Good English shoes are pretty much always worth the money you pay for them. Three things reminded me of this in recent weeks.
One was a friend’s wedding. After years of buying in the low end of the market, he bought a pair from Crockett & Jones to get married in. I was staggered how good they looked on him. Dark brown Oxfords with a toe cap but no broguing, they were a shining example of how poor the average quality is of men’s shoes. Crockett & Jones are not very expensive, certainly by the standards of some of the brands on this blog, but they looked a million dollars.
Second, a colleague was bemoaning the state of his work shoes and how he needed a new pair. They were cheap, pointy, glued ones from Jones or some such. Because they are made with a corrected grain, the scuffs took away any pretense at leather on the surface. Because they had no internal structure, they curled up at the ends. He’d had them a year.
The third thing was the string of comments on recent posts about bespoke and made-to-order shoes from Gaziano & Girling and Cleverley. I realise that for many men these are not viable options at £1000 to £2000. But I hope they illustrate the beauty of English shoes, and provide inspiration for buying good, ready-to-made models. I will make a conscious effort to reiterate this in future posts.
Crockett & Jones shoes cost £300-and-something. A glued pair from Jones costs around £100. The former will last five years easily, with a resoling or two, while the latter looked terrible after a few months and trash-worthy after a year. Which do you think are better value?
I have my favourite English brands. Edward Green and Alfred Sargent are among them, plus the bespoke makers already mentioned. But as I’ve said before, with English shoemakers you generally get what you pay for (I can’t speak for those whose prices are decided by an Italian fashion label).
It has been suggested that I don’t like Barker (standard range) shoes. This is not true. They make great shoes. I would always prefer someone buy Barker than an imported, glued pair, and they will last much better. But more expensive English shoes will be better quality, and if you’re going to spend £1000 on a suit I think you should spend up to half of that on your shoes. The shoes will be more versatile as well.
Buy good shoes, don’t wear them every day, put shoe trees in them and brush them down after use – you will actually save time in less-frequent polishing. As far as retail outlets go, John Rushton just off Oxford Street is always worth a shout.
In Northampton we have the greatest hub of quality shoemaking in the world. It’s time more people took advantage of it.
Images: Edward Green
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I know it's probably rude to ask, Simon, but frankly the curiosity is beginning to cause actual pain. Having looked at your online profiles, I can't see much possibility of gigantic bonuses or the like. So... where does all this money come from? Are you lucky enough to be independently wealthy?
ReplyDeleteOf course I fully understand if you abstain from answering. I suppose the main reason I ask is because I earn what to the average person would be an enviable amount of money, yet I have no hope of achieving a couple of dozen bespoke suits in my lifetime. So I just want to check I'm not doing something wrong!
Do you think you could afford one to two a year if clothing was a spending priority? Bear in mind you can get hand-cut suits for £850 and mainline bespoke from £1800 and up.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely wholeheartedly agree with this post. I bought C&J’s, I sense the exact same your friend wore at his wedding, from John Rushton last summer and they have been an absolute pleasure. Any suggestions on what type to get next?
ReplyDeleteI agree C&Js especially the hand grade collection are some of the best shoes i have tried , the best value for money and the quality is excellent they have been making shoes long enough to know what they are doing and all made in northampton in one factory .The fact that they dont sell online proves that they do not produce masses of pairs a week , perfection takes time.
DeleteI'd say a black work pair next, unless you never ever wear a suit for work. If you don't, perhaps a derby or monk strap in cedar (mid-brown, but not tan) to wear with paler suits, paler trousers or chinos/jeans etc
ReplyDeleteI am considering a pair of G&G decos and the first time I saw them, it was like I was looking at an Aston or Ferrari! I'm glad you wrote this post because I was considering a pair of Grenson brogues. What is your opinion of this brand with the Goodyear welt and all.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with the fact that investing in a good pair of shoes is one of the best things to do. And I also agree with the fact that English shoes are excellent. I personally own two pairs of C&J cordovan shoes and I really love them.
ReplyDeleteBut I think that there are a lot of good shoe makers outside England. Of course, English shoes are much better than Italian (brand) shoes. But you forget other very goog shoemakers. I am from Spain and, in my opinion, we have one of the best shoemakers (with a great relationship cost/quality): Carmina. I have several of these shoes and I could not tell which ones I prefer, C&J or Carmina.
