English shoes

deveandepot1 · Jun 3, 2010

Originally Posted by Sanguis Mortuum

It's hard to quantify 'value for money' sometimes as there are certainly diminishing returns past a certain point, but it depends on your definition of value. An Â£800 pair of Lobbs is not going to be twice as good as a Â£400 pair of C&Js, but they are going to be as good or better than any other Â£800 pair of shoes, so are they still good value? Many would probably say they are.

+1

rickimky · Jun 3, 2010

Burton · Jun 3, 2010

Originally Posted by emptym

For English rtw shoes, my favorites are Alfred Sargent. I love the 87 and 99 lasts. Customer service is wonderful. I think their value is the best too. I'd compare them favorably to Aldens, which are my favorite US rtw shoes. If you're going to spend the amt you need to spend on Greens and Lobbs, you might as well go mto or custom, imo.

I would second everything here except to say I believe the quality surpasses Alden and is in a more elite range.

Slewfoot · Jun 3, 2010

Another vote for Alfred Sargent. Their Premier line offers fantastic value (can now be ordered directly through them in addition to Pediwear I believe) and the new Handgrade line competes admirably with the other big boys.

emptym · Jun 3, 2010

Originally Posted by Burton

I would second everything here except to say I believe the quality surpasses Alden and is in a more elite range.
I think you're right. As an American, I may have been practicing a bit of affirmative action for Alden. But still, by "compare favorably," I meant the scale tips slightly in favor of AS, due to its finishing being a bit better, or certainly more consistent, than Alden. As usual, my vote for US shoes are Aldens, AS for English shoes, and Martegani/Rider for Italian.

Originally Posted by Slewfoot

Another vote for Alfred Sargent. Their Premier line offers fantastic value (can now be ordered directly through them in addition to Pediwear I believe) and the new Handgrade line competes admirably with the other big boys.
A pair of Handgrade mtos arrived at my office the day after I left for a 6 week trip. Arg. I will get them in 4.5 weeks. If Chay is reading this, maybe he could post a picture of them, if pictures were taken before they were sent!

CashmereLover · Jun 3, 2010

Originally Posted by emptym

For English rtw shoes, my favorites are Alfred Sargent. I love the 87 and 99 lasts. Customer service is wonderful. I think their value is the best too. I'd compare them favorably to Aldens, which are my favorite US rtw shoes. If you're going to spend the amt you need to spend on Greens and Lobbs, you might as well go mto or custom, imo.

I really like AS too. I also think the Classic Collection is decent for its price range, although I guess some SF members wouldn't touch that collection.

As I have AS shoes on the 80, 87 and 89 lasts I'm curious how you would describe the 99 last compared to 87?

onix · Jun 3, 2010

Another + for AS. Fantastic shoes at great price. They're going to beef up their operation too (with MTO lines). It's great seeing a shoe company going up (not like many others have been going down like Allen Edmonds, Churchs, etc.,)

TimH · Jun 3, 2010

Originally Posted by Groover

That's correct.

Jonathan & William Church resigned from the board at Church's and bought Cheaney. Making it an independent company again. All the info is on Cheaney's site, and on here an Ask Andy.

Great news Groover, I am revitalised. My Cheaneys took some finding after having seen them at SEHM in Paris whilst exhibiting in the mid nineties but they still look great today!!

bellyhungry · Jun 3, 2010

Just saw on the AAAC forum where they mentioned Shipton & Heneage http://www.shiptonandheneage.co.uk/

Anyone got insight about the make?

onix · Jun 3, 2010

Originally Posted by bellyhungry

Just saw on the AAAC forum where they mentioned Shipton & Heneage http://www.shiptonandheneage.co.uk/

Anyone got insight about the made?

They have shoes made by a wide range of UK makers (including C&J, AS, Church's, etc.,). So it all depends on individual pairs.

bellyhungry · Jun 3, 2010

Originally Posted by onix

They have shoes made by a wide range of UK makers (including C&J, AS, Church's, etc.,). So it all depends on individual pairs.

merci beaucoup.

emptym · Jun 3, 2010

Originally Posted by CashmereLover

I really like AS too. I also think the Classic Collection is decent for its price range, although I guess some SF members wouldn't touch that collection.

As I have AS shoes on the 80, 87 and 89 lasts I'm curious how you would describe the 99 last compared to 87?

I would definitely buy suede shoes from the classic collection or a calfskin pair if I was in college. My hesitance about the calfskin shoes from the classic collection is that I think they're made of corrected grain. Not sure if that's true though.

I think the 87 is a great example of a traditional English last, maybe the best example. The 99 is what SF would call "sleeker." I posted a bunch of pics of an mto pair I ordered here. I think the plainness of the style reveals the shape of the last well.

Sanguis Mortuum · Jun 3, 2010

Originally Posted by emptym

My hesitance about the calfskin shoes from the classic collection is that I think they're made of corrected grain. Not sure if that's true though.

Some of them definitely are, for example the Eden (monkstrap). Not sure whether they're all CG though...

alliswell · Jun 3, 2010

S has moved to occupy the space in the market between C&J and EG. You can't go wrong with C&J if you know your size and last, especially with the exchange rate to USD. That said, my sense is the AS has stepped up their game and may be significantly better for only slightly more money.

Both of them offer competitive and different products to Alden. If you want old-school weight in your shoes, go with Alden. If you want old school English style, go with C&J or AS.

Bounder · Jun 3, 2010

Originally Posted by Burton

I would second everything here except to say I believe the quality surpasses Alden and is in a more elite range.

Originally Posted by onix

Another + for AS. Fantastic shoes at great price. They're going to beef up their operation too (with MTO lines). It's great seeing a shoe company going up (not like many others have been going down like Allen Edmonds, Churchs, etc.,)
I don't know about AS yet. I wonder how many people have experience with them in their new incarnation. They are a completely different company now than they were a year ago. Certainly, for some time after their bankruptcy/receivership they were a disaster. I know they have plans to do all sorts of things but all those plans haven't yet come to fruition. The point is that you can't rely on their historical reputation and the new AS hasn't been around long enough to establish a reliable track record for quality and reliability. I hope they make it though.

English shoes

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