Cheaney

Look pretty good. I own a Hoggs (Cheaney made) boot - Rannoch - and it's excellent. I would say it's up there with Crockett & Jones benchgrade and Trickers. If you look closely at Cheaney's range you'll find veldtshoen construction (only found on C&J and AS), Itshide soles, a full refurbishment service, etc.

The shoes are about £50 less than either C&J and Trickers, but both have put up their price somewhat.

Bodileys have ditched AS in favour of Cheaney.

Lodger footwear has also followed suit as such and stopped using AS and are using Cheaney for all their shoes from now onwards. But this may well be a price point issue. Conversely Cheaney has been dropped by Gieves & Hawkes and will not be producing any more shoes for them.

I'd like to point out before this turns into a Cheaney appreciation thread that Cheaney's own range of shoes IMHO have somewhat suffered since the recent ownership change.

Many of their designs are now fashion forward, prices have risen & quality has not in general improved. The leather is not always consistently on par with C&J Benchgrade/ Trickers, they still suffer from premature dry out more than other comparable brands and have been plagued by the use of poor quality shanks which develop squeaks - both these issues are ofcourse readily and easily fixable should they affect your purchase, but these deficiencies to separate them from better makers. The best Cheaney own label shoes are the excellent Imperial range which offer great value for money and are more consistently on par with the likes of C&J.

Cheaney's private label work is extensive and this is really where they have shown their quality by manufacturing to spec which is often better than their own label. But these need to be handled as not all are high quality examples as it varies from label to label, eg Cheaney produce some relatively poor offerings for Jeffery West and Suit Supply that can retail for £270 whereas the aforementioned Lodger shoes are somewhere between C&J benchgrade and handgrade.

I do like Cheaney but think it's a company whose products need to be monitored closely over the coming year (their 125 year anniversary) to figure out exactly where they sit in the landscape of quality shoemakers.

Originally Posted by Northampton Novice

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great post, very interesting.

Personally I have a pair of Cheaney black cap-toe oxfords which are my go-to conservative formal shoes. They've served me well for a few years now - while i'm no expert on shoe construction they are one of the nicest fitting pairs of shoes that I own - seems a shame that I don't often have much use for such a conservative shoe.

It would be interesting if someone in the know could do a direct comparison between cheaney and, say, one of the bigger english companies like C&J in terms of leather and construction quality etc.

Second what NN has said.

I have three out-sourced Cheaney shoes - oxford for Gieves, boot and loafer for Jeffery West; the shoes for the former where better then the latter (however, having bagged JW's for £65, I will not complain). I do have a pair of Cheaney branded shoes and would put them below Gieves but above JW.

Although a good value-for-money option especially on sale, I would rather spend that extra money on a pair of Church's, C&J or Edward Green. Cheaney is a good middle-ground, not everyone who wants a decent pair of shoes wants to spend £300+ per pair (or on every pair).

to be fair, the three other makers you mention there mac have quite a range in price. Even a bench grade C&J is $100 more, and the EGs are like $400 more.

I compared a bench grade C&J to a Cheaney and did not see a huge difference, but I'm not a shoe expert.

That said, at around the price point of allen edmonds, i think cheaney offers a better product.

There are difference between benchgrade C&J and Cheaney's and I would say worth the extra premium; however, the differences when comparing Cheaney's to handgrade C&J and EG in terms of value for money are probably not worth the extra premium.

The higher up a scale you look, small differences cost a lot more. For example, the differences between Cleverley's Anthony range and bespoke shoes could be small but there is a £1k+ difference; whereas comparing Barkers Professional range and Cheaney's, there are a lot of differences but only a £100 increase.

agreed, there are always diminishing marginal differences.

C&J benchgrades are probably better shoes, but i felt like the cheaneys will still look good and have as long a life.

Originally Posted by Quadcammer

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agreed, there are always diminishing marginal differences.

C&J benchgrades are probably better shoes, but i felt like the cheaneys will still look good and have as long a life.

It is not fair to C&J to compare their shoes to cheaney--Mercedes and Toyota. Absurd comparison. Cheaney maybe good for the money but that is all that can be said.

wtf

Originally Posted by Burton

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It is not fair to C&J to compare their shoes to cheaney--Mercedes and Toyota. Absurd comparison. Cheaney maybe good for the money but that is all that can be said.

sorry...completely disagree.

C&J makes an excellent product. But a run of the mill C&J bench grade is hardly a mercedes to Cheaney's toyota.

From everything I've seen, Cheaney consistently delivers a good looking, long lasting goodyear welted shoe. No, the leather is not quite as good, and the construction is a bit less exemplary, but at this level, you are already above about 70% of the shoes on the market.

I'd say you are looking at Mercedes vs. lexus. I'd know, I have a benz.

Originally Posted by Quadcammer

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sorry...completely disagree.

C&J makes an excellent product. But a run of the mill C&J bench grade is hardly a mercedes to Cheaney's toyota.

From everything I've seen, Cheaney consistently delivers a good looking, long lasting goodyear welted shoe. No, the leather is not quite as good, and the construction is a bit less exemplary, but at this level, you are already above about 70% of the shoes on the market.

I'd say you are looking at Mercedes vs. lexus. I'd know, I have a benz.

Really? How many uppers does C&J import from India? Very silly discussion and only one you can find on SF.

Originally Posted by Burton

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Really? How many uppers does C&J import from India? Very silly discussion and only one you can find on SF.

Answer: none, as far as I know and this is exactly the same for Cheaney!

Originally Posted by Northampton Novice

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Answer: none, as far as I know and this is exactly the same for Cheaney!

Oh, so Cheney just manage to make the leather look like it comes from there. Interesting.

Originally Posted by Burton

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Oh, so Cheney just manage to make the leather look like it comes from there. Interesting.

Well since you're the Indian leather expert I wouldn't dream of enquiring how you are able to make such arbitrary comparisons

I've actually just bought a pair of Cheaney Pennine IIR boots. I'm going to return them because they are a tad too small, but overall I think the quality is excellent. The stitching and the finishing is superb, they are nicely burnished, and the Itshide sole unit is good. I'm no expert on leather quality, but it looks and feels excellent.

Price range is a dodgy call: in 2007 a C&J Coniston boot was £285, now it's £350. The Cheaney boot is £270. They are placing their shoes below C&J and stealing a march on Grenson and Alfred Sargent. There's no point pitching against the big boys. Below that, of course, you have Loake, Barker (who make some nice shoes), etc.

I've owned the Coniston and I'd say that it is a slightly better quality boot, though not by much in fact. Photo finish. If you want a dress boot look at C&J, a robust boot look at Cheaney. The boot is miles better than AS's Culford, which I've also owned.

The Cheaney boot is a bit like an old fashioned British ammo boot. It's a bastard to put on and is a very close fit (it would probably be better with ski hooks), but still.

There's genuine pride at Cheaney - the website is not just bullshit marketing spin. I believe this comes through in the product which feels fresh and lively, and there's real attention to detail. When you've handled lots of shoes you can pick it up at once.