Category: Shoes

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 ...

Perhaps the most striking thing about Jean-Manuel Moreau’s operation in Paris is how long it’s been around. Most shops we cover track their origins back 10 or 12 years. It’s in this period that stores like Trunk, ...

Last month I wrote a fairly comprehensive piece on the ways to deal with rain damage on shoes, when it happens.  In this article, I’ll outline the best ways to prevent that damage happening in the first place - both ...

As mentioned in my recent article on Yohei Fukuda, I ordered a pair of bespoke shoes from him last year, when I was in Tokyo.  However, I opted for bespoke without a fitting.  Why? Well, at the moment I seem to be get...

Yohei Fukuda is one of the finest shoemakers in the world. And given his longevity - he set up on his own 12 years ago - he’s been at the forefront of Japan emerging as the primary world force in bespoke.  But like m...

In the past week, perhaps as it has been particularly wet here, I’ve had three comments from readers on old posts about dealing with soaking-wet shoes.  Those old posts were never very comprehensive, so here is somet...

Last year Karl Chu offered to make me a pair of shoes under his Ascot Shoes label for review.  I had known Karl (pictured below) for a while, but mostly through his hosting of bespoke shoemakers in London - such as Mas...

Over the past year, I’ve gradually been wearing more black. Readers will have seen that in the recommendation of this Berg & Berg black shirt , for example, and these black cords . It's been particularly pronounce...

Masaru Okuyama - the Japan-trained but Hong Kong-based shoemaker - made me this pair of shoes over the past 10 months.  Their relevance is twofold. As a review of Masaru and his work, of course, but also as an experien...

Why should you care about a factory visit?  Why care what the place is like where something is made - compared to say, the quality of it or how to wear it?  Does it matter whether the place is clean or dirty, old or n...

I’m very fond of the cut of this Vestrucci suit, and it is more unusual than I realised when I first received it.  Although many aspects are similar to Liverano and other related Florentine tailors, there are small an...

Last week, I realised I had worn my Belgravia loafers three out of the five working days.  Ever keen to look after them, I never wear them on consecutive days (the leather will not fully dry out - and wears quicker whe...

So, there was a pair of Retrospecs sunglasses. From the 1930s - originals, as all Retrospecs are. In rolled gold, not the cheaper-looking gold plate. Filigree work around the frame - all of which is different for each...

Over the past three years, Permanent Style has gradually covered more casual clothing in response to requests from readers. Guys want to know how to extend PS principles of quality, fit and simplicity to weekend clothin...

Man, I love the pop-up shop. It's being going so long now that I know exactly what it will be like, and I look forward to the atmosphere, the chats, and the conversations with readers. It's exciting putting your product...

I recently did this interview with Kirby Allison of The Hanger Project, as part of his Shoe Shine Sunday series. It's a little bit meandering (and my shirt seems determined to reveal more chest than anyone would want) b...

If you love clothes, it’s not easy to resist the call of a new season. As much as you know the value of what you own, and want to wear it forever, shiny new things are tempting. The best defence, I find, is to invest ...

Two weeks ago, Deborah Carre of Carreducker and I organised a talk among five very different shoemakers, to talk about how and why men are buying bespoke today. It was scheduled to coincide with London Craft Week, held ...

Last week the weather in London turned from 12 degrees to 22 in a couple of days. It seems that what passes for the English Spring is finally here. Of course, with most shops and brands Spring/Summer collections arrived...

Last Saturday was the Super Trunk Show in London – an event for shoe brands and enthusiasts that has been in London twice before. (It was originated in Stockholm, where the sixth iteration takes place later this year)...

Artisan of the Year 2019: Gaziano & Girling   The Artisan of the Year category in our annual awards is an opportunity for me to personally recognise a bespoke maker, outside of the usual cycle of reviews and pr...

At the beginning of this year, Allan Baudoin and Bo Langeveld introduced their first fundamentally new design since the Sagan in 2016. Allan’s initial concept was a winter Sagan, which makes sense given how dependent ...

  While in Florence last month, we took the opportunity to film some of the practical videos we've produced in the last year, with artisans based in the city. This is the first, with Stefano Bemer, talking about bu...