Thirtyfour Bespoke

Thirtyfour is an emerging Malaysian leather ware label which I came across last year. For those who are not familiar,  the brand is already making its way to catering a niche of higher-end bags and jewelry designed and crafted in Malaysia. Beginning their steps with female-oriented designs this brand has evolved and expanded into men's section as well. I could still remember the creations that caught my eye when I paid a visit to their first outlet in Bangsar Village II last two seasons (there was a small, simple document holder in snakeskin imprints that was so smart-looking even for a man).

The opening of Thirtyfour Bespoke in Publika (yes, I only managed to check them out recently despite raving commentaries in the blogosphere) has opened a new door for me to seek for affordable made-to-measure leather items in Kuala Lumpur. To be exact, this branch takes orders for pre-designed bags and clutches (now including small leather goods and sandals as well) to their expanding inventory. The lowdown on the 'bespoke' part is you can't really opt for designing a bag from scratch - instead, you can choose a selection of materials and colors which suit your taste and further incorporate them into Thirtyfour's template designs. 

The interesting and fairly reasonable items for me included the sandals (different colors and sizing are available on request) which fall in the price range of approximately RM250-350. I liked the yellow-strapped ones and they seem to have more ladies size, but I was told by the shop assistant that measurements can also be taken in and so, I might have my luck to finally have properly-fitting sandals (I face the perpetual woe of finding the right size of men's shoes - they're almost always too big for me, and the ladies shoe department have narrower soles that deter me from wearing them comfortably. The only leather sandals I have are the Marni x H&M ones, worryingly battered from every day use). 

But in the end I settled for a small leather good -  made of calfskin, squared and roomy enough to throw my keys in.

Thirtyfour definitely piques my interest for affordable Malaysian-made leather objects among the mushrooming international accessories labels that are increasingly exorbitantly priced. In this case, I'm looking forward to customising my own sandals in near future...