Here is part 4 of 10 classic English shoemakers

Part 1 of the this article “Introduction to English shoemakers” is here

Part 2 of this article “The Traditional Brands” is here

Part 2 of this article “New and revived brands” is here 

     

 “Andalusia, Southern Spain, I am gonna get me a house with a room for my shoes, one for my first editions”

                                                                         Left-Ear (Mos Def)

                                                                         The Italian Job, 2003  

Buying good shoes is only half the equation.  Invest a little time and care in them and you can bring out that inner glow that makes classic English shoes look so fine. 

  

Stage 1: Once you have bought them

I am indebted to John Lobb for the following advice.

Immediately after you have bought your shoes they are most vulnerable.  Though they look new and shiny, they will be dry, having spent the recent part of their livers in a shop storeroom.  At this stage the leather uppers will mark easily, with the potential to leave permanent scars on the shoes.  Treat them as follows:

Put the shoes on their shoe trees.

Open the shoe polish you intend to use on the shoes.

Take a soft cotton cloth, drape it over your hand and make a point of your fore and index fingers.

Work the shoe polish with your finger, making it warm and pliable.  The softer the polish the easier the process and the better the result.  Do not heat the polish, as it will warm unevenly and you will get an uneven shine on the shoe upper.

Once the polish has softened enough to work (you will get a feel for this),  use your finger “point” to gather up some polish and polish it into the shoe. 

Now polish the shoe all over in this way.  The trick to this is to work the polish into all the seams of the shoe, especially the heal seam and the welt seam (where the upper meets the sole).  Be generous here, because you want to lubricate and seal these seams against the elements.  Do not worry how the shoe looks at this time, because you will polish them off later.   

Continue until you have polished the whole shoe.  When you are done place the shoes in a cool dry place, preferably out of direct sunlight and leave them for 24 hours, for the polish to soak into their shoes.      

At the end of this time polish them off as follows:

Take a medium bristle shoe brush which is appropriate for the colour of the shoe (if you have a brush that you have used for black shoes do not use it on brown shoes, for example).  Do not use a hard brush as this point. 

Brush the shoes gently, to brush off the polish residue. 

Get a soft cotton cloth.  Do not use the cloth you applied the polish with.  Once again, make sure it is appropriate; do not use a cloth that you have used for black shoes on brown shoes. 

Buff the shoes gently but firmly with the cloth.  Buff them across the long axis of the shoe (across the toe) and also with the long axis of the shoe, along the vamp and facing.

You will get a soft shine as the leather polishes up.  This is an appropriate finish at this stage of the shoe’s life.  Over time you will (if you want) be able to buff the shoes to a high shine.

This may sound like a lot of work, but you only do it once and it is important to do this for many reasons. 

Firstly it will add years to the life of the shoes.  By waxing the shoes and leaving them to rest you give the leather a chance to absorb the oils of the polish and become more supple.  The shoes will keep their shape much better and be much less likely to tear along points of tension and especially around the stitching.

Secondly, if you do this the shoes will be so much easier to wear-in.  New shoes that have been waxed properly have so much more “give” in them and are easier on the feet from the outset.       

     

Stage 2: Wearing-in the shoes  

For the first wearing, wear the shoes only for a few hours, not for a whole day.  Just long enough to breakdown the stiffness of the leather.  If you can, wear the shoes indoors the first time.  If you wear the shoes outdoors for the first time, do not do so in the rain or snow. 

The soles of your shoes will be new and slippery.  This becomes less of a problem once you have worn them a few times.  However there is an old British Army trick for those who want to use it.  Take a reasonably sharp knife (a penknife will do) and lightly score the new soles.  Score only the sole, in a cross-hatch pattern.  The shoes will grip much better.

 

   

Cleaning your shoes on a regular basis

If your shoes are dirty, wipe them off with warm water and a soft cotton cloth.  Never use any cleaning solvents on quality shoes, it will destroy them.

If the shoes are muddy, wait until the mud dries and brush it off with a firm-bristle brush.  Never scrape the upper with metal implements. 

“Polishing-in”

As before, use a polishing-in cloth to polish the shoes. 

Some folks recommend using a brush to polish shoes with.  This puts way too much polish on the shoe and it becomes difficult to polish off.  If you do this often enough the shoes get a cloudy, waxy finish which is unpleasant to look at.  It is also very difficult to get rid of.  

The longer you can leave the shoes waxed, the better.  Once I have polished-in my shoes I leave them for 24 hours.  This helps the leather absorb the polish and preserve the finish of the shoe.

“Polishing-off”

Also as before, use a medium-firm brush to polish off the shoes, followed by a buffing from a soft cloth.       

  

Shoes should be polished once every two weeks.  Do it consistently and the process becomes easy, the shoes become beautiful.   

