• Hi, I am the owner and main administrator of Styleforum. If you find the forum useful and fun, please help support it by buying through the posted links on the forum. Our main, very popular sales thread, where the latest and best sales are listed, are posted HERE

    Purchases made through some of our links earns a commission for the forum and allows us to do the work of maintaining and improving it. Finally, thanks for being a part of this community. We realize that there are many choices today on the internet, and we have all of you to thank for making Styleforum the foremost destination for discussions of menswear.
  • This site contains affiliate links for which Styleforum may be compensated.
  • We would like to welcome House of Huntington as an official Affiliate Vendor. Shop past season Drake's, Nigel Cabourn, Private White V.C. and other menswear luxury brands at exceptional prices below retail. Please visit the Houise of Huntington thread and welcome them to the forum.

  • STYLE. COMMUNITY. GREAT CLOTHING.

    Bored of counting likes on social networks? At Styleforum, you’ll find rousing discussions that go beyond strings of emojis.

    Click Here to join Styleforum's thousands of style enthusiasts today!

    Styleforum is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

Current Quality of Church's Shoes

Roger

Distinguished Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2005
Messages
1,937
Reaction score
16
How do the current run of Church's shoes stack up against what seems to be our standard for mid-priced English shoes, C&J bench grades? I know that they are often priced pretty high. Shoe for shoe (e.g., wingtip balmoral vs. wingtip balmoral) are they of superior quality (construction and leather) to C&J bench grades? Inferior? Somewhere between C&J bench grades and Handgrades? What about their lasts and styles?

Just for context, I'm considering a pair of the Church's Glenshee model (Norwegian-toe blucher with rubber sole). The alternative would be the C&J Onslow (very similar in appearance and materials) at about the same price. Of course, the EG Dover would be nicer, but it's more than 3 times the price.
 

norcaltransplant

Distinguished Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2003
Messages
2,522
Reaction score
163
I'm not completelt familiar with the Gleenshee model, but I can provide a little information about the current Church lineup as compared to Crockett Benchgrade and Handgrade. First of all, Church's are better known than Crockett in the US and subsequently retail for similar prices or slightly higher (around the $500 mark). Following the Prada acquisition, and even before, Church's preferred to make extensive use of cobbler calf or corrected grain in their offerings. This is still true today, though I believe the majority of the current models are full grain calfskin of similar quality to crockett. The second criticism of the brand, has been their use of linen linings. Older models were consistently half linen lined. For Fall 06 and Spring 07, the Madison Ave. Church boutique has replaced the majority of the linen lined shoes with full leather linings.

Lastly, the company has introduced a "premier" range of shoes with slightly better uppers but similar appearing construction to the Custom Grade models. They retail around 600ish. For that price, Crockett and Jones are clearly superior. The only advantage to the Church brand is their wider distribution which will inevitably lead to sale stock. Ive purchased their shoes for as little as $100 via Ebay, and $150 from sample sales. At those prices, Church's is much sleeker and closer to the British aesthetic than any comparable US made shoe.

With regards to lasting, the current 100s models favor a lower instep. Toe boxes are similar to the square toe C&J lasts, particularly the 240.
 

Sator

Distinguished Member
Joined
Apr 29, 2006
Messages
3,083
Reaction score
39
Originally Posted by norcaltransplant
Following the Prada acquisition, and even before, Church's preferred to make extensive use of cobbler calf or corrected grain in their offerings. This is still true today, though I believe the majority of the current models are full grain calfskin of similar quality to crockett.

When I visited their New York store on Madison Ave the place was full of corrected grain leather shoes selling for exorbitant prices. I ran out horrified.

You pay the price of an EG and get the quality of Loakes.

I would be reluctant to pay any more than about $120 for a pair of Church's.
 

montmorency

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2004
Messages
187
Reaction score
0
Royal tweed was a lower line of Church's. I imagine it still is.

The shoes look like they're made out of corrected grain leather to me.
 

Roger

Distinguished Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2005
Messages
1,937
Reaction score
16
Wrt the Royal Tweed shoes, I'd find it hard to be sure about whether or not they're made of corrected-grain leather. It's true that they are quite shiny--and this may be a clue that they are--but it might just indicate a high-shine polishing job. Also, most of the disadvantages of corrected-grain leather disappear with black shoes. Black really doesn't develop a patina the way brown and burgundy do, and it is this inability of brown or burgundy corrected-grain leather to develop the depth and character that full-grain leather does so beautifully that makes it really undesirable in those colors.
 

norcaltransplant

Distinguished Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2003
Messages
2,522
Reaction score
163
Originally Posted by ms244
At the risk of a hijack....

