Product Description

A man's shoes are the most important items in his wardrobe. However, a pair of custom-made welted shoes goes beyond mere items of apparel. They are the creation of a master craftsman, expressing the social standing of the wearer while simultaneously providing the delicate structure of the feet with optimum protection from the stress and strain of everyday life. Custom-made shoes are also a work of art in leather, designed for the distinctive feet and the individual taste of the fashion-conscious gentleman. This book takes an expert look into the workshops of internationally renowned shoemakers. The many detailed photographs in this book reveal the closely-guarded secrets and tricks of the trade that come between the taking of measurements and the completion of the shoe. This book is for those with a sense of both fashion and tradition, for those who love shoes. It is also a worthy introduction, for both the professional and the layman, to the wealth of tradition that is waiting to be discovered in the shoemaker's workshop.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #627734 in Books
• Published on: 1999-11
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 216 pages

About the Author
Laszlo Vass, born in Budapest in 1946, worked in the Hungarian fashion house of Magyar Divatintezet as a clicker, closer, shoemaker, and designer from 1964 until 1969. In 1970, having gained his professional shoemaking qualification he joined a private workshop specializing in hand-made shoes and ladies' boots as assistant chief designer and shoemaker. In 1978 Vass founded his own workshop and opened a business in the centre of Budapest. Since 1988 he and his 20 staff have concentrated on traditional shoemaking. Today the exquisite quality of the shoes made by the firm of Vass has earned the workshop enormous respect throughout Europe. Magda Molnar, born in Budapest in 1943, studied English literature at Budapest University. A publisher of art books, she was initially chief executive of Helikon Verlag, and since 1991 head of Vince Books; she is active on the international publishing scene. Magda Molnar's particular interest in shoemaking is rooted in her family history: her grandfather practiced the profession of shoemaker for 50 years, specializing in handmade shoes and gentlemen's boots.

Customer Reviews

Fantastic Book !
If you want to know how to make shoes or just want to know how shoes are made this is the best book that you can buy. Every page has beautiful closeup color photographs. Just by looking at the photographs alone shows you how it is done and there are many, many, photographs showing you every stage in the process of hand making a pair of men's shoes.

Finally, a decent book on shoemaking
Information on shoemaking is getting difficult to find. I bought this book hoping I could learn how nice shoes are made. I was very pleased with what I learned from this book. One step further into the details, however, would have made this book the last word on the subject.

If you have a little imagination, however, it is not too hard to fill in the details. Actually, since the author is a very respected Hungarian shoemaker, I can imagine it being a difficult decision on where to draw the line between "details" and "wordiness." Do you have to talk about glue viscosity (he does) or glue recipes (he doesn't, "shop secrets"). Plenty of information is included and hundreds of excellent photos make it easy to imagine yourself right alongside a master craftsman.

Topics include:

* taking measurements
* anatomy
* shoe sizes
* history and making of lasts
* characteristics of different styles of men's dress shoes
* design of the pattern (the gist of it, anyway)
* leather tanning processes
* characteristics of different leathers
* clicking, brogueing, stitching and reinforcing of uppers
* lasting the shoe (stretching the upper around the last)
* lots of detail on tacking and stitching during the lasting process
* welting
* soling (including the shank and cork filler)
* building the heel
* ornamentation and finishing
* proper shoe care
* short bios on the greatest workshops in Europe and America

Needless to say, I learned alot. I had no idea top-end shoes use wooden pegs to hold the heels on or that broken glass and bones are common tools in the trade. This is a very nice addition to my library.

superb features on the world's most famous workshops
This book is about bespoke handmade shoes for men - but not about any of the major ready-made brands. The book presents a great introduction to the more than 200 steps from measuring your feet to the finished shoe. Chapters include taking size, making lasts, the different shoe styles, the different parts of the shoes and how to care for your custom-made shoes. The book also includes superb features on the world's most famous workshops including Lobb, Berluti and Vogel. The author Laszlo Vass is the owner of the well-known Vass shoe workshop in the center of Budapest, Hungary. If you are a shoe connaisseur or affictionado and also think that "elegance begins with shoes" then this book is the right choice for you.