  

Waxing shoes for storage

If you have a collection of good shoes, there will be some that you do not wear for a long period of time.  I have a pair of Grenson tan oxfords that I only wear in summer.  They are made of soft aniline-dyed leather and are too fine for winter wear.  Now I could simply polish them and store them but my experience of this is that the uppers dry out.

I prefer to wax shoes with a leather feed which will nourish the uppers while they are in storage.  For this purpose I like Chelsea Leather food.  I like Chelsea because it can be applied easily (at the point of a cloth), left (it forms a protective film on the leather), and quickly polished off as necessary.

 

My experience is that Chelsea keeps the leather very supple and helps minimize the appearance of dings and scratches.  Shoes treated with it also polish up to a very high shine.

Caution.  Do not use Chelsea with combination shoes (such as canvas and leather) it is likely to stain the non-leather  surfaces. 

   

Wet Shoes

If the shoes are simply wet (the uppers are wet) put the shoes on their trees and if you have one, put the shoes on a shoe rack and let them dry.  The frame allows the air to circulate around the shoe and dry out the sole, which is important.

If you do not have a shoe frame, then place the shoes on several sheets of newspaper in a well-aired place.  Once again, drying out the sole is important

If the shoes are soaked (the inner linings and the inner sole of the shoe are wet) fill the shoes with newspaper, and, as before, elevate the shoes on a shoe rack.  Drying out the soles is even more important if the shoes are soaked.  If placed on newspaper and the nrewspaper becomes wet, change it. 

If the shoes are soaked through then when dry again I would advise waxing them and resting them for 24 hoours before wearing them again.

Never heat the shoes to dry them, there is a good chance that the sudden expansion of the leather will crack the uppers.  It will certainly dry them out and that is nearly as bad.  If your feet sweat heavily and you heat the shoes when wet you are liable to get a salt stain which is almost impossible to remove.             

   

Wearing your shoes

Never wear shoes for two days running.  Once you have worn a pair put them back on their trees and give them at least a day to rest. 

   

Repairing quality hand-crafted shoes. 

This is a no-brainer.  For all of the shoes in the articles above, take them back to the original maker and have them factory repaired. 

This is important.

When the shoes go back to the factory they are re-fitted to the original last that they were make on.  They will be steam-moulded back to the last, restoring the original shape that they had when they were made. 

The craftsmen who repair the shoes will know the characteristics of that style of shoe and will look for damage and flaws that need to be repaired. 

Finally they will put on a new sole which will be precisely fitted back to the welt it was made for. 

You are getting back an almost new shoe.  I have written about this before here, there is a small but distinctive joy in getting back an almost new pair of shoes.  When you do this you add something to the world, to your personal armoury of culture, you become a small part of the craft tradition.  

Never take your shoes to a generic repair shop and never have a half-sole repair, it destroys the shoes.

  

Shoe care essentials

Trees 

Shoe-trees are essential.  Without them the shoes will not hold their shape.  Plain, unvarnished Cedarwood trees are the best.

   

Shoe Polish 

A good beeswax-based shoe polish is best.  My preference is for the polishes produced by

Oliver Sweeney

Crockett and Jones

Grenson

 

Shoe Creams

Shoe Creams are good for those shoes or boots for which you do not want a high shine.  I use Dasco shoe cream, which I find is good for this.  However, it does tend to settle in the bottle.  The problem with this is that if the cream is too thick it can collect in the creases of the shoes and leave a fine white deposit, which spoils the look of the shoe.

 

I suggest you use the cream as follows:

Make sure the shoe cream is at room temperature.  The colder it is the harder it is to work and the harder it is keep a white film from appearing.

Shake the cream vigourously to loosen it up

Apply the cream in the point of a clean cloth.  I spit onto the shoe and mix the cream into the spit, it becomes easier to work and in my opinion gives a deeper shine. 

Buff vigourously with a very soft cloth.

    

Cloths

You need these both to work the polish in and for the final buffing after the shoes are polished.

Ideally you need two sets of cloths, one for polishing in the wax and one for buffing.  You also need to differentiate between those cloths that you use for black waxing and any others.  This is very important, as black wax can really stain shoes of other colours and as far as I know, the damage cannot be reversed.  

I use a variety of soft cotton cloths, some which are cut from old good quality t-shirts, which work very well.  If you are starting from scratch I suggest that you buy a set of white dusters and use those. 

Brushes

I mostly use brushes for polishing off.  If you have boots then you might want a brush for polishing on.  For all my shoes I use a medium bristle shoe brush. 

