Giles Kanreki Suprise

[Lindsey]

So, today we made the much-anticipated trip to meet Goto san at White Kloud!

This is a quick overview of the boot fitting, we have dozens more photos which will be posted later!

Huge thanks to @tokyoGringo for being our top translator and tour guide.

One of the first things we discovered is that Giles in the 2nd non-Japanese person to get a pair of White Kloud boots!  (Some darn American got in first!)

We arrived at the appointed time of 2pm and after introductions got down to the first step of measuring Giles’s bare feet:  this took quite a while, with comments made on the width of his feet, his very high instep and missing little toes.

[Lindsey]

Next step was putting socks back on and trying on several boots to confirm the base size of his feet in White Kloud boots – which turned out to be between 10EE and 10.5EE (with the 10.5EE being a little too long but still a little too narrow).

Once two (unmatched) boots were found which fit well on each foot, Goto san took Giles for a walk around the block to check comfort/hot spots on the boots.

[Lindsey]

At this point, cataloguing the boots fitting was interrupted as a cute and very friendly little dog walked past, who posed for us delightfully.

[Lindsey]

Back to the boots – next step was for Giles to confirm all the details of style, sole, toe construction and choose the piece of leather Goto san will use for the uppers.

Then, Goto san asked Giles to put the “test” unmatched pair of boots back on for final detailed adjustments – for example, he wants to make sure he’s made perfect allowance for Giles’s high instep and wide feet so that there is no gaping when the boots are laced up (which does happen with some of his other boots).

[Lindsey]

With all the details confirmed, the final price was calculated and @Madame Buttonfly handed over dosh that had been kindly sent to her, on behalf of all the wonderful people who contributed to this amazing gift.

[Lindsey]

Finally, some happy hugs and group photos (including the lovely Suzuki san who kindly plied us with copious quantities of iced tea and biscuits throughout the nearly two hours we were with them) 

[Seul]

Great posts, Lindsey!..

[UnTucked]

Awesome pics, and an awesome shop/owner!

[Lindsey]

Thank you! We felt so privileged to meet Goto San and see his amazing work. Lots more photo's to follow… 

[neph93]

Marvellous stuff and a fascinating insight.

[Max Power]

Great Posts! Looking Forward to the result!

[Dion]

Brilliant documentary! Well done!

[louisbosco]

damn, the shoes look brilliant and well made!! nice looking boots. great photos! did goto-san account the last for the missing toe as well then? haha. 

btw which tee is giles wearing?

[Megatron1505]

Who wrote that article on personal grails? Looks like an interesting and informative web site 

Thanks for sharing the experience guys 

[tmg]

Great to see a bit of the 'behind the scenes' process, always fascinating!

[Madame Buttonfly]

@louisbosco:

btw which tee is giles wearing?

IHT-1705

P x

[A Former User]

It is awesome that this could be experienced in such pure and genuine fashion. Really a timeless experience from the looks of it. Art in action.

[QuantumMechanic]

What a great story. I'm looking forward to seeing these boots!

[ROman]

Excellent photos and run down of the time spent.

[sabergirl]

Glad we got to participate in making such a cool experience happen. I love that y'all got treated to some truly exceptional customer service. Definitely well-deserved. Thanks for sharing some of the details!

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