Are my Loake Oxford shoes defective?
I bought some new Loake Aldwych Oxford shoes and noticed what appears to be a chip on the back of the shoes. This is my first Goodyear Welted pair of shoes, so I was wondering if this is a defect. There's the same mark on both pairs, but it's worse on one of the shoes.
10 Replies
That’s the welt joint, it’s normal
Thanks, would you say this is an acceptable / expected amount of visibility? I had a brief glance at the images here because I don't remember the joint being as noticeable in reviews of the shoe, so I was a bit concerned.
https://www.reddit.com/r/goodyearwelt/comments/zq0j2o/your_new_shoes_are_flawed_whether_or_not_you/
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Yeah they’re totally normal. Shouldn’t expect it to not be noticeable unless you pay a lot more for better finishing
Yep, unfortunately where the welt meets is almost never perfect. Your options are basically to either pay enough for a maker whose QC includes an invisible welt join, or to ignore it.
It's not super pretty but it's not a defect; it's not going to fail there, leak, etc. It's also not noticeable until you get close enough to sniff the shoe. So, generally not considered an issue in shoemaking.
This is a great point, it’s not a “flaw” just unsightly. Worth noting that a lot of makers don’t care about it at all so even paying more for better finishing doesn’t necessarily mean an invisible joint.
OP: you will probably never notice it while wearing these, I have some footwear with much more visible welt joints and it’s never crossed my mind at all once I have them on
Right. Alden for example will usually have a visible joint and they charge >$600 and don't really run sales like for example Allen Edmonds. I am not sure who out there guarantees it's part of their QC. Lobb? Edward Green?
No RTW maker will. Only some MTM or bespoke makers will do such a thing
Damn, none of the RTW makers? I never knew any that did but assumed someone did at some price point. Well, that's your answer. None of the shoemakers care. If it was important, surely someone would compete on it.
Some RTW makers (EG for example), may generally have cleaner joints but no one is touting it since it’s not something that affects the wearability of the shoe.
That's reassuring to know, thank you both for explaining!