The (17) bespoke shoemakers I have known

March 10th 2021

  This article was originally written back in 2014. Back then I had tried seven bespoke shoemakers, and nothing in Japan. Seven years later, the number has more than doubled, and the spread is wider – also encompassing some semi-be...

The (17) bespoke shoemakers I have known

Match in comments:
Bespoke: - Yohei Fukuda - Seiji McCarthy - Nicholas Templeman RTW/MTO: - Edward Green - Alden - Crockett & Jones...

ShoesMarch 10th 2021

Building a wardrobe: Bespoke shoes

February 15th 2017

As the last post on building a wardrobe - focused on Neapolitan tailoring - proved popular, I thought I'd do a second looking at shoes. But rather than look at my whole shoe collection, which numbers more than 40 pairs and would take a long time to ...

Building a wardrobe: Bespoke shoes

Match in comments:
Thank you, and yes you're right. Today I would have had a loafer or two in there, more dark-brown suede, and I would have had a more subtle boot than that chelsea. Overall though, I would also keep bespoke mostly for mor...

ShoesFebruary 15th 2017

Tim Little: bespoke Chelsea boots

December 17th 2014

As mentioned back in October, I recently had a pair of bespoke Chelsea boots made by Tim Little – the owner of Grenson shoes, who also runs a smaller label under his own name. I was interested in Tim’s bespoke offering primarily for the...

Tim Little: bespoke Chelsea boots

Match in comments:
It depends what you're going for bespoke for - is it the bespoke look (narrow waist, fine make etc) or is it for fit? I'd only do bespoke for the latter reason if really no RTW fitted well at all, and I wasn't expecting ...

ShoesDecember 17th 2014

Tim Little and Grenson, explained

October 17th 2014

A few months ago, I got to know Tim Little – the owner of the Grenson factory in Northampton and of his own eponymous shoe brand (pictured above, on the left). Not only has Tim been a modernising influence in Northampton ever since he took ov...

Tim Little and Grenson, explained

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It may be that the ''Grenson's'' that you purchased on eBay were fakes. Have you compared them to the same shoe in a store?...

ShoesOctober 17th 2014

Five tips on bespoke shoes

July 7th 2014

I 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

Match in comments:
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...

ShoesJuly 7th 2014