Category: Shoes

This year’s A/W Top 10 list includes a sprinkling of new names, but a lot of familiar ones too.  I don’t think this is unexpected or unwelcome. The world of classic, crafted menswear is not large, primarily because...

When is it worth buying the best possible quality, and when can you economise?  This, of course, was part of the subject of my book The Finest Menswear in the World , which examined what constitutes ‘quality’ in va...

Every time I do a review of bespoke shoes, the question comes up as to whether they're worth the money. Whether bespoke shoes in general can really be worth it, given the little issues I often report.  My short answer ...

During sunny weather in the past few weeks, I've been playing around with these old shoes from Lodger, the shoe shop that used to be on Clifford Street in London, and where I first started writing about menswear .  The...

I think when craftsmen are doing remote fittings, they err on the safe side.  That’s one consistency I can draw from my online bespoke over the past year.  Whether it’s with WW Chan , Massura or Ferdinando Caracen...

I've known Deborah Carré and James Ducker (below)for many years, having first covered their workshops when they were at Cockpit Arts (those pictures of me and Luke!), then the opening of their service at Gieves & H...

Somehow, Jake and Anglo-Italian manage to keep relatively under the radar here in the UK, despite being one of the few classic-menswear shops keeping that spirit relevant.  Perhaps it’s because they don’t actively ...

During the past Winter, I was vaguely looking to replace my longstanding work boots from Wolverine (above) .  They’d done great service: on long country walks, camping in different parts of the country, and just goin...

  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 enc...

Best stay-at-home wear: Baudoin & Lange Runners-up: Luca Faloni, Sunspel   PS readers voted Baudoin & Lange the best for ‘stay at home’ wear in 2021 Awards, principally based on their Sagans or Sagan Lu...

What shoes do we still find ourselves wearing after 10 years, and why?  I find this is mostly about making sensible, functional choices; then a little bit about quality and fit; and almost nothing to do with bevelled w...

Everyone gets stuff wrong. We all have outfits we look back on years later, and cringe.  Fortunately, I believe this is something where you learn and progress. It is not a cycle of fashions, where every few years you w...

Shoe brand of the year: Crockett & Jones Runners up: Edward Green, TLB   Crockett & Jones has won our 2021 award for best shoe brand - an accolade intended to recognise a shoemaker that is adapting to this ...

Bespoke shoes are a luxury for me, rather than the norm.  Unlike bespoke tailoring - which I will always buy over RTW as long as I can afford to - I’m quite happy with a shoe wardrobe which is mostly ready-made.  Th...

Almost a year ago, back in January, I began the process of making a pair of bespoke shoes with a new outfit in Romania, Petru & Claymoor .  Shoe fans might have seen some coverage of the brand over the intervening ...

There is one way in which this review is necessarily unfair. The vast majority of my shoes are at a higher quality level than these Carmina chukkas, and therefore my context will be different to many potential customers...

Anonymous Ism socks, via End £30 The online version of End is a surprisingly good source for classic clothing. Although it’s still dominated by street wear, and the new shop off Carnaby Street is entirely trainers an...

There is a handful of menswear shops in London that I recommend regularly to friends visiting from abroad.  They include Trunk, Connolly, Drake's and Anderson & Sheppard Haberdashery. All boutiques, all founded in ...

Spanish shoemaker TLB sent me these ‘Artista’ suede oxfords to try, following my mention of them in our round-up of cheaper shoe brands last month.  I have to say, I was immediately impressed. Not necessarily compa...

Baudoin & Lange recently launched a new, perhaps more conventional range to their shoes, called the Ginkgo.  Allan asked me if I'd like to pick a colour or two of suede to make up in this style, and offer as part o...

  Shoes can be one of the trickiest areas for clothing in the summer.  Unless we require a jacket, it’s pretty simple to wear a well-cut polo shirt on top and drapey linen trousers on the bottom, and stay cool. ...

  Our ‘complete capsule’ article last month went down particularly well with readers. Setting out a concentrated, versatile wardrobe, I think it provided both a good starting point for new readers and a way for ...

Nicholas Templeman is a bespoke shoemaker, an ex-John Lobb lastmaker who now works out of his home in North London. We've been working on a pair of derby shoes for the past year, and they're near completion. So I though...

UPDATE: This is a nice video from Diegos showing how espadrilles are made. You can see the better, neater hand sewing of the soles mentioned below.  I remember clearly when I got my first pair of espadrilles. I was 19,...

*UPDATE: Carmina say they do not use plastic heel stiffeners. Jesper's information was based on information by two Carmina retailers. That point has been removed until it can be proved either way.  Last month, Swedish ...