Just when you thought you had seen it all . . . (Warning: Not for the fainthearted)

[dannyk]

Any Visvim piece (and most of the stuff sold at pancho and lefty) could make it to this thread not so much for its awkwardness but for its price. I don’t get it either but I’m the first to spend more than is reasonable on clothing.

Come on guys heritage menswear is a full blown fashion trend there is no way to deny that (probably on a declining phase by now).


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Hadn’t looked at the site in a long time because of prices. After seeing these posts I had to take a look and the prices are just as awful as I had remembered. If people are willing to pay, and there’s money to be made I don’t diss anyone. Make your money and if you have it to spend, spend it how you like. Really it’s all ok. Just for me I will not be buying a Visvim whistle for 258 dollars.

 

[Monitor]

Yeah, but what good it is, then? With quality clearly plummeting and the brands still being largely unknown, what sense does buying any of it makes to either people who are all about the brand or to guys who're just after quality? You won't be getting either, that's for sure.

I mean, at least you know exactly what you're paying for when buying Dior, YSL, etc. but this tee above... Visvim? Freewheelers who? $2600 for that cheap looking, printed-leatherized-grain green jacket that even Zara would think twice before launching for a single cent above $89.99? Riiight...

They're taking a piss at people at this point.

 

[dannyk]

Yeah, but what good it is, then? With quality clearly plummeting and the brands still being largely unknown, what sense does buying any of it makes to either people who are all about the brand or to guys who're just after quality? You won't be getting either, that's for sure.

I mean, at least you know exactly what you're paying for when buying Dior, YSL, etc. but this tee above... Visvim? Freewheelers who? $2600 for that cheap looking, printed-leatherized-grain green jacket that even Zara would think twice before launching for a single cent above $89.99? Riiight...

They're taking a piss at people at this point.

I mean I agree 100%. But I wanted to preface it at if you have the money and can. I say that because then we go down that old road of well a Schott is this much and Aero is this, and Freewheelers charges this and steer verse horse. CXL vs. Shinki and it’s all an uphill battle then. But with all that said with Pancho and Lefty specifically and the things they carry I doubt you’ll get that pushback. Unless you’re the 1% and can buy anything these products are so overpriced and not worth half of that yeah it’s a scam. A 600 dollar shirt better be made of gold. Not just cotton like any other shirt.

 

[Mich486]

Another argument that bugs me is trying to justify these prices and elevating heritage menswear brands over Zara and the likes is that heritage clothing is made to last and a big expense today would more than make up for your cheapos falling apart after a season ... well maybe but if you are in this niche most likely then not you will buy way more clothing than the average joe who buys his clothes at the mall.


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[Superfluous]

While I agree that the price of the depicted t-shirt is eye-popping, some of the ensuing discussion and criticism of Visvim and other higher priced brands is based on overbroad generalizations and fueled by subjective prejudices rather than objective facts. I own the below Visvim sneakers -- they are my favorite sneakers and the quality is outstanding -- IMHO, well worth the price.

 

[Mich486]

They might be worth £690 or not difficult to say without holding them (canvas and rubber?) but that would mean breaking another mental barrier for me which honestly I prefer not to.


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[zebedee]

Anything involving canvas and rubber footwear, well, I don't know. After university, any man wearing footwear like that... I trust him very little in the commerce of the soul.



That's just me, though.

 

[Mich486]

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[Edward]

Anything involving canvas and rubber footwear, well, I don't know. After university, any man wearing footwear like that... I trust him very little in the commerce of the soul.



That's just me, though.

Personalaesthetic preferences, really. I've not owned a pair of gutties / plimsolls / training shoes in well over a decade now; I'm honestly much more comfortable in a decent leather brogue. That said, what primarily puts me off the big bucks on these sorts of taining shoes is the fact tat they all seem to be essentially disposable. I can't bring myself to pay significant money for footwear that can't have the soles redone or whatever. I imagnie it's all relative, though. If I earned ten times what I do, I'm sured there are some moreexpensive products I'd pick up that currently I eschew.

 

[Superfluous]

After university, any man wearing footwear like that... I trust him very little in the commerce of the soul. . . . That's just me, though.

The nonsensical notion that you would distrust a man and challenge the fiber of his soul based on his willingness to pay more than you deem appropriate for a pair of sneakers says much more about you than the other person. That's just me, though.

No one bats an eye when people here spend north of $400 on a denim jacket, but $650 for a hybrid leather/canvas sneaker with a vulcanized rubber sole shocks the conscious, disrupts the soul, and elicits comments like that set forth above?

For what its worth, Mr. Porter states that my Visvim sneakers are "woven from strips of canvas and lined in leather for extra reinforcement," and incorporate "vulcanized rubber" souls:
https://www.mrporter.com/en-us/mens...ogi-woven-canvas-and-leather-sneakers/1010229 .
IMHO, the construction is superlative and well worth the price. If that genuinely causes soul-searching consternation for some, so be it . . . I will not lose sleep over it. Enjoy your vastly inferior Cons. I make no apologies for patronizing quality.