Once again, differentiating your brushes is important.  If you consistently use a brush which has been used on black shoes on brown shoes, you will ruin them.  Black brushes turn brown shoes into an in-between colour with a dirty muddy-looking finish 

Shoe Racks

Shoe racks are invaluable.  Put your shoes on a rack and let air circulate around them.  Shoes on a rack will dry naturally and more quickly than shoes on a floor or flat surface.

 

The last word on care

Treat the shoes as you would your suits.  If your suit has a stain or needs a press, you will take care of it before wearing it again.  Similarly with shoes.  If your shoes get dirty do not store them and put on another pair.  Clean and wax the shoes as soon as possible.  They will look better and last longer.

Epilogue

This is the end of my article on shoes for now.  I do have more to say and I have several more articles in the pipeline.  For now I hope that readers of my site find this article entertaining and useful.  As always, comments and feedback are welcome.

“Elegance begins with the shoes”

Lazlo Vass

Hungarian Master Shoemaker

Here is the third part of classic English ready-to wear shoemakers.  In this part I write about those traditional brands that are re-inventing themselves and two very stylish new shoe brands, which have become new classics.

Part 1 of the this article “Introduction to English shoemakers” is here

Part 2 of this article “The Traditional Brands” is here

Part 4 of this article “Caring for handcrafted shoes” is here

Barkers “Quintessentially English”

Barkers produce English shoes of superb quality.  Barkers, like Loakes, are at the affordable end of the quality English shoe spectrum.  They are famous for the rugged wearability and the large amount of hand-crafting that goes into the making of their shoes.  Barkers shoes have the spirit of the North of England about them, well-made, with integrity and craftsmanship.  Handsome and manly.

Barker’s shop, Cheapside, London

Shoe Styles

Until recently Barkers were famous as the traditionalists of the English shoe craftsmen.  They excelled at producing shoes in the classic styles Oxfords and Derbys.  For my taste, their moccasins and slip-ons are not as successful, looking a bit seventies.  However, for classics, especially oxfords, they are hard to beat.

Recently Barkers have become more contemporary, with some very nicely designed modern shoes, with lighter styling and clever designs such as two-tone leather uppers, long-toed Derbys and unusual broguing.  They also have a new shop in London’s financial district, which showcases many of their newer designs.  Barkers are clearly aiming at the new designer shoe market, which is flourishing amongst London’s financiers.

Barker Arnold (Professional range)

Barker Black

Barker also have a recently launched US venture, Barker Black.  Barker Black shoes showcase the superb craftsmanship of Barkers with classic shoe types in fine leathers.  The collection appears to be aimed at stylish modern man who wants a shoe that he can wear both to work and for leisure.  This collection includes some very racy monkstraps and a fine town-boot.  In England, as far as I am aware, this collection is only available at Harrods.

Barker Black Blenheim Boot

 

Like Churches, Barkers are one of the bigger English shoemakers and have a number of ranges of shoes:

The Professional

This is the range I know (and like) the best.  This range consists of classic shoe types in good leathers.  They are very attractive and also like Churches, these shoes will take a really high shine.

The Hand-crafted collection

This is a small collection of hand-crafted shoes.  They are very competitively priced for the amount of hand-crafting.

 

Sandal Collection

I mention these because it is so welcome to find a permanent collection of men’s sandals.  They have some interesting English variations of the classic Italian basketwork shoe.

Barkers are one of the most interesting English shoe brands around at the moment, because they are clearly stretching themselves beyond their traditional styles.  One to watch.

 

Who buys them

No-nonsense men who get things done, military men, industrialists, stylish American businessmen

 

Details

Prices:              Barkers shoes start at around £100.00

Stores              City Store

84 Cheapside,

London,

EC2V 6EB

Tel: 44 (0)20 7600 7855

Barkers are also sold online through various retail services.

Website            www.barker-shoes.co.uk

Repairs             eight weeks

 

Cheaney, distinctive and colourful

Cheaney are another classic shoe brand undergoing a metamorphosis.  Founded in 1886 by two brothers, Joseph and Arthur Cheaney, Cheaney quickly became one of the premier shoemakers of England.  Like the other classic companies, they are based in Northamptonshire.

Cheaney have less of an obvious presence in the market, having for many years sold their shoes through the stores of other English brands.  In 1964 they were bought by Churches, who to their credit have kept Cheaney as a distinct brand.  Now, under their chairman Stephen Etheridge, they are building their brand identity anew.

This re-invigoration of Cheaney automatically feels right.  Cheaney shoes have a very distinctive style and shape and stand out from their peers and it is right that is acknowledged.  Cheaney shoes are more rounded and have a softer line than Churches or Barkers.  Their classic shoes are characterised by a graceful swooping vamp which curves into a very rounded, almost bulbous toe.

