[Closed] Are handmade English shoes worth it?

why cant they be resoled? my ted bakers have been.

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I drive in them, the leather soles have split in the forefoot, they've been resoled and the glue just doesn't cut it.

hhmmm, begs the the middle class dilemma/question how many time can a shoe be resoled? this was my first time.......

I love my Loake Buckinghams. Don't wear them everyday but they seem very hard wearing. The shoe is factory (and probably good local cobbler) repairable and resoleable.

Yes:

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spend more, get more life.

Churches will completely resole your shoes for about 75quid, but then you need to have a pair worthy of it 8) church shoes are uber sumptuous

Is it worth spending more on some Churchs, Cheaneys or the like that are goodyear welted? Can these be fixed properly when they start to wear out?

Any recommendations?

Goodyear welted are the only type of formal shoes I will bother with (whilst I can afford them), yes they are worth it and yes they can be repaired, Loake will replace the entire sole on their shoes for £65 rather than get a cobbler to re-sole, although a cobbler will be about £30, but it's a compromise plus you need to find a decent cobbler, some just shouldn't be in business.

matterhorns....!!!

My lowa's are ****ing ace - especially the desert issue one's, can walk for ever in those things!

Church's are worth the money. They can be rebuilt 2-3 times, they are super comfy (if you find the right size and last for your foot - there are lots!), and nicely made.

However, they aren't expensive because they are robust. They are expensive because they are British, hand made, use suptuous leathers and last well if looked after and not subjected to too much abuse. They are probably no harder wearing than your Paul Smiths.

They do a few specific styles with extra thick soles, but they do weigh a lot. They also do some rubber soled versions.

The truth is that you will probably get slightly longer out of Church's, but at the rate you get through them, and driving as much as you do, you might end up disappointed.

Having said that, I have had many pairs of Church's rebuilt (they replace virtually everything except the upper), and have always been impressed. That is one advantage to buying Church's is that you can send them directly back to the factory in Northampton and they come back as good as new. So, your investment might pay back even if you wear through the soles quickly.

Hmm, the split in the PS shoes runs horizontally along the sole, I was thinking that properly welted soles wouldn't suffer this?

Get a car with cruise control?

inappropriate footware for driving by the sounds of things surely?

a less extreme example of going hiking in carbon SPD shoes and having the soles crack?

You have a pair of hand-made driving shoes, non?
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That is one advantage to buying Church's is that you can send them directly back to the factory in Northampton

This is also the same factory that you would send Loakes back to as well.

😉

I bought my first pair of Church's Shoes twenty five years ago (god I feel old), and in all they lasted me for a good ten years before the uppers died. So in all I'd say excellent VFM. I've had two other pairs both during and since that time, as well as owning Loakes and more recently Barkers .. and I can happily recommend them all.

One point to note is that you really do need two pairs, as with such fine (and absorbant - from the inside) leather you shouldn't wear the same pair for two days running .. and always use show trees!

Does anyone actually wear driving shoes?

If your near Northampton both Church's and Trickers have factory shops with decent savings.

The Southern Yeti - Member

Does anyone actually wear driving shoes?

Chavs do, but not for driving.

Converse All Star low for driving, and skating. High Tops for dancing.

Barker's shoes are good in my experience, and they have a similar send back to the factory / resole policy. That said, my formal shoes don't get much wear.

Barkers are awful in my experience, the only pair of welted shoes I've ever had that tore my feet to shreds.

Would you really want to wear the same pair of shoes for 10 years?

Yeti, why not have the sole fully replaced with a long sole which goes the full length of the shoe under the heel block.

Send me some pictures and I can give you an honest response regarding repairing of them.

+ 1 for rotation to keep the uppers in good condition.

I have a 7 or 8 pairs of Churchs, the oldest being 17 years old but they are for emergency use only now as the uppers are shot. If you keep the uppers in good conditions by rotating and using shoes trees then they will last and last as when they come back from a factory resoling they are like new.

However, I am pretty light on shoes because I cycle to work so a large proportion of wear is indoors. In addition, I am not convinced that the premium for Church is warranted, I believe they are owned by Prada now and I think there is a "fashion" premium in their pricing. If Loakes do a factory resoling option, which I did not know about, I would probably buy them next time or alternatively look at the factory outlet options. Crocket & James have good deals at their shop which is open on a Friday afternoon.

