Church's Appreciation Thread

[AWu]

For recent Churchs products, based on my experiece:
- the sole quality is on par with C&J benchgrade with better fudging
- upper leather is generally in bewteen Loake 1880 & C&J benchgrade
- comfortable insole (to me one of the most comfortable in my collection among CJ, Loakes, EG...)

Not the best in overall quality but not that worse as the reputation it's got here

 

[Stani777]

The full grain leathers that Church's use for their main line are way better then leathers of Loake 1880 and Cheaney.
Church's 'Highland Grain' leather (used in Grafton, McPherson, McFarlane) is exactly the same leather from the same tannery (Annonay as I recall) that C&J uses in their iconic Coniston, Islay boots and many other models.

 

[Reiver]

The full grain leathers that Church's use for their main line are way better then leathers of Loake 1880 and Cheaney.
Church's 'Highland Grain' leather (used in Grafton, McPherson, McFarlane) is exactly the same leather from the same tannery (Annonay as I recall) that C&J uses in their iconic Coniston, Islay boots and many other models.

Good to know, I really like the grain leather on my Coniston's.

From what I have seen Cheaney leathers seem superior to Loake 1880 but not 100% sure.

 

[Reiver]

For recent Churchs products, based on my experiece:
- the sole quality is on par with C&J benchgrade with better fudging
- upper leather is generally in bewteen Loake 1880 & C&J benchgrade
- comfortable insole (to me one of the most comfortable in my collection among CJ, Loakes, EG...)

Not the best in overall quality but not that worse as the reputation it's got here

I would agree, the insole on my Grafton's is very comfortable.

The upper leather on mine is shell so superior to my own C&J benchgrade shoes.

 

[rakuskus]

My chetwynd nevada calf.

Post Prada bought in bicester village outlet
mark as sub but they allow me to choose the best shoes from their stock.

I have to say, I can't find any defects from all of them until they told me whats wrong. most of the time its just small scartchs that could happen on your first wear.

 

[rakuskus]

The full grain leathers that Church's use for their main line are way better then leathers of Loake 1880 and Cheaney.
Church's 'Highland Grain' leather (used in Grafton, McPherson, McFarlane) is exactly the same leather from the same tannery (Annonay as I recall) that C&J uses in their iconic Coniston, Islay boots and many other models.

Are you sure they are using annonay's? since cheaper brand like crown shoes and john white use them.

I own cheaney, church, and loake 1880. to be honest I could not tell bad and good full grain leather before tons of wear. From experience loake and church's leather need more regular conditioning, otherwise the part of the leather where it crease feel like it could crack. Cheaney leather feels more elastic, it's hard to explain but in simpler way its feels "stronger".

Just want to put this out there
I would much prefer shoes that have attractive last or model and fit well on me.
Full grain quality even among the same brand may vary because they are using different part of the hyde for each shoe.
Most of the time they will last as long as you need it to be if you give them PROPER CARE.

 

[Stani777]

Are you sure they are using annonay's? since cheaper brand like crown shoes and john white use them.

Most tanneries produce several sorts of leathers, quite a different in quality and price. I'm quite sure that both Church's and C&J use leather from Annonay amongst several other tanneries. In this specifically case, speaking from memory I did a mistake, my fault. The scotch grain that C&J uses comes from Du Puy, look at the article at the link below.

Curiosities - Various things from the shoe world nr. 8 - Shoegazing.com

I've spent the past week in Northampton, where among other things I visited several factories. Heres some curiosities that I snapped up during these

shoegazing.com

I'm quite sure that 'highland grain' that Church's use, comes from the same tannery. I have both C&J and Church's shoes in this leather and it feels and looks exactly the same, with exactly the same grain pattern.

 

[stephenaf2003]

Shannon Crup

 

[mrjamescost]

The biggest scandal out there today is the outrageous lie that Church’s shoes are inferior to other mid-tier quality shoe brands. They may be a bit more expensive, but the full grain leather shoes are excellent quality. Their lasts are elegant and the shoes are the most comfortable around. Give me a 173 last dress shoe from Church’s over a dress shoe put out by Crockett & Jones ANY day of the week.

 

[AWu]

View attachment 1290647 View attachment 1290646

My chetwynd nevada calf.

Post Prada bought in bicester village outlet
mark as sub but they allow me to choose the best shoes from their stock.

I have to say, I can't find any defects from all of them until they told me whats wrong. most of the time its just small scartchs that could happen on your first wear.

What's the cost now to get a pair at bicester village?

 

[rakuskus]

What's the cost now to get a pair at bicester village?

It varies.
Sometimes you can find a great deal.

for reference

got my ryder boots for 180GBP new
Consul for 195GBP new
Chetwynd for 230GBP sub

 

[lexmann]

The biggest scandal out there today is the outrageous lie that Church’s shoes are inferior to other mid-tier quality shoe brands. They may be a bit more expensive, but the full grain leather shoes are excellent quality. Their lasts are elegant and the shoes are the most comfortable around. Give me a 173 last dress shoe from Church’s over a dress shoe put out by Crockett & Jones ANY day of the week.

I have been wearing Church's (since 1997) and many other brands English Italian Spanish and I agree with mrjamescost.

 

[mrjamescost]

I have been wearing Church's (since 1997) and many other brands English Italian Spanish and I agree with mrjamescost.

I did mean to say 'other mid-tier quality ENGLISH shoe brands’. I cannot comment on others. I have no experience. But if you believe that to be the case, having owned many quality shoes from different countries over several decades, then Church’s must be fairly decent. What annoys me is that I was deceived by the same lie when I was first looking into quality dress shoes only a couple of years back (and so avoided a Church’s Outlet store only a few miles from where I live). So-called ‘shoe aficionados’ would have you believe that Church’s are a criminally overpriced, inferior rip-off that will fall apart in short order. That Church’s are living off a past reputation. Well, all I can say is, these people can keep on peddling their fibs. Because it means more offerings (at lower prices) for people like myself and others that have learned the truth, often learning through painful (expensive) experience.

 

[lexmann]

I did mean to say 'other mid-tier quality ENGLISH shoe brands’. I cannot comment on others. I have no experience. But if you believe that to be the case, having owned many quality shoes from different countries over several decades, then Church’s must be fairly decent. What annoys me is that I was deceived by the same lie when I was first looking into quality dress shoes only a couple of years back (and so avoided a Church’s Outlet store only a few miles from where I live). So-called ‘shoe aficionados’ would have you believe that Church’s are a criminally overpriced, inferior rip-off that will fall apart in short order. That Church’s are living off a past reputation. Well, all I can say is, these people can keep on peddling their fibs. Because it means more offerings (at lower prices) for people like myself and others that have learned the truth, often learning through painful (expensive) experience.

Why I bought a pair of Church's? When I was young I worked at FootLocker in Hong Kong. There was an Italian gentleman who visited Hong Kong on business trip quite often and he came the shop because his son wanted him to get Nike Air Max runners. This gentleman was in shoes manufacturing business in Italy. His feet were the same size as his son's so he just took the size that fitted him. He was wearing a pair of Church's diplomat when he tried on a pair of Nike Air Max runner for his son. So an Italian man making shoes in Italy but wears Church's. What does that tell you?
I also own a few pairs of C&J handgrades but still think Church's leather is better (custom grade or above). Italian Santoni also uses great leathers. Period.

 

[Stani777]

133G last gents, hows the fit? Is it shorter and larger(wider) then 173/136/155, do you wear the same size in those?