St. Crispin's Appreciation Thread



JoeGat said:

You may not realize this but St Crispins lasts usually should be worn one half size smaller and wider.

The creasing on that shoe is identical to the one pair of St Crispins (my first pair) which I bought thinking it was my size.

I have since gone down 1/2 size and although slightly tight at first wear the remainder of my SC shoes make Edward Green look and feel like cheap crap by comparison.

 

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I usually take US 11 D or US 10.5 E

in SC I take 9.5F - fits nicely, and ultrasnug, like bespoke almost.

Joe - post your SC photos.

What styles do you own?

My EGs are also great.

ThinkDerm said:

I usually take US 11 D or US 10.5 E
in SC I take 9.5F - fits nicely, and ultrasnug, like bespoke almost.

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This is exactly what I keep hearing over and over from St Crispins enthusiasts.

US 10E and my best fitting SCs are 8.5G.

Bespoke? I know exactly what you mean, I own bespokes from JL of St James, from Cleverley's and from JL of Paris and the MTO SC's are right up there.

But it all depends wether the SC last fits your feet.

I take JLP 7.5E and the SC classic size 7 F is just too tight. 7.5 is right.

ThinkDerm said:

Joe - post your SC photos.
What styles do you own?
My EGs are also great.

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You want SC's? Let me show you my latest 2 pairs which arrived just in time for the Holidays:-

1- 105 in Burgundy / Merlot marbled finish (with very slight almost imperceptible golden chestnut undertones). Hand polished to perfection with the usual typical SC hand carved and hand finished shoe trees which slip in and fit like high performance racing pistons! None of that cheap crappy Edward Green "one size fits all" rubbish here.











2- 401 Balmoral boot in thick but very soft hide, nice heavy firm but supple scotch grain shaft, sensually soft and smooth inner lining, worked to perfection by the most expert hands. This is what "hand made" is supposed to mean.

Note the particularly beautiful marbled shoe. Coffee and chocolate on a bed of golden butter and bronze. These are absolutely spectacular!

Fit? Well, they feel like all the angels in heaven were sent down to massage your feet all day.









I know they are affiliate SF vendors and I should not say anything bad about them here, but hey, I need to say it like it is, trust me, EG and G&G don't come anywhere even close to SC, not even by a very, very, long, long mile.

At this quality I would be happy to pay St Crispins double the price which the average boring old "yesterday's hero" EG charges for their very average quality with their ill fitting shoe trees, or the over rated GG shoes, but, at similar prices? it is just a no brainer? These SC's are mega bargains, I cannot think of better bang for my buck.


Also, buying SC is a much easier and smoother transaction than any of the annoying experiences I always have with the English MTO and RTW brands.

My only gripe is that SC used to supply boot trees and I am experiencing a little trouble finding boot trees for this pair of 401's

Nice still life shots. Any pics of them in the wild?

I believe that's a 104 instead of 105. 105 is with brogueing. Very nice color/finish on the shoe by the way.



Stc boots in the wild on the NYC subway today

I agree with what you said about how many people have said to size 0.5 down on St Crispins. I strongly disagree against this though, unless you like a super tight fit.

I'm a 7.5 UK in most shoes, I own 2 pairs of UK7 and the boots is a UK7.5. In my opinion, I think I am a 7.5F in Saint crispin and I regret buying two pairs in UK7. Those two pairs in a smaller size fits me very very snugly, and hurts my pinky toe (callus forms) after walking too much



ezlau said:

I believe that's a 104 instead of 105. 105 is with brogueing. Very nice color/finish on the shoe by the way.

Stc boots in the wild on the NYC subway today

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This looks great



NAMOR said:

This looks great

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Brotherhood of the boots Wore them in the snow, rain, and then hail today in NYC and visited Leffot. #wearwithoutcare



JoeGat said:

I understand, but then, going down half a size and not sizing up a width does not really help. Once you get the size which fits length, the next step, normally, is to fit for width. Sometimes it requires sizing up 2 extra widths.

This is why I size down from  UK 9E to a 8.5G in SC, with great success. Of course, the last is very important as well when you look for that bespoke fit.

There is no way in Hades I could do this with EG or G&G, no matter which last we try it with.

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You might be right. My last UK7 shoe that I made back in October 2012, I requested Philip to add a little cork to the last, about 1-2mm on each side. So far I've only worn that new shoe once, can't tell if it really helps yet, but I think you are correct about trying to find the correct width. Just wondering though, is it possible for a shoe to be 're-lasted' with a slightly bigger last with the same amount of leather currently? As in, can my UK7 be adjusted to be wider / into a UK7.5?

I checked with Steven at Leffot today, and apparently a resoling job with StC is about 130 euros or so (much cheaper than Lobb who apparently charges $350), and I believe they condition the leather and relast it during this process? I might be wrong though.



JoeGat said:

if "7 - 7.5" you mean sizing UP, I don't think so, but it won't hurt to ask.

If you mean "7 E to 7 F" I say yes they can.

I know this because I had a size 8.5F resoled and SC actually rang me to tell me that they could see by the wear of the shoe that it was slightly too narrow for my foot.

Although the leather had already stretched by then, of course, and you could see a slight distortion where my feet had pushed the shoes out of shape slightly, they offered to "reshape" the shoe to eliminate the slight bulges.

After asking for my go-ahead they resoled and "reshaped" the shoes on the original last, only they used a "loaded" toe box, corked at exactly the spot where my toes used to feel a little too much pressure. Well, those shoes came back and fitted like slippers after that.

Not only that, but the "bulge" was gone too, the shoes were reshaped to fit perfectly - no stretches or bulges.

NB!!!!     They said they did not use a 8.5 G last because an 8.5 G last would have stretched the HEEL as well. The 8.5F heel of my shoes were a perfect fit by then, having formed beautifully to the shape of my foot, they only needed to widen the toe box by about a bee's dick..

 

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Interesting. Thanks for the information, I might need to consult with Philip to resole my other two pairs to maybe make them slightly wider when they are due for resoling (maybe in a year or two). Care to confirm what the resoling cost is with St. Crispin? From your description, it seems like they do make good observations and suggestions.



PiedBeau said:

this maybe ?

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it wins



ezlau said:

Brotherhood of the boots Wore them in the snow, rain, and then hail today in NYC and visited Leffot. #wearwithoutcare

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I coined "Brotherhood of the boot" TM

We should do a roll call sometime.