I've had a few pairs of Church's. The repair service is fantastic.

I generally buy [url= http://www.oliversweeney.com/?r=FOOTWEAR ]Oliver Sweeney[/url] now. As well made as Church's but more comfortable and a bit more stylish.

I'm after some new work shoes have got through 3 pairs of Paul Smith London shoes in last couple of years

Instead of buying expensive rubbish, and three pairs in a couple of year [i]is[/i] rubbish, why not spend less on shoes from somewhere like Clarks? I've had a couple of plain black leather shoes from there and each pair has lasted for years and can be resoled very easily. Granted you are unlikely to get leather soles, but having owned a few pairs of those in the past I don't actually think that leather is an appropriate material for the sole of a shoe.

Oliver Sweeney imo of having to repair do not come anywhere close in quality and manufacture to a pair of Churchs, Trickers or Alfred Sargents.

But nowhere near as bad as [url= http://www.samuel-windsor.co.uk/buy.cfm/lace-up-mens-leather-shoes/classic-brogues:-black/73/yes/31163 ]Samuel Windsor[/url]

Possibly the poorest quality handmade shoes I have ever had the displeasure of repairing in 25 years

Can someone else tell gonefishin why his constructive advice has already been deleted from my memory?

CandoDavid... what about Loakes? Have seen a few pairs that I really like, concerned that they are significantly cheaper than other brands though.

Loakes are very good shoes across all kind of budgets, when looked after they will always repair nicely being a better quality shoe.

I would always recommend when repairing them to have a long sole rather than a half sole, a stronger repair rather than a join across the 'waist' of the shoe (half sole)

Would always recommend if going for welted footwear, check the shoe is a full leather shoe including the insole, not with a fibreboard lining.
These will take a little bit longer to break in but will hold their shape better.

Try to not wear the same pair of shoes day after day, this will give the shoes time to recover and dry out from being worn and then last you longer.

If you do use shoe trees, only leave on for the first 24 hours from when last worn, this is the time when the fibres in the leather are still warm and will help put the shoes back in natural shape, any longer and the shoe is liable to be gradually moved into distorted shape.

My dad used to wear leather soled shoes and reckons they are absolute death in snow and ice.

Always had Jones best smart shoes - currently on the second resoling and they still look very smart indeed. About £140 instead of around £200 and very similar to Churches.

They do flipping hurt for about two weeks though!

Leather soles are from the days before rubber ones.

My dad used to wear leather soled shoes and reckons they are absolute death in snow and ice..... ABSOLUTELY.

Wouldn't wear leather shoes in snow and ice as soon salt stains will become apparent, and the soles would be soaked before you know it and feet will get cold.

Snnow and Ice = Wellies or walking boots

Leather soles are from the days before rubber ones

Yes but everyone knows the old ways were the best.. no exceptions 🙄

I think my dad was concerned about the extreme lack of traction...

I had a pair of Hudsons with thin soles and I wanted to avoid the leather wearing and becoming too soft so I got Timpsons to add a rubber patch to the front half of the sole. Replaced that rubber a few times but the sole remained in good nick and they lasted ages.

Get yourself up to Northampton and there are factory shops for Church's, Trickers, Crockett and Jones and Cheaneys in Desborough. All money well spent and a good bit cheaper than the shops. I had a bespoke pair from a John Lobb shoemaker but I actually prefer the Church's off the peg ones.

What Bill said - a pootle around the factories saw me buying from Cheaneys for my most recent work shoes. They are as splendid as one might expect.

Cheaneys in Desborough

That's where i'm from....coooool

heavy on the old shoes, squire? These are what you want

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Turn up to a meeting in DMs and that meeting will not go well...

Barkers are awful in my experience, the only pair of welted shoes I've ever had that tore my feet to shreds.

Interestingly, my second pair (bought last Dec) have had exactly this problrm and no amount of wearing has done anything to lessen the problem.

The first pair need to be re-soled, along with a couple of pairs of Loakes. The current Barkers are the cheapo ones with a cemented sole. Sure, I'll never get great life out of them, but they are much more comfortable than the others.

