Alfred Sargent vs George Cleverly MTO Programs

[SRacer]

So after a few tries with Crockett and Jones without satisfaction I've been reading about MTO shoes with Alfred Sargent and George Cleverly peaking my curiosity. Does anyone have a good point of comparison between the two? Quality and selection of leathers? Fit and finish? Range of customization?

 

[Joenobody0]



So after a few tries with Crockett and Jones without satisfaction I've been reading about MTO shoes with Alfred Sargent and George Cleverly peaking my curiosity. Does anyone have a good point of comparison between the two? Quality and selection of leathers? Fit and finish? Range of customization?

What level of Cleverley are you interested in? The Anthony Cleverley range is going to be more expensive than, I think, anything that AS offers. You might be able to get the lower quality Cleverley MTO as well - it's been posted on this forum that they are made by C&J FWIW.

 

[emptym]

I have no experience w/ Cleverly, but I do recommend AS. They have a very high range of customization stylistically and in terms of leather. Plus they can adjust lasts for you and even have a shoe made to your own last made by a third party.

 

[Gdot]

It also might be helpful to know what particular issues you had with C&J.

 

[bullethead]

Ive had a pair of shoes and boots done by cleverly, and though i am happy with them, they were expensive. one thing to note, cleverly shares some lasts with c&j-mine were done on the 348 and 337

 

[SRacer]

The main issue was that the underlying quality of the calf leather, tanning, and finish were highly variable. The first pair I bought were very nice and aged well. The second and third which were more recently purchased were constructed of leather that appeared to be of different grades within the same pair and the tanning and finish uneven. Keep in mind these were bench-grade but I expected a little more for the money.

On top of that, it has been hard to get the right fit given that C&J is a mail order exercise for me. Rather than hunt for the right fit while dealing with quality control issues I'm of mind to just bite the bullet and visit Leffot or Leater Soul and go for AS or GC MTO.

 

[upnorth]



The main issue was that the underlying quality of the calf leather, tanning, and finish were highly variable.

This is true of any maker and it being a product derived from nature cannot be consistently produced in large quantities of uniformly high quality. It is up the the firm as well as the clicker to acquire and use the best available leathers.

Unfortunately, based on my previous purchases, the leather issue plagues both of the makers you are considering as well, good calfskin is getting very costly and rare. Having said that, I am going to echo Mark aka emptym my preference, pound for pound, goes to AS for their flexibility in customization and responsiveness. They can make anything you want to roughly two levels of quality - Exclusive (which is similar to C&J handgrades) or AS Handgrade in any leather of your choice in any fitting on their numerous lasts. You can order them directly from Chay of AS, through leffot or Richard of Shoehealer. I have no direct experience with Leffot but both Richard and Chay were wonderful to work with and they will take good care of you. In fact, before you consider MTO, you might want to look at the in-stock AS exclusives first.

Not that I am putting GC down or anything, they are most accomodating when you opt for bespoke, which goes without saying, and also obviously is on another (price and quality) level altogether. I find anything below that to be abit too rigid for my taste, this includes the AC range.

In my limited experience, as far as leather quality on RTW and even MTO, only EG has proven to be the most consistent for me but YMMV as my shoe collection is statistically insignificant to have any weight.

 

[Pliny]

good answer ^^

 

[SRacer]

upnorth,

Thanks for the very candid comparison of the two. I'll go ahead and give AS as well as EG a further look.