Are these Church's on ebay corrected grain or not and whats the expert opinion on quality?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...6920&rd=1&rd=1


Im almost sure the shoes are made from corrected grain. The Royal Tweed line from Church's is on par with many of the Loake offerings I've run across at Charles Tyrwhitt. They are, for the most part, completely forgettable for $100.

When I visited their New York store on Madison Ave the place was full of corrected grain leather shoes selling for exorbitant prices. I ran out horrified....I would be reluctant to pay any more than about $120 for a pair of Church's.
Ive found their full grain models pretty nice, and definitely superior to anything made by Loake. The linen linings make for a lighter shoe that breathes a bit better during the warmer months, though this might be a psychological trick. Here are my two examples from Church's:

church16wz.jpg

church4po.jpg

The monkstrap is from the Brooks Brothers English Made line prior to its replacement by C&J/Alfred Sargent labeled under the Peal Company.

The leather is easy to polish and the low instep of the last is well suited for my feet.
 

SimonC

Distinguished Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2007
Messages
2,461
Reaction score
2,793
I think we have a better time of things here in England. The ill-informed can still be over-charged for a pair of corrected grain Church's shoes, but having owned a number of pairs of shoes from both manufacturers, the two can be comparable in quality at the same price, as long as you choose carefully.

Certainly looking in the Regent Street store last week, they had a good selection of shoes at a reasonable price. And even here C&J can be harder to find.
 

norcaltransplant

Distinguished Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2003
Messages
2,522
Reaction score
163
The top pair (loafers) were purchased at the To Boot Sample Sale in November. These were definitely after the Prada acqusition. They feature a linen liner but the uppers are quite supple and take on a nice antique finish. The monkstraps are from the Brooks Brothers English made line, feature full leather linings, built on the 73 last, and probably manufactured before the Prada purchase. I've been happy with both shoes. I especially like the fit of hte 73 last.
 

mczewd

New Member
Joined
Jul 28, 2008
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Originally Posted by norcaltransplant
Following the Prada acquisition, and even before, Church's preferred to make extensive use of cobbler calf or corrected grain in their offerings. This is still true today, though I believe the majority of the current models are full grain calfskin of similar quality to crockett. The second criticism of the brand, has been their use of linen linings. Older models were consistently half linen lined.
I own two pairs of Church and two pairs of C&J benchgrade. I like both brands, but honestly speaking, I do not see what the beef is with Church shoes. I have the Salisbury loafer (73 last) in chestnut and it is fully lined to the toe. I always get compliments when I wear them. I also have a pair of the Church Redhill suede wingtip oxfords, also fully lined to the toe. It is on a more sleek, tapered last.
 

mr monty

Distinguished Member
Joined
Apr 12, 2002
Messages
6,319
Reaction score
1,261
Got these a couple of summers ago (Nordstrom's Rack) and the quality seems to be good.

IMG_1969.jpg
[/IMG]
 

HKTenor

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 14, 2007
Messages
126
Reaction score
23
I have five or six pairs, some pre-Prada and some more recent, and find them generally very solid. That said, I don't like the corrected grain models, and favor the calf or shell. In my experience the best grade models wear very well; I have some 12-year old Graftons which look brand new despite being in heavy rotation for much of that time.

I wouldn't put them below C&J, although they are a slightly different taste. Quality is definitely not anywhere near EG, but neither is the price. I do think they are better made than Loakes or Cheaney, but perhaps not enough to justify the price premium for some.
 

Niels

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 18, 2006
Messages
73
Reaction score
0
I have 4 pairs of Church's none pre-prada and the quality is fine compared to the C&J and Alden i own and definitely superior to a pair of Allen Edmonds.
 

Featured Sponsor

How important is full vs half canvas to you for heavier sport jackets?

  • Definitely full canvas only

    Votes: 55 36.7%
  • Half canvas is fine

    Votes: 59 39.3%
  • Really don't care

    Votes: 15 10.0%
  • Depends on fabric

    Votes: 26 17.3%
  • Depends on price

    Votes: 26 17.3%

Forum statistics

Threads
505,124
Messages
10,578,693
Members
223,880
Latest member
EdvardHelene
Top