Rob

Hi All

First some background:

My girlfriend of over 5 months loves shoes and mainly wears 4 to 4.5 inch heels – what a lucky man I am!! :D She is very particular about her shoes, normally buying from stores such as Dune, and dreams of Jimmy Choo’s and Manolo’s.

But she was open to the idea of trying something higher, provided they weren’t cheap and nasty looking. She also knows how important good fit is with heels, and wanted to try on before buying. (You may remember that a month ago I posted, asking for some advice on "non-sleazy"/"non-fetish" shops selling very high heels. http://www.hhplace.org/hhboard/viewtopic.php?t=2883 )

So last Monday (5th April) we visited Leatherworks in London (thank you Daz & Heelfan), and I thought you may appreciate a little report:

I called first to find out opening times. Weekdays they are open from 8.30am (or was it 8.00) until 5.00pm (and also many Saturday mornings). Pulling up at the address of 77-79 Southgate Road, there were several front doors, so I called again to ask the way in. Tina answered, sounding a little fed up (this made us a little apprehensive) but offered to come to the door. (The entrance is actually a garage door on the ground floor, and Leatherworks appears to occupy the ground floor only.)

Tina walked us in through the dingy entrance, then through an office, in to the show room. This was a small room, with examples of most of the styles shown on their web site and many others not. On first walking in your attention is drawn to platform boots and many other fetish styles in bright colours, but as you start to look more closely, there are many more elegant styles mixed in between them.

Most of the display shoes were used for the photo shoot for the web site and catalogue, and are therefore size 6 – the size of the models that posed. My lady likes sling-backs with longer pointed toes (K503-LP with 5.5 inch heel - 4th down here: http://www.leatherworks.org.uk/acata...es_Page_2.html ). Tina was very helpful and offered to go and see if they had a pair in her size for her to try. (Unfortunately this involved wearing special plastic bags on her feet!)

The style was not as low cut across the toes and at the sides as my girlfriend would have liked, but Tina brought one of the craftsmen in, who said they could cut hers a little lower – we agreed on about quarter of an inch lower than the standard shoe.

Then Tina took us out in to part of the workshop and storeroom to show us all the different colours of leather they had in stock. We chose a dark red. We paid a deposit and the shoes will be ready in 2-3 weeks. (Tina pointed out a newspaper cutting on the wall of the office, showing the Cheeky Girls wearing Leatherworks shoes as we completed the paperwork.)

In total, we were in there almost an hour. It was a great experience, and Tina was very friendly, helpful and attentive.

I will let you know when the shoes come, and post a picture.

Anne_Louise

Rob, I'm so glad that you tried Leatherworks. I've never visited, but I've bought their styles for I would guess some ten or twelve years. In recent years their styles have improved a lot and for me the heels (51/2") are so well balanced that I can wear them all day without any strain at all. I've already posted in other parts of the forum my enthusiasm for these shoes, and I just wish I were wealthy enough to buy even more of them! I have 6" and 61/2" from other sources, but I am hoping before too long to try some of leatherworks 7".

Rob

Hi Anne_Louise

Your mention of having brought their shoes for many years reminded me that they mentioned that they had changed their "last's" (the mould that the shoe is formed around) in recent years. The new lasts have slightly wider toes, and the shoes are slightly higher cut than before.

Have you noticed a difference in fit on recent purchases compared to earlier ones?

Rob

Anne_Louise

Yes, Rob, I think I remember speaking to the owner three or four years ago and mentioning that their newer shoes seemed to be more comfortable and he made some comment about changing the last. Certainly the first few pairs I had though far too beautiful not to wear, could be tiring over time, whereas the later ones I can wear literally all day without problems. I didn't think it was so much the width - I have narrowish/longish feet - but more the position of the heel, which seemed to give a better balance. They have also expanded their range over the years and, while some are quite extreme, many are simply stylish and gorgeous. I was in fact 'drooling' over their catalogue yesterday, wondering if I could afford some more pairs soon!

I hope your girlfriend is delighted with the shoes - she'll probably enjoy the attention, both from you and others! If she falls in love with them as I did, you will probably be making quite a few more visits to the same shop.

TXT-1

http://65.160.96.70/hhplace/images/1088731820.jpg

hi guys (and girls) I was thinking about buying a pair of Leatherworks K501A's, the problem is that I have rather wide feet. So I was wondering do Leatherworks run true to size, a little bigger or a little smaller because of the pointed toes? at least I know I can get into a US 13 women's "exotic dancer" platform sandal, (avatars), which I know is identical sizing to a UK womens 11, because I've looked at shoe size charts

later,

TXT-1

xaphod

Leatherworks used to run small, especially for wide feet.

My feet actually are 5EEE which is OK with a 6 UK size normally. With Leatherworks I had to go to a size 7 just to get into the shoes. I understand they have changed their lasts recently because many people remarked how narrow their shoes were.

Sorry I can't be more up-to-date, but the old lasts being long and thin didn't suit my feet at all.

Xa

TXT-1

I got a reply from Leatherworks the other day, basically the new lasts are a little wider you see the problem is that I know that Shoecraft (Melbourne) sells Leatherworks stuff but adds $100 to the price of leatherworks stuff (the K501A's I want would probably end up at $300 australian the K508's are!) but buying off the net, I just want to make sure my feet will fit (properly) into them! and not get them here and realize that I'd gave to give them to my sister!

later,

TXT-1

Bubba136

TXT-1, while Perth and Melbourne are "a fur piece" (a long way) apart, why don't you visit Shoecraft the next time you are in Melbourne and try on several pairs in different sizes? Then, you'll be able to order them from the Interent with confidence. Another solution might be to order a couple of pair from Shoecraft by mail and then return them, if Shoecraft has a liberal return policy, after you've tried them on. Once you know your proper size, order them from Letherwork's website.

TXT-1

or the 3rd option: save my pennies and visit my sister in the UK! :D

later,

TXT-1

Paul (North-East)

My wife recently got a pair of mules from Leatherworks. They fit perfectly, but that was down to good luck as much as anything.

I would say they are slightly smaller than the norm (if there is such a thing), and a bit narrower.

Hope this helps,

Paul.