materials in them. Definitely not on the level of Suitsupply. Can not speak for the shoes though.
1900 euro's for blake stiched shoes😂 and not only that it looks like it has a bleeding nose. extreme weird shoes if you ask me. rather buy a edward green or G&G
@@diagoumistis what😂???? what should i care. i don't want it. my black Crockett and jones Hallam, Carlos Santos brown oxford and my edward green boot is all i need.
Blake stitch shoes have a distinct advantage over the vast majority of Goodyear welted shoes: the insole is actually connected to the outsole with stitching where ass 99% of Goodyear welted shoes (even EG and GG) use gemming attached with glue to the insole. Blake is almost certainly harder to find someone who can resole it though.
I am shining a lot of old shoes, at the moment. Many of these shoes have pitted and choppy sole-edges, which I would like to smooth out. So, would it be possible to use a fine grade of sand paper (420 or so) to smooth up the sole-edges of these shoes?
Kirby--What’s the process for re applying the conditioner after a “presidential shoe shine” let’s say a month down the road when you want to rejuvenate your shoes? Do you just apply it on top of all the creams and waxes or do you have to strip everything off in order for the conditioner to get through?
Yes. I would just apply on top of the shine. Should be fine. Certainly not necessary, and actually too much, to strip it down every time you polish the shoes.
chato fernadez the video for the John Lobb shoes we restored in our previous video are available to win in a competition for viewers. You can see the info for entering by going to www.hangerproject.com/giveaway/
I own a pair of Crockett and Jones wingtip Oxfords, which are goodyear welted and made by a company that makes shoes, not high fashion BS, that I purchased for half of what these cost. Given that these are Blake Stitched and not made by a shoe company, I would say these should cost anywhere from $200-$300, and that is only if they are truly using high quality materials. Definitely about 95% of the cost of these is the Tom Ford branding. But hey, at least it doesn't actually have the name of the brand printed in large font on the uppers of the shoe anywhere; one could reasonably pass these off as high quality Oxfords made by a respected manufacturer.
Hi Kirby, don’t you agree that these shoes, while having a nice sillouette, don’t seem to me that they worth that amount of money? I mean there is nothing special about it except for the name of course, wouldn’t you prefer a nice goodyear welted shoes than a blake stitched shoe with the same amount of money, maybe less? I would also like to know your opinion regarding the front wingtip antiquing, doesn’t it seem a bit off? The heel, on the other hand, looks good.
These shoes are very beautiful. But Tom Ford is only paying the mark. I have the same in everything and I buy in Portugal for € 160 Euro, the same construction, the same leather and possibly made here.
This is too much cheaper than what you should have put up on your channel. Sorry. You are a bespoke gentleman. Stay there please. Don’t water down your content like others.
Fastening a tie absolutely takes far less time than shining shoes. Especially if you want a mirror shine you can spend hours on shoes. A tie will always take seconds. Or maybe a minute or so if you're doing something fancy like an eldridge or trinity for some reason
I've watched a few videos of Tom Ford's being re-soled and the construction methods and materials used definitely DO NOT match-up to similarly priced shoes from actual shoe makers like G&G, Lobb, EG, etc. That being said, I love watching your shine videos and find them relaxing. Thank you Kirby.
I certainly agree. The Tom Ford shoes are Blake Stitch, which is certainly a step down from the Goodyear Welted shoes from G&G, Lobb, EG, etc.
There’s something very ‘Zen’ about polishing shoes!! I’ve never really thought about it before but it is a kind of self care for gentleman!! Thank you sir!!
When you’ve done this you start to be able to feel in your fingers when it starting to take and when you need more polish etc it gets easy. Also I sometimes scrape some wax polish out into the cap of can and melt it with a lighter, rub it into shoe and wait a few minutes then go back and shine normally and you can get a mirror in 5 minutes.
Those shoes turned out brighter than my future
Is a suit required before polishing?
As always great content. It would be great if You made a tutorial on how to clean and take care for spectator shoes. Multi color shoes have always been quite challenging to me in terms of keeping them clean and in good condition.
Have a nice Saturday
Reminds me of my military spit shines on my boots which I still do on all my shoes. I have to get some sapphir mirror gloss. Im doing it the hard way
I'm one of those shiners that prefers to apply the wax polish only using your hands and let your finger melt that wax polish. Most of the pros do it like this. The chamois really isn't all that useful. No disrespect Kirby! I'm a big fan.
