Q & A: Episode 9 | George Cleverley

Transcription

Hi, I'm Kirby Allison and we love helping the well-dressed take care of their wardrobes. Thank you for all your comments and questions that you guys have posted on our YouTube channel. After reading them all and answering as many as possible, I've selected five that we're gonna feature in today's Q&A; video. Each of these individuals I've selected will receive a complimentary pair of our sovereign grade shoelaces as a token of our appreciation for their participation in our channel. Today's Q&A; video is going to focus on questions that have been asked on our George Cleverley bespoke workshop video series. This extensive video series showcases our special relationship and exclusive access to the George Cleverley bespoke workshop. Anyone that's interested in the bespoke shoe making process should check out these videos. Our intent with these videos is to really invite you into the George Cleverley bespoke workshop with us. I hope you enjoy these videos as much as I've enjoyed learning about the bespoke shoe making process and every single time I visit the George Cleverley bespoke workshop, I find that there's another aspect of the bespoke creation process that is totally new to me. It is my goal to bring you along with us as we journey through the George Cleverley bespoke workshop to discover the magic and artisanship behind a pair of bespoke shoes. Remember, if you have any questions or comments while watching one of our videos, please ask them in the comments section. I try to get back to as many of these questions as possible.

Our first question today is from Roskes. His question reads, "That place is definitely one of the best places in London to randomly meet shoe enthusiasts [I agree] Are you ordering the churchill any time soon?" Roskes, great question. So, the churchill for those who aren't familiar is an iconic George Cleverley model that is also known as the lazy man. A churchill is an imitation wingtip shoe. It looks like it has laces in the front, but actually it's an elastic sided slip-on shoe. This shoe got its name from Winston Churchill who wanted a pair of wingtip shoes that appeared as lace ups, but were elastic-sided so that he could get them on very easily. Winston Churchill came up with the idea for the lazy mans, really out of an necessity of World War II so that he can easily put on and take off his shoes as the sirens were sounding in the bunkers and actually he would wear these along with his turnbull and asser siren suit which is really just a fancy one-piece overall that he would wear so that if he was in bed and the sirens were sounding he could jump out of bed put on his shoes and go into the war cabinet. So this is the beautiful shoe. It's one that we offer here at The Hanger Project. I don't have one of these in my wardrobe, although I do have an elastic sided whole cut evening shoe that you can see in some of our videos. But, it's certainly a shoe that I will consider in the future. I thank you Roskes for your question and I look forward to sending you a pair of our sovereign grade shoelaces.

Our second question today is from Alvaro Camacho and his question reads, "Hi Kirby, amazing shoes and videos as always. Really unique work you're doing and I cannot express how much it helps us shoe enthusiasts! Do you by chance know how much would be the up charge for this shoe if crafted out of a crocodile leather? Also from crocodile to alligator? Many thanks." We also have a second question from Pol which is inquiring about the cost of Russian Reindeer shoes from George Cleverley. I thought this would be a nice opportunity to share with you the prices of bespoke shoes in various materials. So the starting price of a pair of bespoke George Cleverley shoes out of calf skin is two thousand nine hundred fifty pounds. Now this is with shoe trees but without VAT, so if you're living in the United Kingdom that price would be 20% more expensive. That works out to be about thirty-nine hundred dollars. A pair of bespoke George Cleverley shoes made out of Russian Reindeer or Cordovan is going to run four thousand pounds. Now again that's with shoe trees and without VAT and that's approximately five thousand two hundred fifty dollars. Now for crocodile or alligator which is probably the most expensive material that you can have a pair of bespoke shoes made out of. Those are four thousand eight hundred seventy-five pounds. Again with shoe trees but without VAT and that comes in at six thousand five hundred dollars at today's exchange rates. So there's definitely an upcharge for different qualities of leather and of course with bespoke shoes you're not just limited to those that I discussed. You could have shoes made out of a: lizard, snakeskin, buffalo. I mean almost anything that a shoe has ever been made from you can have a pair of bespoke shoes made out of that from George Cleverley. Thank you for your questions and I look forward to sending you a pair of our sovereign grade shoelaces.

Our next question is from Jake Roy and it reads, "Very nice. I'm not a big fan of exotic leathers like alligator and such. However, I am in love with this cabernet color. As a wine lover, I tend to gravitate towards burgundy colors on leather goods. What a beautiful and unique color! I was still hoping for suede. Any chance there may be a suede pair in the future?" Thanks for your question Jake. So this question is about the George Cleverley workshop visit where I'm up in the workshop with George Glasgow and he's showing me the various different crocodile skins available for my next pair of Baron de Rede's and he offered me the burgundy or cabernet special edition or limited edition that they did for their anniversary. Absolutely beautiful pair. And so it is in fact a very unique color and George was telling me that they actually used wine during the tanning process to get that really rich a cabernet color which Cleverley is particularly well known for. So I look forward to receiving those shoes. It's gonna be my next pair. I'm a little bit nervous just because again crocodiles are really expensive but it'll absolutely be a beautiful very special pair of shoes to me. As far as my next pair, you know as I've said the Baron de Rede loafer or the casual is one of my favorite shoes. I absolutely love that model we've worked on the pattern we've nailed it. It's such an elegant beautiful shoe. It's easy to wear. It's great for travel and so I really feel like I could have 10 or 20 pairs of those shoes made in different materials. I've got three pair already in pigskin. I've got the antique brown, the burgundy and black and then this alligator pair, no this crocodile pair will be my fourth pair and I think that a nice pair of suede could be my next pair that I have made. Thanks Jake, the Baron de Rede's in suede would absolutely make a beautiful pair of shoes and I'm going to consider that next time I meet with George Cleverley. You know thanks for your question. We look forward to sending you a pair of our sovereign grade shoelaces.

