My Mom has been raving about the cheap, imitation Chinese imports available at local bazaars lately so I decided to take some photos close up.
I don't know anything about shoemaking, but I did try to compare these moccasins to my Rockport boat shoes. Among other things, this Chinese pair had:
-- average leather, but nothing hideous
-- stitching was slightly off in some places
-- single stitches, not double, and parts of the leather stick out especially where the top of the shoe joins the rest
-- thicker, bulkier string/line
-- large hole where the top of the shoe is stitched to the body, which means the shoe falls apart if the thread rips through an enlarged hole or the thread breaks
-- no arch support
Now here's the thing.
My Mom bought these in a commercial area for $9 with no haggling. Farther away from the center of Metro Manila, you can get them for around $3.
So would you buy them?
(I wouldn't because I figure they'll fall apart quickly and it's still a better investment to buy good leather shoes, but I have to say that cheap Chinese goods are rapidly improving in quality)
I don't know anything about shoemaking, but I did try to compare these moccasins to my Rockport boat shoes. Among other things, this Chinese pair had:
-- average leather, but nothing hideous
-- stitching was slightly off in some places
-- single stitches, not double, and parts of the leather stick out especially where the top of the shoe joins the rest
-- thicker, bulkier string/line
-- large hole where the top of the shoe is stitched to the body, which means the shoe falls apart if the thread rips through an enlarged hole or the thread breaks
-- no arch support
Now here's the thing.
My Mom bought these in a commercial area for $9 with no haggling. Farther away from the center of Metro Manila, you can get them for around $3.
So would you buy them?
(I wouldn't because I figure they'll fall apart quickly and it's still a better investment to buy good leather shoes, but I have to say that cheap Chinese goods are rapidly improving in quality)
