alfred sargent shoes.

[chapunso]

Does anybody have any experience?. i would like to buy a pair form pediewar, over the net.

 

[brescd01]

Extremely good value, stick to Premier and Knightsbridge lines, wide variation in style from model to model, some hideous (avoid the wholecuts), others very nice. Look at some central models at Brooks to get an idea.

 

[alflauren]

** Thread resurrection in progress! **

Does anyone have any further thoughts on the Alfred Sargent line? There are some that interest me at Pediwear, and the price seems reasonable for the look.

 

[sho'nuff]

i believe alfred makes some or all of the Brooks shoes right now, if you go to your nearest brooks dealer you can see for yourself the quality and wear of the shoes.
personally, sargent is more in the conservative traditional brit shoe genre, and they do a decent job. channeled soles, row of nails on the footbed, makes for a substantial look, and the leathers are very decent. price for around 250-350 is not that bad, although they do have occasional 25% off sale at times, and once in awhile , clearance.

 

[well-kept]

I've been wearing a pair of Sargent/Peal chukkas quite frequently the past few months. I'm very pleased with them. Based on these, my only pair of Sargents in a collection that in the English dept includes multiple pairs of EG, C&J and Lobb I'd rate them very highly.

 

[jjl5000]

I have several pairs of Sargents and until recently, I had always been satisfied with their quality. Recent purchases however, have shown a marked reduction in quality (or quality control at least) and a pair of premier wholecuts had to be returned.

The following is an extract from an email I sent the retailer who was in fairness concerned about my appraisal of the afforementioned shoes quality...

Again, pure speculation as to whether AS are outsourcing and the consequential impact this may be having on quality. In the last week I have received 3 pairs of AS, 2 from yourself - 1 was fine and looked to be from the old school i.e. construction standard is identical to older shoes I have. The other as you will have opportunity to see for yourself, is poorly constructed & finished. The 3rd pair came from Pediwear and whilst I don't think these are as good as the old school shoes, their was no justifiable reason to return them although I was rather underwhelmed by their quality.

Perhaps I have been unlucky but even so, quality control should be managing this situation.

As a checklist John, these are all the issues (some in fairness are almost inconsequential) that I noticed when inspecting the Shaftsbury's:

Left shoe:

- Creasing of uppers around the lower heel area (cannot believe AS would champion this standard of workmanship if questioned)
- Uppers are blemished (I do not think this is part of the finish...just thought I'd get that in should someone dare to suggest it!)
- Heel top lift has only one row of brass pins (should be two and indeed their are two rows on 3 other pairs of AS I have)
- Rubber segment in top lift is ill fitting where it joins the leather (there should be no visible gap)

Right shoe:

- One small crease in the upper as it tucks into the outer heel (not really an issue given the AS price point. If the shoes were Edward Green's / Lobb's, it would be unacceptable and I would expect the shoe would to be graded a 'second')
- Upper is also blemished (particularly around the outer toe area)
- Upper is damaged (check the seam at the top of the facing / tongue - the leather right on the seam has a small tear and the stitching on the seam only a cm away is a little discoloured)
- Heel top lift has only one row of brass pins

The right shoe is actually OK, the real issue as previously stated is the significant and completely unmissable creasing around the left shoe's lower heel.

Regards,


Would other members care to comment on their recent experience with Sargent's quality?

 

[misterjase]

I think the Premier Collection is nice with value for price. The leather is burnished calf, the soles are channelled but not oak bark tanned.