Shoe shop of choice for me is [url= http://www.edwardsofmanchester.co.uk/ ]Edwards of Manchester[/url].

The two most important things.... shoes and haircut.

You can have an expensive suit ruined by shoes and haircut.
On the other hand, good shoes and haircut make a mediocre suit look better.

The Loakes that I bought in the mid 80s are still going strong, and still look as good (if not better) than the day I bought them. I've lost track of how many times they've been resoled and re-heeled.

I believe that the shoes one wears say a lot about a person.

So, yes, quality handmade shoes are worth it.

SB

Absolutely worth it. I have had a pair of Cheaney's for 10 years. I've had them resoled twice and they get rebuilt on their original last - sent to Northampton. They are as comfy as slippers and still look the business. Good shoes, well looked after, clean and polished, give a classy look.

I have been wearing Church for years. Are very good, the refurb service is a good idea but not really necessary if you have a good (by good I mean really good) local shoe repair shop.

I have shifted my allegiance in recent years to the painfully hip http://www.jeffery-west.co.uk/ who make their shoes in the Church factory in Northampton. About £200 a pair, my local shoe repair guy loves resoling them for me, reckons they are as good as they come.

Don't buy cheap shoes

Geronimo, are those altbergs?
no finer boot available than altbergs.

loakes are great, and when resoled (properly) still great. however a decent resole is about £15-£20

a cheaper resole destroyed a decent pair of shoes so a decent cobler is worth his weight.

however contrary to a post above i have found samuel windsor to be perfectly adequate, not a patch on loakes in terms of fit or looks, but on a day to day work basis when you can buy two pairs for about £60 (google reader offers with different newspapers) i think they're really good value!

[url= http://www.altberg.co.uk/Web/boots/images/McCollMicro.jp g" target="_blank">http://www.altberg.co.uk/Web/boots/images/McCollMicro.jp g"/> [/img][/url]

Best shoes I've ever, had them made to measure(for my freaky wide feet) for only £125

clarks loafers...

pro - high quality, will last for ever (require polishing every now and then) and the most comfortable shoes ever.

Con - neither fashionable nor trendy.

Funny, my Barker's shoes are painful too.

Not that bothered as they were only £30 or £40 at TK Maxx, but it did surprise me.

Trickers were way nicer. And about the same price. 🙂

I've got a pair of brown Crockett & Jones that are super comfy, but got stained when I walked home in a downpour. I'd be gutted if I'd paid more than £12 in a charity shop for them (brand new too) 🙂

Would love to get them sorted though. Is there a trick for removing stains?

http://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/Manchester-City-manager-Roberto-Mancini.6271608.jp

The Northamptonians in the know (and with the cash) go to Jeffery West.

Churchs do last (I have a pair of Graftons that is 20 years old) but I understand they are not what they once were.

The Crockett & Jones shoes I have are beautiful and worth every penny. Expensive, handmade shoes deserve to be looked after so a good cobbler is worth knowing.

ballsofcottonwool - Member

Best shoes I've ever, had them made to measure(for my freaky wide feet) for only £125

hhhmmm ... that McCOLL MICROLITE WALKING SHOE might be something I look for as I don't really like those Goretex stuff so might give this a look.

🙂

Crockett and Jones do the best designs. Church are very good and solid but not cheap. Cheaneys are very good value and they've just been bought out by two members of the Church family. Jeffrey West have very trendy designs but they don't suit every foot shape. Cheaneys also make shoes under licence that you can buy in the factory shop like Cole Haan (NY), I've even seen Jimmy Choos in there. Trickers are very stiff and solid and never cheap. Cheaney and Church factory shop are open 6 days a week and Crockett and Jones are Friday pm and Saturday am.
I don't think these sort of shoes can be beaten. They last for ages, particularly if you rotate them, plus you're investing in a process and skills base that is disappearing in a world of bland mass production.

Grenson are fab too; built to last and repairable too.

Thanks for all the advice, I've tried on a hell of a lot of shoes since posting this, settled for 2 pairs of Loakes, goodyear welted, full leather etc etc. Next pair will definitely be Cheaneys, though hopefully that won't need to be too soon.