** Quintessential Crockett & Jones Thread ** - Page 140

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saratorial_Splender 

Northcote is too dressy for Jeans. Try Tetbury.

Both are 348 last, shouldn't be that different as long as Northcote isn't spit shined.

Quote:

Originally Posted by chogall 

 

Both are 348 last, shouldn't be that different as long as Northcote isn't spit shined.

Getting a spit shine on the Northcote's waxy leather, whilst possible, would be a little like trying to push water uphill with a rake...

FWIW, I don't think that anything that pointed would ever look good with denim.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CTBrummie 

Shell cordovan lovers might be interested in one of the new season's models - the 'Skye 2' brogue boot in dark brown shell with a studded Dainite sole, retailing at £595. The 'Wicklow' boot (an apron-fronted derby boot) looks good, too. They're due in the shops in the next few weeks...

Let me start by saying that I love my C&Js, regular calf and shell alike. But crikey, full retail price C&J and in particular C&J shell is getting prohibitively expensive.

I have a UK price list for C&J dated Spring 2011 where the shell Harlech boot was 510GBP, this rose to 535GBP in Spring 2012 and now Autumn 2012 you say Skye 2 boot will be 595GBP. Maybe international punters can absorb these increases when the 20% VAT is deducted, but IMO punters in Blighty and Euroland are getting royally scr*wed here.

My experience has been that C&J  is competitively priced versus Church's, so I generally switched brands unless I could source Church's seconds or at sale through Herrings etc, however recently I have noted the price differential between the two narrowing very quickly. For example, Church's custom grade Grafton wingtip is 390GBP while C&Js comparable style Pembroke benchgrade is now 345GBP. Pound for pound Grafton, which is built like a tank is in my view an all-round better offering and this is replicated across a range of what you would call standard wardrobe shoes.

For further comparison the C&J Islay boot currently retails at 405GBP whereas I can get a Trickers Stow, whose speciality is country shoes and boots, from most UK stores for 355GBP RRP although I do believe Trickers are also puttting up their prices by approx 20GBP but it still puts the C&J ahead in terms of price but not necessarily quality.

If this price creep continues at the current pace I think my C&J buying days may be drawing to a close or perhaps I will just have to buy less :- (

I have a question concerning the color of C&J, which I hope someone can help me with. I'm familiar with the colors 'Chestnut' (Westbourne) and 'Dark brown' (Hallam) since I have both. But I'm interested in a shoe from C&J in 'Beechnut/Beechwood', so my question is, which color is it most like, 'Chestnut' or 'Dark brown'? Is the color dark? Does it have a red undertone? Since I want a dark color, is it possible to use medium/dark brown Sapphir polish/creme to make the shoe darker?

Also, if someone could, I would appreciate a picture of all three, alternatively two of the colors in the same pic beside eachother (one of the shoe colors being 'Beechnut/Beechwood' of course for comparison). Thanks in advance.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The7Ups 

 

Let me start by saying that I love my C&Js, regular calf and shell alike. But crikey, full retail price C&J and in particular C&J shell is getting prohibitively expensive.

 

I have a UK price list for C&J dated Spring 2011 where the shell Harlech boot was 510GBP, this rose to 535GBP in Spring 2012 and now Autumn 2012 you say Skye 2 boot will be 595GBP. Maybe international punters can absorb these increases when the 20% VAT is deducted, but IMO punters in Blighty and Euroland are getting royally scr*wed here.

 

My experience has been that C&J  is competitively priced versus Church's, so I generally switched brands unless I could source Church's seconds or at sale through Herrings etc, however recently I have noted the price differential between the two narrowing very quickly. For example, Church's custom grade Grafton wingtip is 390GBP while C&Js comparable style Pembroke benchgrade is now 345GBP. Pound for pound Grafton, which is built like a tank is in my view an all-round better offering and this is replicated across a range of what you would call standard wardrobe shoes.

 

For further comparison the C&J Islay boot currently retails at 405GBP whereas I can get a Trickers Stow, whose speciality is country shoes and boots, from most UK stores for 355GBP RRP although I do believe Trickers are also puttting up their prices by approx 20GBP but it still puts the C&J ahead in terms of price but not necessarily quality.

If this price creep continues at the current pace I think my C&J buying days may be drawing to a close or perhaps I will just have to buy less :- (

 

 

 

Yeah, all the remaining 'quality' English shoemakers have been steadily edging their prices up for a while. Iin fact, the only ones who have remained relatively consistent have been Church's, although some might argue that they were over-priced for quite some time (I like Church's, for the record).

Alfred Sargent have been the most spectacular of the lot. Their country boots and shoes used to rival Tricker's and were at a much lower price point. Their 'Weathertuff' country footwear models and their veldtschoen collection (the legacy of the famous Lotus veldts) were some of the most rugged, traditional English country footwear you could get.

Now, the few surviving models from those ranges (like the Dumfries brogue boot, and the Selkirk pictured above) are relatively hard to find and around a hundred quid a pair more expensive than before their little financial embarrassment last year, which led to them going all 'upmarket' on us to make inroads into foreign markets and hiking their prices across the board to match the quality of their new products.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kev777 


Isn't one of points of waxy leather is that it doesn't have a spit shined look ???

Exactly. If you're getting a spit shine on waxy leather of any sort, you either have a lot of time to spend on polishing or the leather has dried out too much and will then take a polish quite easily...