Have you been able to take a close look to Carmina shoes, Simon?
PS. Congratulation for the blog.
Simon,
ReplyDeleteThank you for this post. Who makes the pair of shoes in the top photograph? They are beautiful.
Gavin
After years of wearing Loake 1880s, I decided to stretch my budget for a pair of C&J Edgwares. The difference in quality and fit is staggering as the C&Js are beyond compare. Worth every extra penny.
ReplyDeleteHi Simon, I am delighted that your today post is dedicated to British shoes. I can't thank you enough for having drawn our attention to the importance and value of good shoes. Now it happens that I have received a pair of Black semi-brogues as gift made in Northampton by a very good and well known shoemaker. Yet its type of polish is in my view quintessentially British. Indeed,it is hardly to be found elsewhere, for instance in Italy or in France. Its polish stands between normal black calf and patent. While browsing recently, I have discovered that it is called "Book binder leather", even though in my case the shoemaker names it "Black polished". Please, could you tell me which kinds of proprieties in Britain are attached to the wearing of this kind of shoes? Are there any rules to follow or ... breakable? Are they as good as the others? Do their care requires a specific treatment? Personally, I find them lovely! I mostly wear them at night for diners and parties. Many thanks in advance for your reply.
ReplyDeleteGrenson are great shoes. Good value, as with others.
ReplyDeleteEdward Green make the shoes in the top photo.
Yes, I know Carmina very well having visited them in Spain. They make great shoes, as do many Italians, French and of course Austro-Hungarians. My point is not that English shoes are superior necessarily.
Austro-Hungarians? In the 21st century?
ReplyDeleteI like English shoes. But I'm not convinced by the value argument. It depends on what you use your shoes for. If you're mostly sedentary then sure, they will last for ever and be a good buy. If, like I used to, you commute to work on foot, 2 miles each way, you will need them resoled at least once a year (and that's only wearing each pair once or twice a week). I've only had experience of Churchs but I know they will normally only resole shoes twice. Which means that taking into account the cost of resoling, you're spending upwards of £500 in total for a pair of shoes that will last maybe 3 years. I'm not convinced that that is better value than paying £175 every year for a new pair of lesser (but still pretty good) shoes.
HI JoJo
DeleteIf you walk four miles a day every day you should look into shoes with double leather soles, Danite soles or tougher (Commando soles, etc.) . Crockett & Jones among other make very good shoes with such tougher soles in styles perfectly appropriate for formal work etc. You will also feel better walking in good shoes. And I don't think C&J (or trickers, or Green, or the other good makers) will stop resoling shoes, in fact I believe they will continue to resole and service/repair them as long as you want.
On the other hand, may I suggest getting a nice comfortable, simple and basic (cheap) Dutch bicycle? it makes a 2 mile commute into a pleasure, saves you time, and saves you shoe leather. (In sensible Dutch style you just wear your suit and nice shoes on the bike - no idiotic spandex, clip shoes, or what have you).
Excellent advice all round, although you probably underestimate the longevity of good shoes. If you have 3 or 4 pairs that you can rotate during the week, and you look after them well, you should get much better than 5 years of wear from them - hopefully more like 10 years or more. It makes the value proposition for good shoes even stronger.
ReplyDeleteI know they've taken a bit of a knocking in the style blogs recently, but I really do like my Church's. I've a pair of black oxfords and some dark brown monks that I adore.
ReplyDeleteFor those on a slightly reduced budget I can also heavily recommend Herring Shoes. For less than £200 they offer superb value I think. I have a pair of burgundy brogues from them that I am always pleased to wear.
Hi Simon,
ReplyDeleteI saw another reader comment about Loake shoes compared to C&J. What are your thoughts about Loake? The timing of your post was excellent for me as I'm in the market for some new wingtips and was about move forward with Loake. I'd love to get your opinion. Thanks!
Derek
Jojo, it should be pointed out that by your calculations the cheaper shoes are still more expensive over five years. And of course they look worse for the whole of those five years.
