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Auslegung
Joined: 14 Jan 2009
Location: MB, SC
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 Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 6:16 am Post subject: Where can I buy unique shoes for men? |
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| I have a pair of vibram fivefingers http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/, and I'm really into barefooting and wearing minimalistic shoes. I was wondering if anyone knows where to get something similar, or where to buy some good moccasins or the like, with a very thin sole. |
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abiandjamesinsk
Joined: 13 May 2009
Location: Suji, Yongin, Seoul
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| Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 2:16 pm Post subject: |
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| If you go into Itaewon there are usually twenty or thirty guy offering to hand make you shoes. You could take a pair you like or some pictures and see if they could put you something together. You will have to bargan hard though as these guys start high. |
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Chet Wautlands
Joined: 11 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 2:38 pm Post subject: |
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| Have you noticed any benefits from wearing five fingers? |
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Auslegung
Joined: 14 Jan 2009
Location: MB, SC
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| Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 6:25 pm Post subject: |
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I've worn my VFFs twice to bukhansan, doing a 10k hike both times. Basically, a 10k hike barefoot, and while I definitely hurt the next day (who doens't after a 10k?), it was a muscular hurt, which is good. I get the same when I just wear them around town.
Before I moved to Korea, I usually went barefoot, but if I had to wear shoes I'd wear my VFFs, MBTs, or some very thin-soled cheap shoes. I have arthritis in my knee and it was definitely getting a lot better as I stopped wearing conventional shoes.
Since moving here and wearing dress shoes frequently, I've developed plantars fasciitis, back pain, and knee pain. When I wear my VFFs, the pain is lowered. I haven't worn them often enough to really say much because I'm trying to build up to wear them all day. Starting next week I'll probably be wearing them all the time. |
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boatofcar
Joined: 20 Dec 2006
Location: Sheffield, UK
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| Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 8:20 pm Post subject: |
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| abiandjamesinsk wrote: |
| If you go into Itaewon there are usually twenty or thirty guy offering to hand make you shoes. You could take a pair you like or some pictures and see if they could put you something together. You will have to bargan hard though as these guys start high. |
What do you think is a fair price for a pair of hand made shoes there? |
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Auslegung
Joined: 14 Jan 2009
Location: MB, SC
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| Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 3:55 am Post subject: |
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Where in itaewon? I've never been and would otherwise like to avoid it, but i'll go for some decent shoes that don't feel like i'm wearing cement boots.
i'd pay W30-50,000 for some handmade moccasins bc they're not complicated to make, but I'm sure you were asking the other guy, that's just my two Lincolns. |
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dazzed
Joined: 26 May 2007
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| Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 4:05 am Post subject: |
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| Auslegung wrote: |
| Where in itaewon? |
Seoul "obviously" center of the city on line 6 "brown line" |
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Auslegung
Joined: 14 Jan 2009
Location: MB, SC
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| Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 5:11 am Post subject: |
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| Itaewon is obviously pretty big. I'm not going to walk out of the subway and start yelling for someone to come and make me some custom shoes. If you're so all-knowing, why don't you tell me where to go? |
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seoulsister
Joined: 04 Mar 2006
Location: International Network
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Johnny Conqueroo
Joined: 02 Feb 2009
Location: Seoul, Korea
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| Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2009 9:25 pm Post subject: "Itaewon is obviously pretty big..." |
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| Auslegung wrote: |
| Itaewon is obviously pretty big. I'm not going to walk out of the subway and start yelling for someone to come and make me some custom shoes. If you're so all-knowing, why don't you tell me where to go? |
It's not really...all that big that is.
Just about 2 long city blocks from the beginning at Noksapyeong to Hannam-dong.
But there are many custom shoe shops along both sides of the main drag, so it's not any kind of big deal finding a place to do business. And no yelling necessary.
One that comes to mind is right under the Outhouse Steakback.
It has the word Sun in its name; like Suntown or something like that. It's been there at least 20 years so I guess they do well enough to survive that long at least.
As I understand it though, most (if not all) of the custom shoe shops don't actually make the shoes themselves, but instead, sub the work out to a very few (maybe only 1 or 2) OEM operators who do the actual work. The shops just sell the designs and take the measurements.
Many of the tailors and shirt shops do the exact same thing. Been that way for years. Take a walk behind the shops a few alleys deep, and you'll see a bunch of "tailor" shops where the stuff is actually made. I go down there to have clothes repaired or altered. It's faster and cheaper than using the middlemen on the main drag.
One issue I've had with the custom shoe shops is arch support. I don't feel that the custom shoes I've ever seen actually provide any. Attractive designs & well-enough construction, but not much else.
I'm a shoe freak, and own more shoes than I care to admit to, but personally, I'd be wary of those custom shoes. And frankly I'm not into those Vibram toe-shoe things. I think they're gimmicky (whatever happened to Kelso Earthshoes I wonder...?)
I think the idea of custom-made shoes suggests better fit and higher quality, but I believe they're just as medium-grade commercial as shoes that come from any mid-level mainstream shoemaker.
But for comfort and fit with unconventional style, I recommend a look at MOZO shoes. http://www.mozoshoes.com/
I have several pair of them in sandal style, brand new in the box, in US size 11 (EU45) that I'd part with, as long as it could be done without any drama. (Pictures available on request) |
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Auslegung
Joined: 14 Jan 2009
Location: MB, SC
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| Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 7:14 am Post subject: |
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Thanks for the information, Johnny, much more helpful than the other guy who should've known I know nothing about Itaewon, having said I've never been there.
I disagree with you about arch support, however. Arch support comes from your arches; it's how we evolved (or, if you prefer, were created). Billions of years, or God (or both), can't be wrong. All shoes lack arch support if they have a thick sole. A thick sole keeps your foot from sensing the ground underneath, and causes you to slam your heel into the ground, preventing your arch from doing what it's supposed to. This results in the belief that shoes must provide arch support, and when they don't, it's their fault.
The perfect shoe is no shoe at all. Since Koreans would probably run away from me if I went barefoot on the streets and wouldn't allow me into businesses, I have to have the next best thing: VFFs. Since I just ruined them, I have to get something else. I'd prefer moccasins, since they can be close to shoeless.
Again, thanks for all the help, and I hope you go shoeless sometime soon, and stop punishing your feet, ankles, knees, hips, and back. |
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wuzza
Joined: 02 May 2003
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| Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 10:52 pm Post subject: |
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| dazzed wrote: |
| Auslegung wrote: |
| Where in itaewon? |
Seoul "obviously" center of the city on line 6 "brown line" |
You "obviously" read his question as "Where is Itaewon?" which probably makes you feel pretty dumb right about now. |
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