Our fourth question today is from Martha West and it reads "Wow what a great interview! Thank you for sharing! Do they make women's shoes too?" Thanks Martha for your question. Absolutely great question. One that we probably don't discuss enough here at The Hanger Project and that's that all of the bespoke shoe makers, including George Cleverley, absolutely make women's shoes. So George Cleverley can absolutely do a bespoke pair of shoes for women. They're beautiful shoes and if you visit George Cleverley's Instagram page, you can actually see photographs of some of these shoes that they've done. Now it's more of a traditional, almost vintage style that is similar in design to a man's shoe like an oxford or a wingtip but with a slightly higher heel and they're absolutely lovely shoes and if you're interested in a pair you should absolutely reach out to George Cleverley they'd be more than happy to help you. Thank you for your question Martha and I look forward to sending you a pair of our sovereign grade shoelaces and hopefully for your first pair of bespoke shoes.

Our last question today is from Ivan Boncy and it reads "Does the fit of a George Cleverley depend on the type of shoe? For example, would a pair of opera pumps have to have a tighter fit than a pair of oxfords? Or do all Cleverley shoes fit the same on your foot because the same last is used?" A great question Ivan. The fit of a casual pair of shoes as they call them in England or a pair of loafers is actually totally different than a pair of oxfords or lace ups and the reason is because on a proper casual shoe or a loafer there's just less material to really hold the foot so that it has to fit tighter and so a bespoke shoemaker like George Cleverley would actually make an entirely different last for your casual shoes as they would have for your lace ups. Now a pair of opera pumps have the least amount of shoe to really cut the foot and so that shoe would really need to be even tighter kind of around the sides and actually casuals are some of the hardest bespoke shoes to make because the fit has to be absolutely spot-on. You know since you don't have all this material really over the foot and the laces, you really need to have an absolutely perfect fit in order to prevent the heel from slipping out of the foot or to prevent any unsightly creasing or collapsing of the shoe. So you could actually have several different lasts at your bespoke shoe maker. You could have one for your oxford shoes or your lace ups. You could have one for your casuals. You could even have a slightly more generous fitting last made for your country shoes where you might be wearing thicker socks. You can even have a pair for your opera pumps which would fit even tighter and closer to the foot than your casuals and then something else is you could have multiple lasts based off different toe shapes. So say you have a bunch of lasts that George Cleverley with their iconic chiseled toe, but you wanted a slightly rounder toe for say your country shoe. Well that if done properly would require a different last to be made. So great question Ivan. So someone like me I've got two lasts at George Cleverley. I've got my lace-up oxford last and I've got my casual last. And that's probably the most common for anyone is to have two lasts. But it's not unheard of for someone to have more if there's someone that has say a riding boot or a country boot or a hiking shoe. All those different styles would require a different last because the fit is different. So thanks Ivan for your question. You definitely hit on kind of one of the nuanced differences of last making and I look forward to sending you a pair of our sovereign grade shoelaces.

So once again I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone for their comments and questions. It's your engagement on our YouTube channel that make these Q videos possible. Not only does it give me an opportunity to answer in greater depth a lot of the questions that I'm already answering when you ask them in the comment section, but it also allows us to take a moment to show our appreciation for you guys being a part of our channel. I absolutely enjoy what this platform allows us to do and how it allows me to really communicate directly with all of our viewers on these videos. If you haven't taken an opportunity to ask questions or make a comment, I invite you to do so. Even if you don't have a question to ask, just sharing your opinion or thoughts about our content helps us make better videos for you in the future.

In today's video, I'm wearing one of my bespoke Chris Despos suits. This is a a navy or a blue, fresco suit with patch pockets. I'm wearing a bespoke charvet shirt, of course in my trademark white, along with one of our sovereign grade regimental repp ties. Of course like all my suits, these have tabbed trousers which I really enjoy for just the simplicity and the elegance. The trousers are uncuffed and I have a pair of our small dot Palatino socks that beautifully match this suit and then today I'm wearing a pair of my Saint Crispin's cap toe oxfords that are dark brown.

If you enjoyed this video, give us a thumbs up and please subscribe to our channel and turn on your notifications by clicking the bell to the right of the subscribe button so that you can learn whenever we release new videos. If you have any questions or comments about anything we discussed on this video, please ask them in the comment section below. And of course please visit hangerproject com where we have the largest most comprehensive collection of luxury garment care and shoe care accessories in the world, as well as, many other incredible products for the well-dressed. And while you are there subscribe to our newsletter to receive notifications of new product launches, promotions, as well as, a weekly digest of all the videos we publish here on our YouTube channel. I'm Kirby Allison and we love to help the well-dressed take care of their wardrobes. Thanks for joining us.