Cheaney are what I think of as the shoes of the English establishment.  There is an aristocratic beauty about Cheaney shoes that is visible in the shape, the leather, the grain and the finish.  They are one of a kind and men who wear them understand that implicitly.

 

Shoe Styles

Milford

 

Cheaney have several shoe styles:

Cheaney of England

These are the classic Cheaney, strong bold shoes in distinctive leathers.  Buy these if you want the real Cheaney style.

Essentials

Mostly classic Cheaney, this is an all-black range for business.

Signature

Classic shoe types, Oxfords and Derbys, with a larger amount of handcrafting and hand-finishing.

Country Collection

These are rugged, handsome country/walking/hiking shoes.   In my opinion there are none better.

Service

I originally bought my Cheaneys in the old, now closed Bond Street store.  However my favourite store these days is the Cheaney store in the City, where I always receive excellent service.

Cheaney are a surprising brand and little unsung.  When I visit their shop I find some very modern styles that do not appear in their web catalogue.  A stylish man looking for something different would do well to visit their shop.

 

Who buys them

The absolute individualist, the countryman, the English gentleman in town.

 

Details

Prices:              Cheaney shoes start at around £150.00

Stores              Cheaney

9a Lime Street

London,

EC3M 7AH

Tel: 44 (0) 20 7283 7485

Cheaney have a telephone sales service: 44 (0) 1536 760383

Cheaney shoes are also sold by a variety of online retail services

Website            www.cheaney.co.uk

Repairs             Return to factory eight to ten weeks

 

Oliver Sweeney: Sexy and street smart

Oliver Sweeney Shoes is nearly twenty years old now and I still remember the uproar he created when he emerged on the London style scene with his sexy, manly shoes.

Oliver Sweeney shop, Bond Street, London

Sweeney took the classic shoe shapes and English shoemaking and gave them both a creative twist.  Sweeney took basic shapes like the Derby and changed the shape of the toe, the length of the vamp, to alter the silhouette of the shoe.  His shoes have a sleek, streamlined shape that suggests they are Italian but their details and finishes are edgy British street fashion.  He is a new classic brand.

Oliver Sweeney shoes are well made, using traditional British techniques, but usually use softer, smoother leathers, giving his shoes more of an Italian look and feel.  Beyond that he experiments with the shape and look of the shoe to produce something unique.  His current collection includes shoes with a sole shaped as an extended hexagon, which sounds weird but works well.  Sweeney’s shoes are always risky and sometimes they do not work for me.  But Oliver Sweeney’s creative re-forming of classic types produces  shoes that stand out and are widely admired.

Last season I bought a pair of black narrow-toe derby’s with a cross-weave up the middle of the vamp, from their Bond Street shop.  It was an experience for several reasons.

Firstly I remembered how important it is to try Sweeney shoes on.  They really come to life and look so good on one’s foot.  Also how comfortable they are.  Oliver Sweeney have pioneered an “anatomical last” and shoes built on it have a gently curved arch which supports the foot.  You can feel it the first time you put a pair of their shoes on.

Derox

Service

Secondly there is the service.  Sweeney’s staff are passionate about their shoes and will definitely give you an opinion about whatever shoes you try on.  Wonderful guys to talk to about shoes and clothes, very stylish and very friendly at the same time.  They know their shoes and will even help you accessorise the shoes from their business accessories range.  They are the only shoemaker who will give definitive advice on whether a pair of shoes will suit particular clothes.  Bold chaps, one and all.

The Sweeney effect

Thirdly there is the effect.  I wore the black Derby’s the first time, with a grey Italian suit and sky-blue shirt, to go out to dinner.  I thought they were perfect, they set the suit off and made it look loose and casual.  However the real effect was when my wife saw them.  She looked at the shoes, looked up and said, “God, what sexy shoes!  You look so cool! She then took my arm, leaned in close and whispered “You can make love to me anytime wearing those!”.

 

Oliver Sweeney proudly make classic shoes with a difference.  They are a young man’s classic, full of fun and style.

Who wears them

Media people, men looking for fun shoes, men obsessed with style.

 

Details

Prices:              Shoes start at around £240.00

Stores              Flagship Store

Oliver Sweeney

66 New Bond Street

London

Tel: 44 (0) 20 7355 0387

Oliver Sweeney shoes are also sold through a variety of online retail stores

Website            www.oliversweeney.com

Repairs             Return to factory, ten weeks

 

Grenson: “A glorious rebirth”

So, time for full disclosure here.  I have always loved Grenson shoes, for their sophisticated styling, their supple leathers and the reliability of their construction.   I have written about Grenson before here.

For a while in the nineties Grenson seemed to be a bit lost.  However the new millennium brought new management, new confidence and a return to being one of the best quality shoemakers in the world.  They have returned to producing some of the best traditional bench-made shoes.