Kirby, I've never seen you work so hard before. Your face is all red. Good job overall 👍
Haha. Yes. It is indeed hard work to produce a good mirror shine! And we turn the A/C off in order to minimize any audio problems! So I can really work up a sweat!
This looks completely like my a testoni shoes!
Mine is bolognese Goodyear welt construction.
Kirby, perhaps you could do a video in the future showing the proper utilization of the Saphir Canadian Jacket and Bag product.
Great suggestion!
18:00 is it me or does it look like the video just skipped a part of the mirror shine process? usually it takes kirby a lot longer to add more layers and water until he starts getting a shine like that. here, it just happened all of a sudden.
You notice the haircut, also? haha. We split this video across two days. But I really didn't do any meaningful work, if any work at all, outside of the video.
Very instructive video as always, Mr. Allison. I noticed that the shoes look as if it still retained a relatively high shine. I wonder if that was the case (or if you had stripped the shoe with Renomat beforehand), and if it's the case of the former, whether it's possible to apply Rennovateur to shoes that have not been stripped of wax.
We didn't strip the shoes with Reno'Mat first. The Renovateur can still be applied to the shoes without stripping the wax, it just won't be absorbed by the leather in those areas that have that heavy, wax coating on it (the mirror shined areas). But it'll still work on the rest of the upper.
Dear Kirby, I would not say that Blake construction is a reflection of the way Italians construct shoes. Italy has amazing craftsmen that produce beautiful hand welted and Goodyear welted shoes. Easily visible in your Stefano Bemer video. It is typical for Designer brands, who sell completely overpriced products. Many want to benefit from the Made in Italy label at a low cost. Tom Ford has obviously a much higher profit margin, when they order Blake constructed shoes. Even tough I really like Brioni, when it comes to clothes, with shoes they do the same. You can learn a lot about a brand / company, when you look at this aspect. What product quality does a company sell outside their core business and the products that they are most known for. If we take Kiton for example, they sell high quality garments and also manufacture shoes to the highest standard. At least with some of their shoes. I am someone, who really focuses on quality and style but if someone purely wants to buy into the Tom Ford or Brioni lifestyle and they are happy with it, it is okay. Will you show more designer items in the future? Would appreciate it , if you could analyse their products in terms of quality and maybe contrast them. Tom Ford vs. Savile Row?
anton bach Tom Ford is definitely a brand that you never know what you are going to get. I have seen this brand with better construction and a lot worse. What never changes is the $2400 plus American price.
Hey Anton, thank you for your comment. Generally speaking, I do associate blake stitch construction with Italian shoes. Now, of course, there are certainly exceptions to this, and by no way do I say it in a way to diminish Italian craftsmanship. But it is certainly something you expect from the Italian fashion labels.
Kirby Allison
what are your thoughts on the quality and craftsmanship of Tom Ford shoes? Are they worth buying? Especially since they come in at a higher price point then those of Edward Green and Gaziano & Girling.
They are absolutely NOT worth buying. You need to be engaging in an independent approach , here. As is said above: 1,900 euros for the pesky, flimsy blake stitch poppycock. I guarantee you that you are simply paying for the brand name. I challenge you to an exercise in comparison: take this TF shoe in your left hand, then, take a G&G or E.G shoe in your right. Then, you will understand.
Leave the blake stitch for summer loafers.
Tom Ford is a designer brand. You are paying for a fashion forward/Tom Ford aesthetic with a high mark up. Tom Ford suits and their footwear are around the same quality as GG and EG. Only difference between these brands are EG and GG are shoemaker brands. TF is a designer brand. But to say they are a same quality to Suits Supply and Carmina is an exaggeration.
Also Tom Ford’s personally and the culture around his brand is very similar to Kirby’s. But why do you think he’s a douche?
I know Tom Ford suits are made by Ermenegildo Zegna, and usually have some more premium materials in them. Definitely not on the level of Suitsupply. Can not speak for the shoes though.
1900 euro's for blake stiched shoes😂 and not only that it looks like it has a bleeding nose. extreme weird shoes if you ask me. rather buy a edward green or G&G
Nihat Uludag I mean that’s what you get for buying designer shoes
keep on crying about it.
