Five tips on bespoke shoes
July 7th 2014I do like it when readers suggest posts. You feel you’re fulfilling a need. Two weeks ago, on Five Tips on Bespoke Suits, a reader requested a similar post on bespoke shoes, so here it is. 1 Be conservative I know it’s the same as the f...
Five tips on bespoke shoes
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Absolutely Lindsay, there's lots of coverage around the site. Perhaps start with the post 'The bespoke shoemakers I have known' https://www.permanentstyle.com/2014/10/the-shoemakers-i-have-known.html...
George woos Hollywood: latest How to Spend It column
May 14th 2014My most recent column for How to Spend It magazine – the luxury supplement of the Financial Times – was on your friend and mine, Mr George Glasgow Jr . The name dropping was relentless, but then you can hardly expect anything else...
George woos Hollywood: latest How to Spend It column
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I wasn't, no, but I'll check it out. Saw Justin for lunch last week but it didn't come up...
How to compare RTW and MTM suits
February 21st 2014Since I wrote a post at the beginning of the month urging readers to comment and ask questions on Permanent Style, quite a few have asked about different ready-to-wear and made-to-measure brands. I’d like to explain how to compare RTW, and why ...
How to compare RTW and MTM suits
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I think you're right to be cautious - and I don't cover much MTM partly because it can be unreliable. But I'd have no hesitation recommending Saman Amel. I suggest starting there. And start with a conservative suit rathe...
Two pairs of Anthony Cleverleys
February 19th 2014While meeting the impossibly nice Xavier Aubercy last week, we got talking about the archive of shoes owned by Arturo Lopez, a friend and customer of Xavier’s grandfather Andre Aubercy. Lopez was a customer of many shoemakers, and his coll...
Two pairs of Anthony Cleverleys
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Striking how well they match! It would be great to have an image from the side of your shoe as well, as I have the memory that the "serres d'aigle" effect of the toe box is slightly less pronounced in the recent shoe? Al...
Postcard from Paris
February 11th 2014I was in Paris last week for a couple of articles, as well as visiting the usual suspects. Here in a green raincoat from Hermes with brown leather collar detail. Because green is the third colour. Traveller trilby from Lock & Co; Alfred Dun...
Postcard from Paris
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It's beautiful, but as with most designer brands, only available for that season I'm afraid......
Cifonelli jacket, D’Avino shirt and others
December 23rd 2013A reader asked what I was wearing at the dinner of Parisian Gentlemen last week. Fortunately, a profile photo was taken that day at the intellectual property conference I was speaking at – the reason I was in Paris in the first place. In t...
Cifonelli jacket, D’Avino shirt and others
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Here are some more pics of Simon's DB: http://dirnelli.tumblr.com/post/69709009635/simon-crompton-shows-you-how-the-cifonelli-bespoke...
Cleverley sample sale on Wednesday
December 16th 2013Cleverley is having a last-minute sale on Wednesday, selling off bespoke shoes that weren’t picked up, were made in the wrong colour or for whatever other reason (other than quality) were never sold. There are 25 models available, in a goo...
Cleverley sample sale on Wednesday
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Simon just a quick note of thanks for flagging the Cleverley sales. After reading your piece on them last year I bought a pair of 'off the shelf' from them. I popped in on Monday and enquired whether any stock was left. ...
The divergent styles of Cleverley and Gaziano &am...
October 28th 2013Having tried so many tailors and shoemakers, I am often asked to compare them. With bespoke shoes, the most common question is which maker achieved the best fit. However, the fit often doesn’t vary that much, and most importantly (perhaps depre...
The divergent styles of Cleverley and Gaziano &am...
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Well, the leather is only one thing that affects comfort, but yes that could be a contributing factor...
Brits in Hollywood wearing Cleverley
October 9th 2013Men in California don’t have the greatest reputation for their dress sense, so it’s nice to see some British actors improving the average. Daniel Radcliffe’s jacket may be a little short and Jason Statham’s fee...
Brits in Hollywood wearing Cleverley
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What a shame to see such stunted design vocabulary intervene with this artisan greatness....
Sartorial cyclists
October 1st 2013The first, rather informal meeting of our industry cycling group. (Someone, please, suggest a club name with a decent pun in it.) Fifty-odd miles around the hills of Kent. From left: Hercules and Chris, Edward Green; me; Andy Murphy, Cleverley; Samue...
Sartorial cyclists
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SWEET! Hand stitched I assume? Let me know when I'm needed for the first fitting. /Owen...
John Carnera with his 1987 shoes
September 19th 2013Last week John Carnera at Cleverley’s had a pair of his shoes, dating back to 1987, in for a resole. John doesn’t work full time any more, but still helps out with a bit of the pattern cutting and repairs. See his work on my Cleve...
John Carnera with his 1987 shoes
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Great value indeed although I would make the case that cordovan/krupp leather endures evens better than calf, imo....
Video on suits and their construction
September 11th 2013Last week I was profiled in a video series for Harrod’s, giving insights into the construction of Kiton and Tom Ford suits, among others. It should be available in a couple of weeks, coinciding with the launch of a new MTM/bespoke initiative at...
Video on suits and their construction
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Thanks Simon. That looks spot on. Cruel though to send that video to an emigrant Irish man. Rory's accent is killing me. I'll be crying into a pint of Guinness tonight....