History

Grenson were founded by William Green in 1874.   Green was a skilled shoemaker who built one of the first brands (Grenson was a contraction of Green and Sons).

Genson Shop, Great Eastern Hotel, London

Shoe style

Grenson have almost achieved the holy grail of shoes, a synthesis of English and Italian shoes.  English shoes are beautifully made but generally the leathers (especially the soles) make them much heavier than Italian shoes.  Grenson’s shoes  are lighter and more supple (and incredibly comfortable) than many other benchmade English shoes.  The soles are lighter and the uppers slightly softer than those of Church or Crockett and Jones.  However they have lost none of their superb craftsmanship in doing this, the shoes are still well-structured benchmade English shoes

The shoe designs have more than a nod to Italy.  Shoes are slimmer than those of their rivals, the vamp of the shoe is longer (though not as long as the vamp on Jeffrey West shoes) and the shape of the toe is sharp, even on their plain Oxfords.  Like John Lobb they have updated classics with some very colourful and distinctive leathers.  They are particularly good at tans, deep browns and off-brown shades.  These are business shoes but are also playful enough to be night-time fun-time wear.

Grenson Noble (Rushden range)

I once had a conversation with a Church’s salesman who told me, “We have got the best blacks but Grenson have some really good browns”.   Unsolicited compliments are the best.

Grenson have two ranges.  The Rushden range are their entry level shoes, classic shoes with modern designs.  These retail around £140 making them (along with Loake and Barkers) the lowest priced quality English shoes and a good place to start.  The Rose collection are their premium brand, costing around £220.  These are beautifully made shoes, using very supple, high quality leathers.

 

Who wears them

Famous actors, men who truly have style

 

Details

Prices:              Prices for Rushden entry level shoes start at around £140.00

Stores:            Flagship/City Store

Grenson Shoes

The Great Eastern Hotel,

Liverpool Street,

London

EC2

Tel: 44 (0) 20 7618 5050

Grenson are also sold through a variety of online retail stores

Website:           www.grenson.co.uk

Repairs             return to factory, six to eight weeks

Jeffery West  “Pimp my shoe!”

You do not buy Jeffery West shoes, you join a cult.  Jeffrey Wright fans are fanatics.

Jeffery West are now over twenty years old which does not feel possible.  This is partly because every man who buys Jeffery West shoes feels like they have just discovered them and therefore they (Jeffery West) must be new.

Jeffery West shop, Piccadilly Arcade, London

Men (mostly) do not talk about clothes, they are unsure about the masculinity of it all. However find a man who wears Jeffery West and ask him about the shoes and you will not be able to get him to shut up about them.  Once you buy Jeffrey West shoes and realise how good you look in them, you are a convert.  Jeffery West do not advertise but have grown by just this kind of word-of-mouth.

Jeffery West are actually Mark Jeffery and Guy West.  They make classic English shoes redesigned for the stylish modern man.  Their shoes are characterised by long vamps, elaborate and clever brogueing, hidden eyelets, high facings and other beautiful design elements.  The leathers of the uppers are often glossy and ostentatious.  Every style has a uniqueness about it that catches the eye.  The end-result is a sleek eye-catching, sexy shoe.

Like other quality English shoe brands Jeffery West shoes are comfortable, hardwearing and well made, but these are really shoes for being seen in.  They are manly, sexy and improve your look with their extreme stylishness.  They are made to be a dandy in, a well-dressed man about town.  Think Michael Caine in Get Carter, Terence Stamp in Modesty Blaise, hip English actors of the sixties.  Put these shoes on and you become cool, cultured and irresistible to women.  Even if not, you certainly think you are.

Jeffery West shoes start at around £200.  You can buy them from the Jeffery West website but I would recommend going to one of the shops, just for the experience.  The colour scheme is black, with red velvet and lots of gold-gilt, like a slightly seedy brothel.  The shops are small and packed with more shoe styles than you could count and all of them are timelessly stylish.  Their shop in the Piccadilly Arcade is style central.

Jeffery West 2-hole long vamp brogue derby

Service

Service is, shall we say, distinctive.  The staff love their shoes and are men (and women) of the world in their own right.  They are as likely to give you an opinion on malt whisky as on shoes, and they will certainly tell you which shoes suit you.  Shopping here is a real pleasure, in a very manly way.

 

Who wears them

Real men who are irresistible to women, poets and mavericks of every kind.

 

Details

Prices:              Shoes start at around £200.00

Stores              Their website lists all of their stores but the one below is a favourite of mine:

Jeffery West

16 Piccadilly Arcade

London

SW1Y 6NH

Tel: 44 (0) 20 7499 3366

Jeffery west are also sold through a variety of online retail stores.