ReplyDeleteHi Simon
ReplyDeleteI have read about Maftei shoes http://claymoor.blogspot.com/2012/01/in-vizita-la-maftei.html. Are they all right?
Dan
well said simon. church's are totally overpriced. does anyone have any experience with the American brand Alled-Edmonds?
ReplyDeleteI know I am a little late to the party on this, but I own 6 pair of Allen Edmonds, and I they are absolutely fantastic. They do bespoke if you have an non-standard foot size (athletes are a big clientele for them) and most American presidents wear them (I don't think Obama wears AEs but that would explain a lot) and I believe they offer extraordinary value. A pair of shell cordovan oxfords retail for between 300 and 600 USD which may seem high to many Americans, but for cordovan which will last a lifetime, it really is not. They are made in my home state of Wisconsin (one of only 2 American-made shoemakers) and are made using the goodyear welt process so they are recraftable for around 100 USD. So for American shoes, you definitely cannot go wrong with AE.
DeleteBoth Maftei and Allen Edmonds are good is my impression, but in different ways, and I don't own either so can't give a first-hand recommendation
ReplyDeleteGreat article. The economics usually stack up well and in my case, two pairs of Church, one of Cheaney and some other assorted good quality pairs have done over ten years each with some professional tlc occassionally.
ReplyDeleteHello Simon,
ReplyDeleteI wholeheartedly agree with your opinions. Unfortunately, I am not able to afford shoes from Lobbs or Cleverley and even Church shoes are a wee bit beyond my wallet's ability, however, most of my shoes are Loakes with a few Alden cordovans for good measure. My Loakes range from 14 to 21 yrs old. They have been re-soled countless times. I believe their longevity is due to being polished after each outing and I only wear them once a week. All my shoes look like patent leather due to the many years of care and attention. I also have cedar shoe trees for them.
I have a pair of Oxford toecaps from David Scott (not sure if that shoe maker still exists) which I bought on my first trip to the UK in 1979 - 33 years ago!! Again, they are in mint condition.
My point is this - look after your shoes and they should last for a long time.
Regards,
Ian from way way down there (Melbourne).
Great article and I totally agree.
ReplyDeleteI started my shoe collection with a pair of Loakes for my first job, I soon realised I needed a second pair to rotate and allow each shoe time to dry out after a days wear. I decided to move up the scale and invest in a pair of Cheaney’s, I immediately noticed the quality difference and the interest in shoes began. Since then I have tried to buy the best I can afford, adding Church’s and John Lobb’s to my collection. With every move up the shoes are noticeably better quality, age more gracefully and bring more joy.
Good English shoes are always worth the money you pay for them!
Here's another reason for buying top quality shoes - from an interview with Edward Fox (of 'Day of the Jackal' acting fame):
ReplyDelete"these shoes are more than 100 years old, they were made in the reign of George V for my grandfather. These are so comfortable and good looking, and to think of these uppers still holding out, it's incredible."
That's a tad longer than 5, or even 10 years.
Source - http://www.mrporter.com/journal/journal_issue22/3
Hi Simon,
ReplyDeleteI bought a first pair of Alfred Sargent years ago when still living in Belgium, and only now am I starting to see the wear and tear (coming up to 10 years). Who would you recommend for resoling? I take my C&J directly back to the manufacturer, but not sure what to do with my Alfred Sargent.
Sounds good. Why not take your Sargents back to the manufacturer as well
DeleteAs a student in the late seventies/ eearly eighties I bought Grensons from my student grant. My 1981 pair have been resoled for the 5th timeWhilst I have destroyed an assortment Grenson, loakes, Barkers and Churches I am still resoling several pairs from the 90s and 00s..There is no question it is better value to accumulate quality shoes in the long term.Whilst the pointiness of the toe and chunkines of the sole varies over time over 30 years I still have wearablle shoes and boots to match any current trend. My current favourite pair are a 3 year old Cheaney brogue.Even with recent price inflation £250-350 carefully chosen English shoes (ideally in a sale) can last for decades and still look good
ReplyDeletePs I am tempted by quirkines of some of the Jeffrey-West designs. Any thoughts as to whether this comes at the expense of quality or not?
ReplyDeleteYes, my impression is it does. You can see it in the toes after they've been worn for a while. The lack of structure, of toe puff
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