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.