Website:           http://www.jeffery-west.co.uk

Repairs             Return to factory, eight weeks

 

Here ends Part 3 of my guide to classic English shoemakers.  In Part 4 here I talk about how one cares for classic English shoes.

Here is part 2 of 10 classic English shoemakers

Part 1 of the this article “Introduction to English shoemakers” is here

 Part 3 of this article “New and revived brands” is here 

Part 4 of this article “Caring for handcrafted shoes” is here    

  

   

 “Always wear expensive shoes.  People notice.”                                                                        

Brian Koslow

Below are my picks for the first five of ten of the best ready-to-wear English shoemakers.  Here I am going to write about the traditionalists, the companies that have nurtured the wonderful craft of English shoemaking into the 21^st Century.           

 

Church’s, the professional’s shoe

Church’s are the best-known of the quality English shoe brands.  They epitomise English shoemaking to the world, with their classic, handsome, hard-wearing shoes.  They are the reliable choice of English businessmen.  In recent years they have become one of the most widely-known iconic brands in the world, with a big presence in America, Germany and the Arab world.  They were recently bought by Prada and are now truly multi-national, and Prada’s influence is beginning to be seen in Church’s shoe designs.   

 

Church’s shoes are a rite-of-passage for English businessmen; you know you have arrived when you can afford your first pair of Church’s.  In England Church’s have a fiercely loyal professional clientele and many refuse to wear any other shoe.     

 

   

Church’s store in Jermyn Street, London

Shoe style

At their factory in Northamptonshire Church make classics, Oxfords, Derbys, Monkstraps and Slippers (both loafers and moccasins) and town boots, using traditional techniques.  They have two primary ranges, “Last 73″ this being their entry level shoe and their Custom Grade collection, which uses finer hides and more hand-finishing.   Church’s make a well-structured shoe, not as heavy as some, suitable for just about everyone.  By not as heavy I mean that the shoes are relatively slim, the shoe leather is of a medium thickness and the styling is classic but not old-fashioned.  They excel at brogues and some of their brogue Derbys are simply beautiful.   

 

Service

In my experience Church’s provide superb service in their shops.  I have written about this previously here.  They excel at introducing the English shoe experience to newcomers and are passionate about making sure their customers get the right shoe.        

   

Wearing the shoes

I have had many pairs of Church’s shoes.  The careful structuring of their shoes (both the sewing of the uppers and the joining to the soles) means that they take a little bit of wearing-in (see this article for how to wear in a pair of quality shoes) but they mould to the foot quite quickly and become comfortable after a few wears.  My other key observation is that I have never got as good a shine on a pair of shoes as on Churches shoes.  The uppers seem to glow with a warmth and sparkle that few other brands can match.  

 

 

Church Burwood Brogues 

    

Church’s are incredibly hard-wearing.  I bought my first pair of Church’s (a magisterial pair of black Oxfords) when I was just out of my teens.  I mistreated them with all the carelessness that a young man can bring to bear.  They still looked good ten years later. A great brand of shoe.   

 

Who buys them

Professional men, Lawyers, Bankers and Doctors. First-time buyers of quality English shoes.    

   

Details

Prices:                          Church’s (Last 73) start at around £250.00

                                     Custom Grade (extensively handcrafted) shoes cost from around £300.00

Stores:                          Church’s website has a contact number for enquiring about stores.   

                                      various online retail companies also sell Church’s   

 Flagship Store:              Church’s                                      

                                      108-110 Jermyn Street

                                      St James

                                       London

                                       SW1Y 6EE

                                       Tel:  44 (0)20 7930 8210 

Website:                       http://www.church-footwear.com/ 

Repairs:                        Return to factory, standard repair time is eight to ten weeks

 

Loakes  “Quiet style with history”

Loakes are one of the oldest and most well-loved of English quality shoe brands.  Founded by the three brothers Loake in 1880, Loake produce shoes of excellent quality.  Loake are obsessed with producing shoes of superb quality.  They do not have their own stores and sell through other retail shoe stores. Similarly their advertising is quite low-key compared to other English shoe brands.  Their focus is entirely on their shoes and making the best.   

 

Loakes are often the first quality shoes that Englishman buy, possibly because of the price (Loake’s entry level shoe, the Loake Shoemaker range, retail for around a £100.00).  So Loake fans often start young.  

 

I recently read a great article about the Loakes Royal Brogue style, by Paul Tierney, an English journalist, in Fantastic Man magazine (Fantastic Man issue No 7,  www.fantasticman.com).  He talks about his love of the Royal Brogue style (which had ceased production) and how he bought a pair when they were re-launched four years ago. 

