Gaziano & Girling St. James II in Vintage Cherry - Shoe Review | Kirby Allison
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- čas přidán 1. 08. 2024
- The Gaziano & Girling St. James II in Vintage Cherry is one of the Company’s most iconic and popular models. Created as a bespoke sample over 12 years ago, The St. James II is the perfect Adelaide style, with the yolk and laces being cut from a separate u-shaped pattern piece. The shoe is crafted on the company’s TG73 last, which features a square chisel toe, and exemplifies the balance between classic and contemporary styling for which Gaziano & Girling is so well known.
The St. James II is priced £1,130 (or about $1,500) inc VAT or £945 (or $1,200) with no VAT. Fully-lasted shoe trees can be purchased for an additional £125.00, or about $150.
DESIGN
The St. James II is a classic Adelaide, which refers to the yolk and laces being cut from a separate pattern piece. This effect pulls the instep or yolk forward and allows the vamp to sweep all the way back. Adelaide are normally semi-brogues, which you can see is true with the St. James II. With this shoe, you really are able to appreciate Gaziano’s precise execution. Everything about the design balance and execution is perfect.
Immediately visible on the St. James II is the TG73 last on which it is built. The TG73 is an iconic Gaziano & Girling last that exemplifies the updated, modern aesthetic for which Gaziano is so well-known. The cap, vamp, and neck of the shoe are in perfect balance. And despite a lot going on with the pattern, Gaziano is able to keep the shoe clean and not too busy, which I really appreciate.
MATERIAL & FINISH
The desire to bridge the gap between traditional RTW and bespoke is also seen in the choice of materials used to make their shoes. Gaziano uses the same quality of uppers in their RTW shoes as they do their bespoke, and all of the patterns are cut out, or clicked, by hand.
The Vintage Cherry finish is hand-applied and then hand-polished by the in-house patina team. The level of factory finishing and polishing is really quite rare and reserved for only the highest-level of factory-made RTW shoes.
Baker’s oak-bark tanned leather outsoles and heels are used, and the heels are built up layer by layer and then shaped to produce a beautiful narrowing. Baker’s oak bark tanning process is similar to JR Rendenbach’s, where the leather is tanned in vegetable tanning matter for up to nine months. The result is an incredibly dense, durable, and water-resistant outsole that lasts several times longer than fast-tanned leathers. This is the outsole leather used in Gaziano’s bespoke shoes.
CONSTRUCTION
Gaziano is the gold-standard for factory-made RTW shoes because of how much effort they put into the construction of their shoes. No detail is overlooked, and as much bespoke-level finishing is integrated into the factory process as possible.
Gaziano uses three-quarters, and not a 360-degree, welt, which ends right at the heel. This is the preferred method on higher-quality shoes because it allows the heel to sit more neatly on top of the heel. The outsole features a high stitch density and welt fudging, which are the indentations pressed into the top of the welt using a wheel. This is purely decorative but creates a much neater finish by helping conceal the outsole stitching.
SUMMARY AND ENDING
The St. James II is a beautiful Adelaide semi-brogue and just another example of why Gaziano & Girling has risen to the peak of the ready-to-wear space. There are very few makers at this level making factory-made-shoes in the world today. And Gaziano & Girling has certainly earned its place in this pantheon of world-class shoemakers. Everything about this shoe is perfectly executed - from the design of the entire pattern to the way that the factory executes the making.
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My wife now hates you Kirby. I just ordered these in black calf. I can’t wait! Thank you.
Kirby, your reviews are absolutely outstanding! Thanks!
Incredible shoes! Love the perfectly squared toe! I know where my next $1500 paycheck will be going!
Really enjoyed this. I own 4 pairs of Cobbler Union shoes and many of the features and sillouttes reminded me of a few of their pairs. I always wondered why they had 3/4 welts and I was pleased to find out it was not a cost cutting measure but common on the best brands.
Another excellent video Kirby! Absolutely gorgeous shoes!
I loved your video of the St James Gaziano & Girling Vintage Cherry 🍒
Great video and thanks for going through all the detail of what makes such a high end shoe. Really enjoyed the video and series.
Great video Kirby. Your description was excellent. My visit with G&G’s master bespoke shoe maker during the trunk shoe in Texas has me saving my money for a bespoke G&G loafer. Keep up the good work.
Kirby, you're killing the game man. Great video. In depth and informative. Good job.
I’ll start saving now. Excellent review.
My new fav shoe company.
Wow, I would love that shoe!
Outstanding information. Bravo
These shoes are stunning and beautiful, before watching this video I purchased a pair which just received a couple of days ago and totally agree with what is said on this video, so for whoever wants to purchase an elegant shoe with a little more daring color this is the unmistakable way to go. Also I will like to ask Mr. Allison if he can make a review like this on Saint Crispin’s and will like to know if this is the right way to do so. Thanks
Good Video Kirby!!!!
Beautiful shoes-wish they were in my budget! Could you please consider reviewing Cobbler Union shoes? I think they, too, share many fine details of bespoke shoes at a price comparable to Allen Edmonds. I bought a pair of their Miquel wholecuts in black for my wedding-they’re stunning! Cheers.
Just received my Balfour from GG. Absolutely amazing shoes
Very nice pair of shoes.
Another brilliant video by Kirby Allison.
