Would you buy (and wear) these Chinese imports?

[josepidal]

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)

Edited by josepidal on Jul 28, 2005 at 07:10 AM

[Guest]

(I figure, however, that something of this quality would be perfectly fine for bedroom slippers and something nonessential. I mean, they still are average shoes for the price of flip-flops.)

http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/2396/shoestianggemoccasins043bg.jpg

http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/2963/shoestianggemoccasins057aw.jpg

http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/9089/shoestianggemoccasins065ca.jpg

[alej]

lol.....what a deal. I would for sure buy those shoes for 3 buck. I've been wanting to buy a pair of steve madden shoes exactly like that, but for 90 dollars (Canadian). Despite the fact that the cheap shoe is probally not that comfortable I would still buy it. The only reason i want such loafers is for casual use occasionaly during the evening and weekends, so having a cheap pair wouldn't matter. I also love the feeling that when I buy cheap foot wear I am not afriad to mess around with the shoes and get them dirt. There is nothing more comfortable than a pair of shoes that you aren't afraid to wear in and get them torn apart (Sorta Like Jeans )..despite being bad for your feet.

In a similar story, My grandmother was "raving" about some cheap loafers from a Chinese market to my dad. In the end he bought the loafers for like 20 Canadian dollars and they have lasted him for years.

But i guess it would all depend on the use of the shoe in the end. If you are gonna be working 9-5 in such a shoe, and standing on your feet in them in a retail job, I would for sure invest in a nice pair. But for me who just wants them for lounging around....and for 3 bucks....y not?

p.s

Anyone know where I can pick up some 3 dollar loafers in Toronto? hahaha

[Geowu]

nonono... your feet are worth more than 3 dollars... spend the more money you can... quality is never too much.

[darknworn]

i agree. your feet carry 100% of your weight while you walk, and you want to skim money on this? more money doesn't necessarily buy you more quality. buy what fits and gives your feet support. sometimes you have to give up vanity for comfort, but your back will thank you ten folds. if you search long and hard, you'll find shoes that are both comfortable and great looking. i tend to stick to a couple of brands that fit me well over the years.

who knows, these shoes may be comfortable...but i highly doubt it. if it was easy to make comfortably shoes, everybody would be doing it.

"God is Dead" - Nietzsche

"Neitzsche is Dead" - God

[Carlos]

You must be talking about the bazaar in Green Hills in Manila. That place is really a spectacle to behold. I was there a couple weeks ago. It really is like a maze in there. I got lost a couple times myself. I found it funny that bootleg dvd's are banned in there yet there are plenty of bootleg sneaker stalls. Random dudes loitering on the side would try to peddle dvd's to me like they were drugs. $8 bootleg Jordan's. My cousin told me that they're practically the same since they're all made in China, only the quality of the leather isn't as good as the real thing. I wouldn't buy them though. The only things I bought from there were some wooden sculptures, a couple back scratchers and a picture frame from Cebu. And if you're into jewelry, the muslim stalls selling the pearls and semi-precious stones are a really good deal.

[josepidal]

Greenhills it is, though it's far from the only one in town. The pearls are great, I have a sorority sister who lives nearby and looks wonderful using them as necklaces. I wouldn't buy rubber shoes from there though. And the DVDs are in a nearby alley.

Actually, the better deals there are for REAL export overrun clothing. I get them cheaper, but if you look in the right stores in Greenhills, you can get real Ralph Lauren polos for about $13. There are other nice things like Tommy Hilfiger light jackets for $19, and so on.

[darkanimal]

Awww man those are awfull. I'm currently visiting Manila and saw those Adidas Superstar 35th Anniversary imitations and fake Converse for less than $10, don't go near them. I went to Homme et Femme and was surprised how sweet the markdowns on the designer shoes were. Y's for Men sneakers below $200. The Dior Denims is a steal, less than $200. Plus there's no additional tax here guys! My next stop is Shanghai.

[john11f]

Homme et Femme in the Philippines are tops! They have the best there is!

[ReasonRumRunners]

i have no problem wearing some cheap chinese shoes but thoes shits are WACK

www.reasonclothing.com

[Corbin Law]

your shoes spend their entire lives being the work horse bitch of the body, they deserve respect, and by respect, i mean nice asss shoes

chwa?

[smurf]

Umm... If you kids haven't been paying attention to the new lately... all shoes are made in China!

or at least they will be soon.

[hifashion]

just because something is Chinese made, does not make it a bad buy. they manufacturer a large percentage of goods for the world, lol

[Geowu]

not necessarily a bad buy, but not an excellent one either!

[meditation]

Superfuture needs it's own Josepidal forum

[Geowu]

I was looking through Rakuten and found these:

http://www.rakuten.co.jp/whoop/

think they look nice.

[alej]

nice shoes there.

I know its not everybody's kinda style but personaly I think a lot of those would look great with jeans.

[josepidal]

Yeah, they do look great with jeans (and the really low socks), and I imagine you won't look preppie if you don't want to just because of shoes like this.

Incidentally, I found a pair of Bally ladies' moccasins on 70% off today and took photos for my Mom. Have fun comparing the stitching and construction of the real thing to fakes.

(Disclaimer: I hope I never misled anyone into thinking I am encouraging you to buy fakes. I just wanted to discuss the quality of cheap Chinese shoes, and around here, that's what people buy them for, not the faked brand on the sole.

Anyway, let's not be too stiff about intellectual property rights on a fashion forum. No, piracy isn't good. But in my country, almost all the patents are filed by foreigners and we happen to have an inexplicably high cost of medicine, some of which is derived from genetic resources extracted from our native plant life. So there are two sides to a coin, neither of which I care to discuss here.)

[rabbitpunch]

It's a fallacy that "cheap chinese imports" are necessarily bad, crappy shoes that will deform your feet. I'm sick of all the China-bashing that goes on in this forum. Makes you guys sound like ignorant, elitist fucks. China is a fucking international player. Almost every type of good is made there, in massive quantities, across the whole range of "quality".

Practically every pair of running shoes, SB, f'n lifestyle retro shoes, whatever, are made in 2nd / 3rd world countries. What makes you think that Chinese made shoes are shoddier than those made in Vietnam, Indonesia, or Romania? The fact that some art fag in Beaver Oregon signed off on the colorways? Slagging on ALL the goods made in the biggest, fastest growing country in the world doesn't make you look like an moron, does it?

Face the facts: almost everything you can buy in almost every retail outlet has been manufactured, at every step of the way, by undereducated, exploited workers in shitty conditions. You think Prada cobblers are lounging around their Sienna villas sipping Limoncello?

Slave labour, baby.

I'm not saying everbody should run around in tire sandals eating windfallen fruit. Just that most underground brands aren't saving anybody's soul. Support the locality, and take a fucking walk once in a while.

Edited by rabbitpunch on Jul 28, 2005 at 06:55 AM

[josepidal]

Well yeah, but the first post was about the lowest rung of Chinese products.

I sure as hell hope I'm not one of the "ignorant, elitist fucks" you refer to, considering I'm Chinese.