 

[Downunder G Man]

I buy hand made in El Paso Texas Lucchese brand boots in a multitude if donor skins size US 11D or 11E
Crocodile/Alligator/Ostrich/Hippopotamus/Rattlesnake/Calf and others. Infinitely resoleable ( I ride motorcycles !)
Most I have bought "very low miles used" , some new/new old stock.
Biggest spend to date has been $350 Australian delivered to Perth Western Australia. New Nile Crocodile they were !
Just sayin'.... $650 USD sneakers " Sheesh !

 

[Mich486]

I believe at least half of the adult population wear sneakers/trainers in their free time...

That said Visvim prices are mocked also on more fashion oriented forums. They sure make quality items but they prices are very likely hyped on purpose. Just saw this gif the other day (the guy is the man behind the brand)

@Superfluous have you tried the Converse 70’s ? Quite a step up from the regular converse and way more comfort and durability. I’m sure they can’t compete with the Visvim but at 1/10 of the price they do pretty well IMHO.


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[ton312]

For me, the whole point of Chuck Taylors is that they don’t last. I can go between, canvas, leather even tweed styles and as the old shoes fade out ...I just replace them. I give my chucks about a year and a half based on wear. Then they get tossed and replaced. The oldest pair I have that somehow just won’t die are 7 years old. Made from super heavy OD 22oz canvas. Even the soles have hung in there. They have buried at least three or four of their brothers in that time.
I apologize for derailing the otherwise entertaining thread with the FW $4k jacket. I suppose I should’ve known the discussion would end up here.

 

[Mich486]

I buy hand made in El Paso Texas Lucchese brand boots in a multitude if donor skins size US 11D or 11E
Crocodile/Alligator/Ostrich/Hippopotamus/Rattlesnake/Calf and others. Infinitely resoleable ( I ride motorcycles !)
Most I have bought "very low miles used" , some new/new old stock.
Biggest spend to date has been $350 Australian delivered to Perth Western Australia. New Nile Crocodile they were !
Just sayin'.... $650 USD sneakers " Sheesh !

Who am I to judge but I struggle to understand people boasting about wearing skins of animal that are endangered. Sooner or later we are going to drive to extinction any form of life which is incompatible with human life anyway but still...

I surely find rattlesnake boots quite tacky


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[Woodtroll]

Who am I to judge but I struggle to understand people boasting about wearing skins of animal that are endangered.

I'm a little lost, I guess; which of the species he listed are endangered? Although I do understand your point.

 

[Mich486]

I'm a little lost, I guess; which of the species he listed are endangered? Although I do understand your point.

Hippos?


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[Woodtroll]

Hippos?


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I guess that's true to a point. There is one subspecies of hippo (pygmy, maybe?) that is protected or endangered, but unless things have changed recently the common hippo that I think about as boot leather is not. They are still being legally hunted, at least in some places.

And just like that, we've gone from high-priced sneakers to hippo hunting!

 

[ton312]

The ridiculous inflation of everything discussed on this forum has been driven by the larger body of consumers. One need look no further than the incoming jacket thread for evidence of that! For example, in 2010/11 a new Aero was around $650-$700? Half of the cost of a new jacket 9 years later. Same with Vanson, Johnson leathers, *enter brand name of your choice here*. There’s no turning back because we are all guilty of perpetuating the hype. So, just like every other fringe hobby, music scene, whatever...once it becomes “mainstream” the gig is up.

Personally, I’m struggling with the notion. I don’t suspect I will ever buy another custom jacket. Had I bought all my jackets in 2011 or earlier I could sell them for the price I paid (maybe even more)! But now? If I sell a jacket it’s not going to fetch more than 1/2 the msrp.
Perhaps in 9 years a used x,y,z will sell for $1350.

I doubt it very much.

 

[Mich486]

Quite a digression but here we are now, I guess a thread on hippos state of conservation would be excessive.

If they are legally hunted I don’t know but the regular hippo population has shrunk massively (from tens of thousands to 100s in some areas) in the past 40years and they’ll go extinct well before the 22nd century if people keep killing them for ivory and their skin. Really I think there is no need to use hippo leather for boots. Again other people are fine with that and that’s ok too but I’m not.


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[Monitor]

Cons are cheap sneakers. They are made by a company that started off as a rubber shoe manufacturer. The whole point behind these sneakers is that they're cheaply mass produced. If you're making a copy of a Cons, you're making cheap sneakers. No other way around it.

I mean, how's it even possible to make this kinda sneaker the same way and from the same materials that make it cheap, without making it... Cheap? You can't improve on the construction and you can't improve on the materials. It's rubber, glue and canvas. Sure, you can use heavier canvas, it'll still get ripped. Rubber will still get wrecked. Stitching will still fall apart.

What Ton says, Cons sneakers don't last and they aren't meant to. I walk/bike 20 + miles every single day and have been doing so for the last 10 years and I haven't had a pair of Converse that survived more than three months. Most I would get out of them is like five months and that's if I settled for wearing a pair of sneakers with holes and split soles.

But yeah, wrong place to complain about this. We're all paying for bs here. $1000+ leather jacket? Give me a break.