Handmade boots not made as my specification

saz67

No they haven't made what i was measured for. I told them I wanted them the same length as my old boots and left one of them as a template, which the people making the uppers had with them. When I had my fitting the uppers were already attached to the foot of the boot. The only adjustments then made were for the width of the foot bit. 

Sandtree

DB1904 said:

saz67 said:

I am shy and when I had my fitting i did notice that it was a little shorter but didn't have a tape measure and was worried to say something, as the uppers were made by a separate company. They were bespoke. They made a last for me.

saz67 said:

Thanks for the link to the Citizens advice. 
I'm not sure how to reply to everyone individually. 
Thank you for everyone's suggestions.
I think I will email them and send the photos I have taken of my boot and the boots they made for me, with a tape measure showing the different heights. Asking that they rectify the fact they are not the height I specified. Then see what they say. 

So they have made what you were measured for and have completed the contract. The problem here is you didn't inform them at the time they weren't what you wanted. 

I'd personally argue its slightly more grey than that... never been able to justify bespoke shoes/boots but have had bespoke suits made in the past. You start the process of a first commission with conversations, possibly trying something on etc and you may say you want a 35.2" sleeve or say you want it to come to 1.5cm short of your shirt sleeve etc. You come back a couple more times with something made either of scrap material or the true material and you make adjustments. 

Both initial statements can cause problems... total sleeve length required depends on the shoulder and its construction, Naples will probably be shorter and London longer to end at the same point on the wrist... amount of shirt cuff showing... well when? Arms by the side, sat at a desk, reaching to the sky.

I have had commissions that I;ve been disappointed in, many times its my fault and if it wasnt fundamental (eg chose fabric that looks too formal) then corrections have always been made, but would never get the tape measure out to see if it was exactly the length I asked but look in the mirror and see if it looks how I wanted.

saz67

Thank you for sharing your experience with having shirts made. This is the first time I have had anything bespoke made for me. I am going to send a nice email tomorrow explaining that they are not as I specified height wise and haven't changed the amount of leather for the buckle either. I was 100% clear when i was measured by hand that I wanted them as Identical to my old boot as possible, so they would have seen they were shorter themselves.  

sheramber

The purpose of the fitting is to confirm that the product is correct. it would have been better to raise the fact  that they were too short at that time.

TELLIT01

The fittings are when you have the opportunity to explain anything that isn't as it should be.  Irrespective of your reasons, you failed to raise the fact that the boot was shorter than it should be.  That is likely to greatly weaken your case for getting things sorted now.

Sandtree

saz67 said:

Thank you for sharing your experience with having shirts made. This is the first time I have had anything bespoke made for me. I am going to send a nice email tomorrow explaining that they are not as I specified height wise and haven't changed the amount of leather for the buckle either. I was 100% clear when i was measured by hand that I wanted them as Identical to my old boot as possible, so they would have seen they were shorter themselves.  

Technically I said suits, I have had shirts too but all with the same guy which makes things different because after the first couple its just an email to ask for some new shirts with a list of fabric codes. Suits I've tried different tailors which means going through the whole pattern making each time.

I personally would pick up the phone, allows a more natural flow of conversation and if its friendly and not accusatory or trying to quote Acts etc then more likely to get to an amicable solution. 

How many fittings did you have?

Manxman_in_exile

TELLIT01 said:

The fittings are when you have the opportunity to explain anything that isn't as it should be.  Irrespective of your reasons, you failed to raise the fact that the boot was shorter than it should be.  That is likely to greatly weaken your case for getting things sorted now.

Unfortunately for the OP I think this may be true. 

I also suspect that with bespoke footwear there may not be the same opportunity for repeated fittings and adjustments as there might be with bespoke clothing.  It's not as if different sections of leather forming an upper are going to be "tacked" together so they can be easily adjusted.  So if you don't speak up immediately it might be too late.  I'd be interested to know what the OP was told at the (only?) fitting they had what was required from them in terms of raising issues and asking questions etc.

I'm also not sure what the relevance of the uppers and the last being made by "a different company" is.  Is it usual for the uppers and last to be made by a different company from the one the client is contracting with and which is doing the fitting? 

I'd like to know how much experience this company has in producing bespoke shoes and a rough idea what sort of value is involved to know how far to take this.  (I'm assuming "bespoke" boots could be from about £300 to +£1000 )

Sandtree

Manxman_in_exile said:

TELLIT01 said:

The fittings are when you have the opportunity to explain anything that isn't as it should be.  Irrespective of your reasons, you failed to raise the fact that the boot was shorter than it should be.  That is likely to greatly weaken your case for getting things sorted now.

Unfortunately for the OP I think this may be true. 

I also suspect that with bespoke footwear there may not be the same opportunity for repeated fittings and adjustments as there might be with bespoke clothing.  It's not as if different sections of leather forming an upper are going to be "tacked" together so they can be easily adjusted.  So if you don't speak up immediately it might be too late.  I'd be interested to know what the OP was told at the (only?) fitting they had what was required from them in terms of raising issues and asking questions etc.

I'm also not sure what the relevance of the uppers and the last being made by "a different company" is.  Is it usual for the uppers and last to be made by a different company from the one the client is contracting with and which is doing the fitting? 

I'd like to know how much experience this company has in producing bespoke shoes and a rough idea what sort of value is involved to know how far to take this.  (I'm assuming "bespoke" boots could be from about £300 to +£1000 )

You'd be surprised, whilst I've not afforded it I know several people that have and the norm has been at least two fittings... some shoemakers will make an initial thing out of waste material and even go as far as cutting it open to see how your foot fits inside. Fine tuning changes can still be made post construction with changes to the past and the appropriate retreatment of the leather.

As to price, most the London companies you are taking more £3,000 to £6,000 before you consider having any exotic leathers for shoes. Boots are more expensive. 

I think the OP has bought western boots where the foot is made by one company and the embossed etc shaft is made by another. 

Manxman_in_exile

+£5000 for bespoke "proper" footwear wouldn't surprise me at all.

I wondered about cowboy boots but would they go so far as to make a custom last for the OP?

Sandtree

Manxman_in_exile said:

I wondered about cowboy boots but would they go so far as to make a custom last for the OP?

They said they did

A blogger on bespoke clothing said they paid $3,000 in 2013 for their bespoke cowboy boots but that was with them going to the USA to have them made (price doesnt include travel)... if its a travelling tailor/shoemaker then there tends to be an uplift for their travel costs plus you'd have 20% VAT to add on top (and maybe duty). Given 8 years of inflation I wouldnt imagine they'd be much cheaper than bespoke shoes plus it mentioned that particularly elaborate shafts and/or exotic leathers really push the price.