Master Zuo 1610-8-2B

I wanted to treat myself to a real premium pair of boots by one of the top-tier Chinese MTO makers. After also considering Quan, Iron Boots, and Flame Panda, I opted to go for Master Zuo because his ordering process on Taobao seemed the most transparent, he offered several styles that were right on the money for what I wanted, and his lead times were by far the shortest of the bunch. In the end I settled on a style that I felt could do double duty as a British country boot and American workboot-inspired service boot. I felt the well-balanced last, the brightly colored oiled veg tan, and the brogued real cap toe do a great job of encapsulating that. This is a boot that demands respect and attention without giving up any elegance or sophistication. And in this respect, Norwegian stitching with added welt is the cherry on top, making for a pair that I doubt I'll ever want to give up.

Master Zuo has a process for sizing. You can specify a size when making the order, but before he starts work he wants a collection of measurements of length and circumferences for both feet and your size in as many shoes and brands as you can tell him. He also asks for arch support preference. For what it's worth, he guarantees that every pair he makes will fit.

The process was very straightforward on Taobao. Master Zuo went point by point through his options for every detail of the new pair and through his sizing procedure. We spoke via instant message through the Taobao customer service interface, as is common to all Chinese makers for orders within China. Master Zuo claims a 20-30 day typical lead time but I got this pair in hand after 11 days. I'm unaware if Master Zuo would be able to do orders through any other platform or in any language other than Chinese.