Custom made men's dress shoes

HarryN

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Jan 22, 2004
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Pleasanton (Bay Area), CA, USA
Hi, my son (20) has a tough time fitting into off the shelf shoes.

Most of his life has been in tennis shoes which are more conformal so it all sort of worked.

He now needs to sometimes wear more conventional leather type shoes (nothing super fancy, just normal dress shoes) and we are struggling a bit. Yesterday I took him to a trade show and he lasted all of 10 minutes before they were rubbing in weird ways and 2 hrs later he was bleeding. This was the best fit of many tested.

His feet are wide in some areas, but not all so it makes the fit challenging. Yes, we are aware of inserts, etc and have some experience in that area.

I wondered if anyone knows where we can get some shoes made that will fit?

We are not looking for boots, just conventional looking dress shoes.

We live in the San Jose, CA area, but could drive some - for example Sacramento or similar.

Thanks

Harry
 

HarryN

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Jan 22, 2004
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Tried Eccos?

Thanks for the idea. I don't know if that is a brand we tried, but will look into it.

We will continue to pursue off the shelf shoes as well, but as an example we have tried around 40-50 shoes from a variety of locations so far so I am not that optimistic.

I suspect that he has this pair because he was tired of trying on shoes so he just told my wife that they fit "well enough".
 
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StarHalo

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Dec 4, 2007
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Eccos for dress shoes, Asics Kayanos for daily sneakers. Thorlos socks. All expensive, but the only step beyond these are custom orthotic shoes.
 

HarryN

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Jan 22, 2004
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Pleasanton (Bay Area), CA, USA
Thanks. I know that in TX there are shops that make custom boots for people. I was kind of hoping to find a traditional leather worker type person to make some that look a bit stylish, not clunky.

There used to be a company that made dress shoes and the workers were Chippewa (Native Americans - hopefully that is the correct term). They made fantastic shoes, then for some reason started buying imported shoes from China and the quality really declined. Sometime they had offers for custom shoes - not sure how it worked.

Shoes are a funny thing - if they fit well you don't really think about them. In some ways they look so simple, but obviously the concept of a shoe cobbler wouldn't have come along if just anyone could toss some leather together and have decent shoes.
 

bykfixer

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Aug 9, 2015
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Dust in the Wind
My pop swore by Mason shoes for diabetics. They were custom fit via a mold they made for his foot.

He had nerve damage and said it was like walking on broken glass. But he was able to walk comfortably with his custom shoes Mason made for him.
 

RedLED

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Oct 5, 2006
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Palm Springs, CA, Beverly Hills, CA, Washington, D
There is a Cat in LA who makes custom shoes for the upper end crowd, and celebrities my dad used use him. I would search New York, DC, and LA for 'Custom Shoemakers,' they are out there. Plus once you get a pair you send them back to have them refurbished over and over, and can do this for years.

I have French shoes I have had for two decades I do this with. Once you have shoes like this, you can't go back. Try the cities I list above and you will find someone who makes specialty shoes.

If if you can make London Savile Row, Mayfair, Central London will have shoe makers for certain.

Where ever you find a good shoemaker custom flashlights will seem like buying a snickers bar.

Best of luck,

RL
 
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