Repatinating shoes with Carreducker
September 6th 2013I love my brown Cleverleys – the first bespoke shoes I owned – but I’ve never been that happy with the colour. Cleverley are good at many things, but patination is not one of them. George Jr has looked at introducing a patination se...
Repatinating shoes with Carreducker
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Ok. İ was thinking I would darken with dye, and use polishing plus time to build depth and character. Thank you for the back and forth. The interaction s between commenters and author are (nearly) as informative as the ...
How bespoke cowboy boots are made: Lee Miller
June 10th 2013I wrote last week about Lee Miller, one of the best bespoke cowboy-boot makers in the US. Other than the man himself, my prime interest in talking to Lee was the similarities with bespoke dress shoes. The process, I learnt, is largely the same but wi...
Permanent Style in Free & Easy magazine
March 22nd 2013This column in Japanese magazine Free & Easy is the result of the photo shoot I posted about before Christmas. I have no idea what the Japanese text says, but hopefully it faithfully reports my opinions on shoes and shoe collecting, and desc...
Permanent Style in Free & Easy magazine
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John you wouldn't be so sceptical and ignorant in your reproach if you judged by the content of the magazine. It's one of the best menswear magazines out there in my opinion, much more relevant than the shit they sell in...
Profile piece in How to Spend It, Spain
January 25th 2013The Spanish version of How to Spend It, Fueria de Serie, interviewed me and did a photo shoot when I visited Jose Maria’s Club Aristocrata last year. The piece came out today. Unless your Spanish is a lot better than mine, you won’...
Profile piece in How to Spend It, Spain
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The lead times on things like this are quite long I'm afraid. If Drake's are offering it at Pitti now, it means it will be in the shop this autumn. If you are in doubt about the tie pin, try just using it on woven ties. ...
A Cleverley Christmas
December 4th 2012‘Tis the time for Christmas parties, and last week was one of the nicest: drinks at Cleverley. Small shop, good whisky, plenty of us spilling out into the Royal Arcade. Video by Mike Saunders
A Cleverley Christmas
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If I'm a Cleverley customer and wasn't invited should I be feeling bad?...
Shoe shoot for Free and Easy
November 21st 2012Photo shoot yesterday for Free and Easy magazine in Japan. They’re doing a special on English shoes, so shots of four pairs of my shoes from four different English shoemakers, and an interview/shoot with me. Photos of that next month when...
Shoe shoot for Free and Easy
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To be honest, I'd say most of the ones I've used for more than one shoe have been similar - Stefano Bemer, Cleverley, Gaziano. Though perhaps with Masaru Okuyama being a little better (see that recent post). The stand-ou...
Cleverley chukka boot – casual wear
August 20th 2012Speaking as we have been in recent weeks about what to wear outside of a suit – and indeed what to wear with jeans – I thought it interesting to show this Cleverley client, Jason Statham, wearing bespoke chukka boots with jeans re...
Cleverley chukka boot – casual wear
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Once again, and I saw these yesterday in the WSJ, Cleverly takes a typical shoe and turns it into a knockout pair. The craft is truly outstanding and this "casual" style could easily be worn with simple jeans or a bespok...
Mickey Rourke’s bespoke slippers
April 18th 2012In the past few weeks I’ve been talking fairly regularly to George Glasgow Jr, of GJ Cleverley in Los Angeles, for some articles in The Rake. I find it interesting what his Hollywood clients order – given that few of their contemporaries ...
Mickey Rourke’s bespoke slippers
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Man! this are really powerful designs,...
Buy good English shoes
January 25th 2012Good 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 �...
Buy good English shoes
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Simon, Good advice. FYI, whilst the shop did not appear to have particularly strong feelings either way, they did recommend a wear or two prior to any treatment (e.g. polish, condition, etc.)....
Gaziano & Girling: Deco – the shoes
January 23rd 2012It should have been obvious from my piece back in May on Gaziano & Girling’s new Deco line that I would be very tempted by them, and this is the result a few months later. They are gorgeous shoes, whole-cut Oxfords in a luscious bl...
Cleverley imitation brogues – final pair
January 16th 2012As ever, this was partly my fault, but the Cleverley bespoke imitation brogues arrived a couple of weeks ago after a long wait. They are imitation, of course, because there is no separate section of leather at the toe cap – the wingtip is simpl...
Cleverley imitation brogues – final pair
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Oooh - handbags! Was a straightforward enough question, and why you would "assume most people know" is totally beyond me!...
Graham Browne: Brown cashmere and tan cotton
January 11th 2012An autumnal outfit this, commissioned a little too late in the summer and then delayed by various factors so that it was ready just before Christmas. Still, on a clear winter’s day with an overcoat it serves very well and it will also do well i...
Graham Browne: Brown cashmere and tan cotton
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You're right, that is a good rule of thumb. Like most rules I'd consider it for the guidance of wise men and the blind obedience of… less wise men....
Cleverley bespoke luggage introduced
November 24th 2011While on the subject of bespoke luggage, Cleverley recently started doing its own pieces with two old guys situated down in its Cornwall workshop. Leather bags were previously made by the Robert Simpson factory that also makes for Tanner Krolle and o...
Cleverley bespoke luggage introduced
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1. Very similar to Ortus - ie pretty much all hand-sewn. And on the same level as some Hermes, but not all of it. 2. No, I wouldn't agree. It's different more than anything else. Cleverley and English makers tend to use ...