  

 

Loake Royal Brogue

  

I was bowled over by his article!  Why?  I was also a fan of Royal Brogues and wore the very same Ox-blood style that Mr Tierney talks about.  It was great to read the work of another Loake fan.  Mr Tierney says some very complimentary things about Loakes and there is one that I particularly agree with; 

Loakes age beautifully.     

Loakes quickly develop that classic and beautiful worn-in look, while retaining their shape and sparkle.  Loakes often look better than shoes twice the price and half the age.    

 

Shoe Style

Loake have an amazing variety of shoe styles, though no one shop stocks the whole range.  They have the following ranges, amongst others:     

 

Loake Shoemaker

This is the Loake entry-level shoe, starting at around £100.00.  These are classic styles, Goodyear welted, with good quality leather uppers.  In terms of style they are traditional and have quite a broad foot, so they look a little heavy, much like Trickers shoes.  Shoemaker has a “comfort” sub-line, with wider width fittings, which also make them  suitable for older men.    

 

Design Loake

These are Loake shoes with modern designs, the squared toe, raised leather piping etc.  They are contemporary styles and of the same excellent quality as Loake Shoemaker styles.  These also start at around £100.00

  

   

Loake Artemis Black       

 

Loake1880 These are some beautiful shoes.  These are classic English styles, Derbys and Oxfords, in high quality leathers, fine stitching and traditional broguing. 

 

Men buy Loakes because they are stylish, (every generation of London men seem to “re-discover” Loakes as they are growing out of adolescence), well-made and affordable.  For some men Loakes are the first quality shoes they buy, for some men Loakes are the first and only shoes they buy, so greatly do they prize them.  Loakes inspire pride, loyalty and affection.

    

Who buys them

The young man who is going places, the English family man, the mature English gentleman.    

Details 

Prices:                          Loakes start at around £100.00

Stores:                         Loakes do not have their own stores,                                       however their website lists store that sell their shoes.                                     A variety of online retail store also sell

Loakes Website:                       http://www.loake.co.uk/ 

Repair:                         Return to factory, repairs take approximately eight weeks          

  

John Lobb “The greatest shoemaker”

 

John Lobb are one of the greatest shoemakers in the world and I will talk about them again in a later article on bespoke shoemakers.  They have the most illustrious and celebrated history of any shoemaker and have won countless awards for their shoes.  They were founded in 1849 by a Cornishman, who was of course, John Lobb.  For now I will ignore their bespoke fame and focus on their ready-to-wear.  The ready to wear part of the company is owned by Hermes, but continues to use classic English methods to produce quality shoes. 

      

                                 

John Lobb ready-to-wear Jermyn Street, London                

 

In truth, Lobb entry level shoes are the equivalent of other brand’s handcrafted ranges, with the finest of leathers and superb finishing (the stitching on Lob shoes is very fine).  As with other shoemakers there is a hand-crafted range and these typically have a slimmer shape across the instep, making the shoe neater and flattering the foot.  There is of course a price differential.  Lobb ready-to-wear shoes start at around £550 and go up over the £1000 mark. If you want to see how Loakes make their shoes there is a brief but beautiful piece of video on their website here. 

 

I had one pair of Lobb ready to wear (alas, lost, when I moved house one time).  They felt as light as air and were the most comfortable shoes I have ever owned.  Lobb shoes have a neat, smooth look that is very becoming on most men. 

   

  

John Lobb tan derby     

   

Who wears them

Wealthy and worldly men, celebrities, men looking for the absolute best. 

   

Details

   

Prices:                          Prices start at around £500

Store:                          Flagship Store (ready to wear)

                                   John Lobb

                                   88 Jermyn Street

                                   St James

                                   London

                                   SW1Y 6JD

                                    44 (0)20 7930 8089

Website:                       http://www.johnlobb.com/

Repairs:                        Return to factory, ten weeks.   

 

  

Trickers:  The English countryman’s shoe

 

Trickers are one of the oldest English shoemakers, originally founded in 1829.   They have many similarities to Church’s.  The difference is that Church’s are known world-wide, whereas Trickers are a bit of an English secret. 

 

Trickers shop in Jermyn Street, London  

 

Shoe Style

Trickers make the same classic shoes as the other shoemakers but their styling is more traditional, probably the most traditional.  By comparison to the other brands listed here their shoes have a wider, heavier look to them and the leather feels more substantial, the soles feel heavier.  Their Derby brogues are classic and absolutely beautiful, something else that they share with Church’s.  If I had to choose between the two companies for a brogue, it would have to be Trickers. 

As far as I know, only Trickers and Cheaney still produce a true country shoe.  Trickers country shoe are a heavy, durable and very handsome Derby shoe (either plain or brogued) with strong and stylish stitching and double leather soles.  These are must for outdoor events, especially in England, where weather is synonymous with rain.

