Loake Shoemakers line

[Drng]

What are your guys thoughts on this line of Loakes?

I just purchased the chatworth on sale for $125, but now am having buyer's remorse. I thought I'd see whether SF will rub salt into the wound.

http://www.loake.co.uk/chatsworth.html

 

[Ilovelobbs]

What are your guys thoughts on this line of Loakes?

I just purchased the chatworth on sale for $125, but now am having buyer's remorse. I thought I'd see whether SF will rub salt into the wound.

http://www.loake.co.uk/chatsworth.html

Their 1880 Collection are still made in the UK - the rest I are now made in India.

For $160, I think your model is made in India. Take a look deep down inside bottom section of instep and it should be printed in silver Made In India - it's stratically printed because:

1) It's hard to find
2) You will easily rub it off after 2/3 wears.

When selecting shoes, two important criteria should be used: Price & Make.

PRICE: A good pair of welted (Goodyear OR HAND welted) premium calfskin shoes, made in by skilled craftsman will cost around $400 to £600. Some makes are a lot lower, but buying them will always mean accepting compromises as regard to the low quality leather and poor finishing.

MAKE: The second most important criterion is the Make! Contrary to popular opinion, a good make really is a guarantee of high quality. A customer will only buy a poor make of shoes only once. The good makes have all been on the market for over 100 years and the same bloddylast!!!. For top end shoes, potential buyers should consider the following makers: Edward Green; John Lobb; Vass; Saint Crispin. And for the lower end section: Church's; Barker’s and Cheaney. For middle market: Crockett & Jones and Carmina.

 

[skeptic]

I don't know if the model you posted is partially made in India, but if it doesn't say calf leather, it is probably corrected grain. Avoid. The 1880 line is decent though.

 

[Ilovelobbs]

Correction, anything not stamped Made in England is now Made In India.
And that stuff is all the shiny cheap patent leather that fashion houses (Prada/GucciArmani)
uses - so looks good for first 3/4 months then starts to fall apart, and like FASHION, you will need to throw away the rubbish and re-build your collection again.

But....some of the stuff coming out of India is also of good quality - but these are for other shoe makers.....I won't divulge names. You know who you are.


If you get to own and wear Loake 1880 Made in England collections, you'll notice they are decent shoes, slightly below the C&J's benchgrade model - BUT at 30-40% retail savings to C&J's....
The 1880 range hasn't taken off compared to the C&J's benchgrade because they are tarnished by the same cheapo Loake brush....

 

[YRR92]

It does say those are made in England, though. I have no experience with Loakes, but I'm curious about them. I'm not sure if there's a quality difference between the 1880 line (where everything is made in England) and the Shoemaker line (where about half the items, including the boots you've got there, are made in England), but it does seem that the 1880 line is pretty much all calf or suede, while the majority of the Shoemaker line is CG. Those boots don't look like corrected grain to me, but I'm not really well-enough informed to say that they aren't -- they may just be nice-looking CG.

 

[Ilovelobbs]

It does say those are made in England, though. I have no experience with Loakes, but I'm curious about them. I'm not sure if there's a quality difference between the 1880 line (where everything is made in England) and the Shoemaker line (where about half the items, including the boots you've got there, are made in England), but it does seem that the 1880 line is pretty much all calf or suede, while the majority of the Shoemaker line is CG. Those boots don't look like corrected grain to me, but I'm not really well-enough informed to say that they aren't -- they may just be nice-looking CG.

Who said they are corrected grain?

Look at the pictures, tt's blatantly low grade calf leather...

 

[YRR92]

Who said they are corrected grain?

Look at the pictures, tt's blatantly low grade calf leather...

The boots in question, or the rest of the line? The boots: cheapish calf. Most other shoes in the line: CG, as far as I can tell.

I wasn't going to assume the OP was able to distinguish between calf and CG at a glance. I know I didn't know the distinction three posts into posting on forums.

 

[Gaza]

I am thinking about buying these Loake brogues from the shoemaker line. Can anyone tell me whether they look to be

http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/171303430351

 

[Patek14]



MAKE: The second most important criterion is the Make! Contrary to popular opinion, a good make really is a guarantee of high quality. A customer will only buy a poor make of shoes only once. The good makes have all been on the market for over 100 years and the same bloddylast!!!.  For top end shoes, potential buyers should consider the following makers: Edward Green; John Lobb; Vass; Saint Crispin.  And for the lower end section: Church's; Barker’s and Cheaney.  For middle market: Crockett & Jones and Carmina.

LOL at calling crocket and jones "middle" market. I can think of a wall of crap far below C&J in the "middle"

 

[Gaza]

http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/171303430351

Can anyone confirm whether these look OK?