@@diagoumistis what😂???? what should i care. i don't want it. my black Crockett and jones Hallam, Carlos Santos brown oxford and my edward green boot is all i need.
@@iaido01 Excellent trio !
Blake stitch shoes have a distinct advantage over the vast majority of Goodyear welted shoes: the insole is actually connected to the outsole with stitching where ass 99% of Goodyear welted shoes (even EG and GG) use gemming attached with glue to the insole. Blake is almost certainly harder to find someone who can resole it though.
I am shining a lot of old shoes, at the moment. Many of these shoes have pitted and choppy sole-edges, which I would like to smooth out. So, would it be possible to use a fine grade of sand paper (420 or so) to smooth up the sole-edges of these shoes?
Can you make a video, on how you get a mirror shine with a low budget?
Mirror shine is the same whatever polish you use
World class video mate, but the title is too long and that’s why RUclips isn’t pushing this video to the recommended
RUclips titles are more art than science...
Kirby Allison agreed
Kirby--What’s the process for re applying the conditioner after a “presidential shoe shine” let’s say a month down the road when you want to rejuvenate your shoes? Do you just apply it on top of all the creams and waxes or do you have to strip everything off in order for the conditioner to get through?
Yes. I would just apply on top of the shine. Should be fine. Certainly not necessary, and actually too much, to strip it down every time you polish the shoes.
Great!
The owner of those shoes is going to be soooo happy...
Yes! Make sure you enter the competition!
@@kirbyallison Kirby how do I enter the competition? I don't see any link...and I didn't find any mention of a competition at hangerproject.com
chato fernadez the video for the John Lobb shoes we restored in our previous video are available to win in a competition for viewers. You can see the info for entering by going to www.hangerproject.com/giveaway/
@@kirbyallison Thank you Kirby, I joined that one aready!!!!
I own a pair of Crockett and Jones wingtip Oxfords, which are goodyear welted and made by a company that makes shoes, not high fashion BS, that I purchased for half of what these cost. Given that these are Blake Stitched and not made by a shoe company, I would say these should cost anywhere from $200-$300, and that is only if they are truly using high quality materials. Definitely about 95% of the cost of these is the Tom Ford branding. But hey, at least it doesn't actually have the name of the brand printed in large font on the uppers of the shoe anywhere; one could reasonably pass these off as high quality Oxfords made by a respected manufacturer.
Interesting seeing a man shine shoes in an expensive suit. How does conditioner get through the polish that was on the shoe?
The conditioner won't penetrate the thick, hard wax layers on the mirror shine, but it will all the other areas of the shoe.
Won't the cream colour the shoelaces as well?
Yes. The waxes and pigment actually are good for the laces.
Hi Kirby, don’t you agree that these shoes, while having a nice sillouette, don’t seem to me that they worth that amount of money? I mean there is nothing special about it except for the name of course, wouldn’t you prefer a nice goodyear welted shoes than a blake stitched shoe with the same amount of money, maybe less? I would also like to know your opinion regarding the front wingtip antiquing, doesn’t it seem a bit off? The heel, on the other hand, looks good.
I certainly agree... but to each's own.
nineteen hundred smackaroos for those shoes, wow
These shoes are very beautiful. But Tom Ford is only paying the mark. I have the same in everything and I buy in Portugal for € 160 Euro, the same construction, the same leather and possibly made here.
What brand of shoes from Portugal do you own?
Hercules.pt, Most of my shoes are theirs, and they are of a very good quality. They are the manufacturers of some renowned brands.
It looks like you don't really like the shoes that much
So pretty much the same as every other pair then 🤣
Never grows old...
This is too much cheaper than what you should have put up on your channel. Sorry. You are a bespoke gentleman. Stay there please. Don’t water down your content like others.
We are equal opportunity here at Kirby Allison... haha
Come on Kirby... 24 minutes to show us how to shine a shoe? Or fasten a tie?? You've lost my interest...
Fastening a tie absolutely takes far less time than shining shoes. Especially if you want a mirror shine you can spend hours on shoes. A tie will always take seconds. Or maybe a minute or so if you're doing something fancy like an eldridge or trinity for some reason