Well, my favourite pair of shoes, the Oundles from Edward Green, are back from refurbishment and looking pretty darn good. As requested, here are a few pictures of them in their new, refreshed state.

The upper is unchanged, save for a few layers of meticulous polish. It still has that antiqued look created by dozens of layers of polish over the past few years. But the sole and heel are entirely new – clean and hard and ready to be worn – and the sock inside is new too. So my personal imprint (and therefore bespoke comfort) is retained in the insole and the upper. But the rest is new.

EG have also added in a full-length sock rather than the half sock it originally had. Because if I had to choose, they were a little big rather than a little small.

It’s a blessed relief after seeing them torn apart just a few weeks ago.

The two previous posts on the refurbishment, how the shoes are stripped down, followed by their repair, can be seen by clicking on those hyperlinks.

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Sam Harvey

they came out beautifully! that leather finish is so timeless and right. hey, where can i get some women’s loafers slip on with leather fringe? i wish i could find really well healed lovely shoes to go with my new izod dress. have a lovely weekend.

Laguna Beach Trad

Beautiful. Which last?

Arctic Penguin

I’m curious whether Edward Green or comparable shoemakers (I hesitate to call them ‘brands,’ a word which now would seem to rob these artisans of their excellence) install metal taps on the toes of their shoes at customer request. It is my impression that doing so is the best way to ensure maximum life out of a pair of soles.

Anonymous

Is the application of a “half-sole” encouraged or discouraged on shoes of this or any other quality?
I personally have been a blind advocate(at least for my own shoes). They allow me to be much more flexible with regard to the weather and protect the original leather/shoe from refurbishment. Would u have a more educated opinion on this practice?

matsmith1212

Hello, great article. What would you say to: before wearing a pair of shoes for the first time, having a rubber sole or any other man-made material added? I simply do not like to see the leather at the bottom of the shoe being worn down! Thanks.

Anonymous

hi simon, really enjoy reading your blog and have learnt a great deal about tailoring from you.

im looking to buy a pair of EG oundles, but am a bit concerned by a few bits and bobs ive read on forums, saying the stiching on the vamp sometimes causes issues as this is where the forefoot flexes (and apparantly EG changed the design between a previous similar model to try and avoid this). HAve you found this at all or have you found the stiching low on the vamp is irrelevant to the comfort of the shoe?

Thanks in advance, Andy

Anonymous

thanks for the reply simon, glad you said that as i love the design of the shoe. do you know when the oundle was designed by EG, is it an old design?

yes im based in london so i’ll take a trip down to jermyn street and try a pair on. the colour of the pair you had refurbished is fantastic, a kind of chilli colour? does EG offer the oundle in this colour as standard or was that pair mto?

andrew

Anonymous

ok thanks simon.
A

Frith Street Post

Simon

Really interesting article. I have been wearing Berlutis – ready to wear and a couple of bespoke pairs – for many years. Of late, I have considering looking at an English bespoke shoe.

From looking at your site, it would appear Edward Green, George Cleverley and John Lobb would be the three to consider, or have I missed anyone worth putting on the list? I think the Lobb pricing is slightly on the high side for me, but the first two seem to be relatively reasonably priced.

Keep up the good work, great blog!

Anonymous

this is a fascinating post simon. one question which occurred to me was, you mentioned having a full sock put in rather than a half sock. any idea what the material is that shoe makers use on the footbed which you can see when there is a half sock used (a full sock obscures it)? its looks like a white hard cement like substance, is this put on the leather insole for protection?

micheal

Anonymous

Simon, one of the reasons for sending shoes to the original makers for resoling is that they would have the exact same lasts to put in the shoes for the operation. However from your three articles I don’t seem to see any photos of the original lasts being inserted into your shoes. Any comments?

Vincent

Anonymous

Great series of articles.
A quick question, is it possible to size down a little when resoling?

Clifford Ian

Hi Simon. These shoes are just beautiful. What leather and color are these, i would like to order the same pair? I cant figure it out vs available options. Thank you. Keep up the great work.

Anonymous

Simon, fantastic post as ever. I need to get some high-end shoes resoled, and I am planning on having them sent back to the manufacturer for the complete refurbishment process which I gather includes putting them back on the original lasts. The shoes wer always a touch loose on me when new, especially around the vamo, and have since additionally lost something of their snuggness and original fit as a result of my poor treatment of them – putting them on poorly shapped shoe trees after getting them wet and then putting them near a radiator. Do you think the factory will be able to regain the original fit, and more over to do you think it would be a good idea or even possible for the manufacturer to put the shoes onto a last a half size down to get them snugger for me? I would appreciate your thoughts before In advance of me approaching the brand (a high end Northampton manufactured company). Thank you

Edward

I got the same EG 888 last monk with you. The same taste with Mr. Simon.

Anonymous

Simon,

I’m wondering what you think of the Oundle in black. While I’ve built up a modest collection of brown shoes, I still only own one pair of black shoes, which are plain captoe oxfords.

It’s time to diversify the black range a little bit; but given how infrequently I wear black shoes (once ever week or two), I’d like to find something a little more interesting than, e.g., another pair of captoe oxfords with the addition of some broguing. At the same time, I don’t want anything ostentatious, because I’ll mainly wear them in the office with a charcoal suit.

Intuitively I tend to discount monk straps as casual shoes and a bit out of fashion, but this model’s single strap, the stitching on the vamp, etc. seem to maintain a smart and reasonably conservative look.

If you agree, would you go with a medallion toe,? A silver or brass buckle? Is there another shoe that comes to mind for what I’m after?

Thanks!

Anonymous

Great advice, as always. Thanks!

Sergey

Are this shoes still alive?

Sergey

After a lot of time of wearing Edward Green and bespoke shoes, how do you think is a bespoke pairs more better and comfortable than EG shoes?

Anonymous

Interesting to hear that you now wear more casual shoes, Simon. Could you please elaborate on the reason why? Is it that you find shoes such as these monk straps too formal for your odd jacket and trousers outfits? When would you wear these monk straps (or similarly formal shoes) then? Thanks.

Juan Carlos

Hello, Simon. These Oundles are beautiful. What’s your opinion about the Mercer? Between the Mercer and the Chelsea (both in dark oak and 82 last) which would you prefer? Thanks.

Misbah

Always admired the Oundles model on the 888 last, they weren’t common stock by then and I wasn’t prepared to commission. Instead I bought the Crockett & Jones Handgrade Winston model, which is their take on it/similar. I did find that, comparing it to an 888 last shoe, it’s more elongated (read pointy) and hence not so versatile. Do you find that more elongated shoes need to be paired with more formal trousers/a relatively generous width of trouser at the end?

Thanks.