tanya
02-22-2008, 10:12 PM
Van Gorkom Hiking Boots
Charles Van Gorkom takes a novel approach to custom footwear. Since he lives and works in the Canadian wilderness (on his blog he claims to have stared down bears), he sends his customers measuring kits, and carves his lasts from the dimensions and foot-tracings they mail back. Boots come in three heights, and each pair is made from one piece of oil-tanned leather (available in two weights), with brass rivets and a steel shank. A perfect fit is guaranteed, regardless of how oddly shaped your feet may be, and the process of breaking them in is made easier by their custom-made orthopedic insoles. Van Gorkom devotes an entire week to each pair, which translates to a current wait list of around two years (and which, when you think about it, lets you plan to go hiking while sparing you the bother of the arduous hiking itself).
Time to make: 40 hours
Price: $1,500 :eek2:
Web site: hikingbootshandcrafted.com
http://men.style.com/slideshows/mens/standalone/upgrader/living/new-luxury/0009h.jpg
Vanilla Bicycles
Clearly, a woman who waits nine months for a handbag is insane, and yet, after perusing the Vanilla Bicycles catalog, you come to believe that a man who'll wait four years for a custom bike is just being patient. The Portland, Oregon company's beautiful, handcrafted two-wheelers are designed and built from scratch for each customer. Founder Sacha White obviously believes that speed is more appropriate when riding a bike than making one: just painting the frame takes six weeks (that's six times longer than it takes to hand-paint an Aston Martin), and White can wax lyrical about spending ten hours polishing lugs, which are bound to his steel frames with silver. From the brand's super-strong mountain bikes to its elegant tourers, there's nothing plain about Vanilla.
Time to make: 60 hours
Price: Frames (without forks) from $2,150
Web site: vanillabicycles.com
http://men.style.com/slideshows/mens/standalone/upgrader/living/new-luxury/0005h.jpg
Confederate Hellcat
Confederate believes that bigger is better when it comes to just about everything
Charles Van Gorkom takes a novel approach to custom footwear. Since he lives and works in the Canadian wilderness (on his blog he claims to have stared down bears), he sends his customers measuring kits, and carves his lasts from the dimensions and foot-tracings they mail back. Boots come in three heights, and each pair is made from one piece of oil-tanned leather (available in two weights), with brass rivets and a steel shank. A perfect fit is guaranteed, regardless of how oddly shaped your feet may be, and the process of breaking them in is made easier by their custom-made orthopedic insoles. Van Gorkom devotes an entire week to each pair, which translates to a current wait list of around two years (and which, when you think about it, lets you plan to go hiking while sparing you the bother of the arduous hiking itself).
Time to make: 40 hours
Price: $1,500 :eek2:
Web site: hikingbootshandcrafted.com
http://men.style.com/slideshows/mens/standalone/upgrader/living/new-luxury/0009h.jpg
Vanilla Bicycles
Clearly, a woman who waits nine months for a handbag is insane, and yet, after perusing the Vanilla Bicycles catalog, you come to believe that a man who'll wait four years for a custom bike is just being patient. The Portland, Oregon company's beautiful, handcrafted two-wheelers are designed and built from scratch for each customer. Founder Sacha White obviously believes that speed is more appropriate when riding a bike than making one: just painting the frame takes six weeks (that's six times longer than it takes to hand-paint an Aston Martin), and White can wax lyrical about spending ten hours polishing lugs, which are bound to his steel frames with silver. From the brand's super-strong mountain bikes to its elegant tourers, there's nothing plain about Vanilla.
Time to make: 60 hours
Price: Frames (without forks) from $2,150
Web site: vanillabicycles.com
http://men.style.com/slideshows/mens/standalone/upgrader/living/new-luxury/0005h.jpg
Confederate Hellcat
Confederate believes that bigger is better when it comes to just about everything