Kirby,
Excellent video. I'm wondering if you could comment on the cherry finish, specifically, featured in this video. How red does it appear, or would you say it is closer to a medium brown? Would you wear this finish more like you would a brown shoe, or more like an oxblood?
Hi Kirby, within their MTO program, in the extras, you can click on "Storm Welt". Could you please elaborate how different the Storm welt is vs the default welt? Which would you recommend? Thanks
When comparing St James ll & the cap toe oxford from G&G, which last is more tight or relaxed?
Kirby, have you considered doing a video covering the best shoes (in your opinion of course) in different price brackets? These brackets would make sense to me, under $300, $301-$500, $501-$800, $800-$1000, $1000+.
Beautiful shoes, could you review Carmina shoes please.
Nice review. Saint Crispin and Gaziano & Girling. Can you do a review on both brands? G&G is coming to Thailand soon and I have an appointment with them. Both have excellent qualities and design but which is the better investment? Thanks
Awesome
Hello there. Do these look so similar to AS's moore adelaide? But half the price??
Hello sir. I wear An Allen Edmonds 11.5 EEE. G&G said all I would need was A UK 10.5 G fitting. I thought The UK G was more like The US E. What do you think?
I have a request: can you make a video that explains some of the terms you use concerning shoes? I hear you use the word "bespoke" that is unique and unlike the way in which anybody else uses it. Maybe some time you can make a video that explains each part of a shoe, I know theres a number of different types of shoes but I wouldn't mind if you covered em all.
Thanks for all the great info and classy videos.
Where does the name Adelaide come from? I have a feeling it isn’t from the city in South Australia
Elegant shoes
a beautiful model by GG, I own these in MH71 instead of TG73 which I think is the perfect adelaide!
El traje corbatas que llevas puesto es excelente
👌🏼
Great Video Kirby! Could you explain why 3/4 good year welt is preferred over 360 degree welt in more detail?
270 deg welt helps creating a much tighter and beautiful heel stack vs 360 deg
@@newinspiration2108 No one can apply that patina like you man!
Very beautiful shoes but I have a question about sizing. I am a U.S. EEE width and I was wondering would the F width be sufficient? I would just hate to spend that kind of money on such lovely shoes only for them to crush my feet if I tried to wear them.
Me too! Kirby, any chance there might be a video on how us U.S. EEE (or above) width guys can find suitable lasts across the high end shoe makers (G&G, Vass, Edward Green, and etc.)?
Hi Kirby, thank you for this excellent video. What Saphir cream and polish colors do you recommend for G&G's vintage cherry for the "body" of the shoe and for the burnishing on the toes and heel? I am looking to purchase cream/polish (from KAHP, of course!). Similarly, what do you recommend for their vintage rioja color?
Hermes Red would work really well!!
Soul and wit, 2 things you lack most
I have a serious question. It's about these high end shoes. I get why someone would want a pair of these. They're beautiful. Plus there's a certain amount of pride you have when you own something this nice. I do get that. However at what price do you start reaching the point of diminishing returns? Is this $1500 pair shoes really that much better than say a $600 pair of shoes? If it's better is it really $900 better?
Truly gorgeous shoes. They're a real work of art. But 1500 big ones, damn…
Closer to $1,200 for those of us who don’t pay VAT.
We are living in a world where paying $1,200 for an amazing pair of shoes which can last a lifetime is considered crazy but spending $10,000 over 3 months on cigarettes and junk food which is killing you is considered perfectly acceptable and sane. The opposite should be true.
Where does the name Adelaide come from?
In my opinion, G&G, Edward Green, Lobb, C&J Handgrade and AE are not worth their money, when at that pricepoint (starting at 300-600$) you can already get handwelted Models from Vass or Mecariello (or if QC has a good day - even Meermin) that surpass the english makers' goodyear welted construction (which is essentially half-cemented) by far.
Handwelting and sole stiching by hand is what you should be after since it fixes the negatives of goodyear construction - the thickness/stiffness of the sole and the lacking durability of the cemented gemming. It also leaves less of a cavity between insole and outsole, so the cork is thinner, giving less of a possibility for unnatural foodbeds and provides the foot with more support.
The handwelters also use real leather heel counters, giving much more flexibility to the heel, which is important in RTW, so that it can conform to your heel.
But great video nontheless, i love your enthusiastic presentation, the eloquent choice of language and the professional audio & video quality!
Such expensive exceptionally shoes I love the Vintage Cherry 🍒 I own a few double breasted pea coats navy's & I can see myself with those shoes on with a pair of Navy wool flannel s .
Kirby, do you ever go to goodwill/second hand/vintage shops to buy your clothes and accessories?
ha..hahaha.. HAHHAHA!
@@patman4917 what?
LMAO!!!’
@@shinjiogun1967 what?
10:07 I going to go out on a limb and say that’s not what you meant since ‘orders of magnitude’ means ‘to the powers of ten’. Several orders of magnitude would mean at least 1000 times.
Are they effective in melee? My wife’s acting up again...
Im a 10 & half
In-depth presentation for sure. Very helpful, and thanks for that. But «review»? Nope. It’s called «advertising».
Did you just say “gaTiano and girling”?
This is a long, and rather tedious advertisement with too much blablabla from the pesky American.