Paul Sargent (formerly Alfred Sargent) Appreciation Thread

[emptym]

I'm glad Paul Sargent was able to get the workers, lasts, and equipment, and I hope his new endeavor goes well. It's been good to see older members, like @Groover and @clintonf who are longtime AS fans. Here's my AS shoes, which have brought me a lot of joy over the past 14 yrs or so:

They're a little dusty from lack of wear during covid. The only one that's actually 14 yrs old is the suede pair. I bought those on eBay, and they were the first I'd heard of AS. Then I reached out to them to ask if they could make a pair in calfskin, which I wrote about here (w/ pics of their making). After those, I asked about a balmoral boot, which eventually became the Miller. They asked if they could use the design and offered to make me that pair and another in exchange. So I got the wingtips shown as well. This was during the recession, when they were restructuring to offer shoes at a higher level of quality. So both pairs were kind of experimental handgrades. The last two pairs I bought after the exclusive and handgrade ranges were fully developed: the high shell boots (based on the Holborn) and the slip ons (Carroll's w/o tassels). Those are my newest pairs, and they're almost 10 yrs old. Wow. My thanks to those who made them.

Someone recently mentioned that AS doesn't make lasted trees. That could be, but they did, at least the Carroll loafers came with them. The other two were from AFPoS.

for memory

I love that video. Here's another good one:

 

[dukenukem4ever]

I'm glad Paul Sargent was able to get the equipment and workers, and I hope his new endeavor goes well. It's been good to see older members, like @Groover and @clintonf who are longtime AS fans. Here's my AS shoes, which have brought me a lot of joy over the past 14 yrs or so:

View attachment 1563897

They're a little dusty from lack of wear during covid. The only one that's actually 14 yrs old is the suede pair. I bought those on eBay, and they were the first I'd heard of AS. Then I reached out to them to ask if they could make a pair in calfskin, which I wrote about here (w/ pics of their making). After those, I asked about a balmoral boot, which eventually became the Miller. They asked if they could use the design and offered to make me that pair and another in exchange. So I got the wingtips shown, as well. This was during the recession, when they were restructuring to offer shoes at a higher level of quality. So both pairs were kind of experimental handgrades. The last two pairs I bought after the exclusive and handgrades were fully developed: the high shell boots (based on the Holborn) and the slip ons (Carroll's w/o tassels). Those are my newest pairs, and they're almost 10 yrs old. Wow. My thanks to those who made them.

Someone recently mentioned that AS doesn't make lasted trees. That could be, but they did, at least the Carroll loafers came with them. The other two were from AFPoS.

I love that video. Here's another good one:

Can confirm they made lasted shoe trees.

 

[dukenukem4ever]

I'm so lucky I was able to snag a pair of Moores with hinged shoe trees. Definitely a treat and worthwhile investment!

 

[LPMIII]

Can confirm they made lasted shoe trees.

They absolutely did. Hinged trees for their handgrade models (at least at my time of inquiry). However, when I contacted them early last year, I was told that they were not longer producing lasted trees for their Exclusive range lasts.

 

[dukenukem4ever]

Pediwear still has some odd stock of Exclusive last shoe trees but I can't confirm if they actually have in stock or not. You also have to GOOGLE the terms "alfred sargent shoe tree pediwear" to come across the products.

 

[dukenukem4ever]

This past week after hearing about Alfred Sargent closing, I was really "depressed" in the sense that I missed out on some shoes that I was hesitating to purchase from the brand. So much so that I *almost* pulled the trigger on a pair of sapphire St. James II from Gaziano Girling hahaha... I kind of see the St. James as a "spiritual" partner of the Moores.

 

[oldworldelegance]

The snow has melted here in Stockholm so I took my AS Armfields (104 last) for dinner.

Edit: I've just realised I can embed the image on the post.

 

[Luigi_M]

Some heathen might think that 87 last is boring.
I say that it's just timelessly elegant.

 

[Tom Kyle]

Pediwear still has some odd stock of Exclusive last shoe trees but I can't confirm if they actually have in stock or not. You also have to GOOGLE the terms "alfred sargent shoe tree pediwear" to come across the products.

Bodileys still offer some sizes on six different AS lasts in their accessories section.

 

[LPMIII]

Cherry Moore's finally getting some use again.

 

[joman8390]

I recently picked up a pair of AS for J.Crew boots and they have the hardest heels I've ever experienced (I own 50+ pars of GYW footwear of various makes), they feel like standing on concrete. Does anyone have any thoughts as to why this is and a possible fix? I'd like to avoid using an insole if I can, but I'll have to resort to that if I can't figure anything else out.

Thanks!

 

[Christian GV.]

For AS lasted shoe trees, would you recommend choosing the same size or go one better with a half size up for a more snug shoe tree fit?

 

[LPMIII]

I've always gone with the same size (save for one) and they all seemed to appropriately fill and tension the shoes. The one odd ball is a half size too small and even that works OK enough. Where are you finding AS trees?

 

[flylikeneagle]

For AS lasted shoe trees, would you recommend choosing the same size or go one better with a half size up for a more snug shoe tree fit?

Same size. In my opinion there's no point in getting lasted trees if you don't use same size. I have lasted trees from G&G and Bonafe and they all fit very snug as-is. Going up half a size wouldn't make the fit any better - if anything could possibly damage the shoe from applying too much pressure?

 

[flylikeneagle]

I've always gone with the same size (save for one) and they all seemed to appropriately fill and tension the shoes. The one odd ball is a half size too small and even that works OK enough. Where are you finding AS trees?

Bodiley's carries a bunch. Pediwear may have a few left in stock.