 

  

 Trickers Ascot 

   

Service

The Trickers shop in Jermyn street is an experience of the best of English service, polite, informed and friendly.  If you are a first-timer to quality English shoes these gentlemen will look after you, they did me when I first went there years ago. The secret of Trickers is often passed down from father to son and taking your son to buy a pair of shoes there is a bit of a coming-of-age ritual.  A friend of mine, aged 18 was taken to Trickers by his father, and bought a pair of Chestnut Oxfords.  They are now over twenty years old and, have aged beautifully and look wonderful. 

 

Interior of the Trickers store in Jermyn Street. 

   

I have a friend, Stephen, who is precise and clever and has a definitive personal style.  He knows the use and worth of good clothes and it was really no surprise that he buys Trickers.  He appreciates the value of a beautiful shoe that will last for many years.         Trickers shoes work well with country clothes, tweeds and woollens.  They look superb with corduroys.  In my opinion they suit big men and anyone whose style tends towards the natural or the country casual.       

   

Who wears them                                       

The English gentleman, at home in the country, men of discernment, big men looking for shoes that reflect their size and vigour.    

                           

Details

                          

Prices:                          Prices start at around £200.00

                                

Stores:                         Flagship Store:

                                    67 Jermyn Street,

                                    St James

                                    London

                                    SW1Y 6NY

                                    Tel: 44 (0) 20 7930 6395

                                    Trickers also sell through a variety of online retail sites

Website:                       http://www.trickers.com/

Repairs:                        Return to factory 8-10 weeks

   

Crockett and Jones  – “At the sign of the successful financier”

Crockett and Jones are the true success story of English quality shoemaking.   They have an illustrious history as one of the oldest and best shoemaking companys’ in England.  They remain an independent family firm, still managed by members of the Jones family.  They are now in the fourth generation of the Jones family, having founded the company in 1879.

Crockett and Jones are passionately traditional and have produced superb English shoes throughout the ups and downs of the English economy.  They use traditional methods, to the extent that they buy up old shoe-making machines from defunct companies, which they then rebuild to produce their shoes in the traditional C & J way.  They limit their expansion to the output that their factory can produce and refuse to compromise their shoes by adopting modern factory methods. 

  

 

Crockett and Jones, Jermyn Street, London 

  

Shoe Style

Crockett and Jones are the style-masters, their classic shoes are just a little longer and little slimmer than the other English brands.  This flatters the foot and complements modern suits very well.  Of all the classic English shoe-makers, C& J shoes match up Italian suits the best.  There is slightly Italianate curve to their shoes which makes them catch the eye.   

The leathers are of superb quality, fine-grained and very supple.  When polished up, the shoes have a soft silky shine.   Crockett and Jones use leather from herds on the Swiss/German/Austrian borders, which traditionally supply some of the best hides in Europe.  They have a saying, which is that “a cow must be able to moo in three languages for Crockett and Jones to want their hides”

  

Crockett and Jones Malvern monkstrap

 

Service

Which brings me to their staff.  They are urbane, charming and dryly funny.  Every time I shop there it is like being served by a combination of John Steed (of the Avengers) and Noel Coward).  Gentlemenly and quintessentially British.  Also very competent.  I was once in the Jermyn Street store when an Englishman in his fifties who had spent the previous ten years in South America and in that time worn out his (already old) C&J shoes.  Even though the style was no longer made, the staff knew it and were able to tell him how and when a pair could be made (albeit they would now be made-to-measure). 

C&J make fine classic shoes, from around two hundred and fifty pounds.  They also have a handgrade range, which are made of finer leather, with more hand-work and a slightly slimmer shape, from around £400.00.  These shoes were originally a range made for John Lobb (see below) and strikingly handsome, once again with an Italian influence.          

They are also one of the few English shoemakers to still have a cordovan range.  Cordovan is horse leather and shoes made from it are supple and less prone to wrinkling and stretching.  A friend of mine swears by his Cordovan shoes and says that they are extremely easy on the feet. 

   

Who buys them

Successful corporate bankers, senior diplomats, buccaneering English entrepreneurs.

       

Details

Prices:              Crockett and Jones entry level shoes start at around £250.00, the handcrafted range from around £350.00 

Stores:             Flagship Store

                        69 Jermyn Street

                        St James

                        SW1Y 6PF

Tel:                  44 (0) 20 7976 2684               

Website            http://www.crockettandjones.co.uk/

Repairs             Return to factory eight to ten weeks

   

Part 3 of this article is here, where we look at those classic brands that are in the process of re-inventing themsleves and some classic newcomers.

Part 4 of this article is here, with advice on how to care for classic English shoes.