George Glasgow Jr. for Cleverley, Interview

As I promised, I will be providing interviews once a month (consider this the one for February) from people in the shoe industry, both known and unknown, who make a considerable impact on what comes out as well as shape the trends, ideas, and styles we see today. For this month, as you may have noticed from the title, I have George Glasgow Jr., who is the son of the owner (and heir to throne) of historical shoe firm, George Cleverley. Enjoy!

1. What is your role with Cleverley?

I am the Creative Director at George Cleverley but I have several roles. When I am in London I spend time with our last maker and am leaning the last-making process. I also measure clients. I have been traveling with my father on U.S.A. visits since I was 13 years old, so most of the clients have become friends. I also design new styles, which I speak with clients about and get their feedback on.

Unfortunately, most of my time is spent traveling, so it is a slow process.  I design our new styles and cover the U.S.A. & Asia markets by holding trunk shows.  I'm off to Asia in 3 weeks for about 3 weeks to visit Tokyo, Singapore, Seoul & Beijing to hold Cleverley trunk shows.  Additionally, I visit customers who are unable to meet with us on our regular trunk shows.

2. What's the most exciting thing about being at the top of a niche, bespoke/RTW shoe company?

I'm very lucky to meet some wonderful gentlemen and some very interesting characters in this business.  You just never know who is going to walk into our London shop or worldwide trunk shows. We could start the day off with a university professor followed by a movie star, but both have the same appreciation of fine footwear.

3. Being that you are the son of Mr. Glasgow Sr., you were relatively pre-destined  to be in the shoe trade but did you ever want to do/to be something else? 

I grew up around the Cleverley workrooms and used to make regular family trips to our workshop which we have in Cornwall, so I guess I was in the business by default. However, I went to the University of London where I studied Economics & Politics. After graduating I moved to Los Angeles to work in finance as an investment analyst, which I did for 3 years. I would use my holidays to work with my father on his U.S.A. trunk shows, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Eventually I moved into the business full-time. During the trunk shows I could see that most of the clients that would come by had developed good friendships with my father, many of which he has known for many years. It was delightful to see how much my father & our whole team enjoyed the business and working with such great people seemed fun, so I had to pursue my father to hire me.

4. Can you describe the most unique shoe that a client has ever ordered for bespoke? 

It's very tough to say the most unique shoe that a bespoke customer has ordered, because even now I see many one-of-a-kinds going through our workshop. I would say the most unique for me would be an old Edwardian button boot, which we made for David Beckham. When he visited our London shop, he chose a boot that was on display which was over 60 years old and had all working buttons (sewn on by hand) which you needed a special tool to open. We designed the boot to have a zip on the other side which was covered in leather, so he could get in & out of them without opening the buttons and spending 15 minutes putting them on & off. This was pretty unique as the style of boot was Edwardian but we added a modern feature to it.

Me (The Shoe Snob): that sounds amazing, I am so jealous!!!! I have yet to learn how to make a boot, let alone design one from the Edwardian era.

5. What's you favorite model out of all of the shoes that Cleverley makes? 

My personal favorite is the "Churchill" (pictured above). It is a classic shoe with covered elastic sided features and imitation lacing. This was really a George Cleverley invention and he made it for Sir Winston Churchill. His farther & him used to make this style 60+ years ago at Tuczuc on Clifford Street. I loved this shoe so much that I designed a boot version which has imitation lacing as well, which has been well received. It's great because with the boot version it's a nice travel option as you can wear it with jeans or a nice suit. Our friends at Leather Soul (Tom & Bryan) both have some very cool bespoke boots in the works.  I think the changes they made to my boot will look very cool.

6. Can you describe the creative process for RTW (Ready-To-Wear)? 

Firstly, all of our RTW styles are derived from our bespoke shoes. By this I mean if we feel a particular bespoke styles has become popular or very admired, we will make it in our RTW range. I guess you could say our clients help us design our new RTW styles. John & Teemu are very involved in cutting / designing new styles for the RTW range. We also pride ourself on being very selective on the calf hides we buy for our RTW shoes. It is important for us that a RTW customer still gets an excellent quality shoe while incorporating some of our bespoke features like the Cleverley toe or the covered elastic sided feature. We try to make approx 10/15 new bespoke styles a year, which we take from our achieves and make a slight alteration. The ones that we feel turn out the best then get patterns made up and we do a small run in our RTW range. We also have a small workshop in Kent, which we finish shoes in that Dominic works in a few days a week.

7. Assuming that you are heir to the throne, where would you like to see the company in 15-20 years? 

In a similar place to now. My father has always run the company like a "club".  He generally loves what he does, as did the original George Cleverley. We are not interested in having our shoes in every store around the world because it takes away what is special about Cleverley.  Take Japan for example, my father started working with BEAMS (which stock our RTW & Semi-Bespoke shoes) when they only had a few stores 25+ years ago. Today they have over 100 stores and we are still as close to them as before but it has just grown organically. We get approached often from stores wanting to carry our shoes but we only like to work with other retailers that have a love and passion for shoes, as this is very important.

8. Other shoemakers/companies that you admire?

Unfortunately, I don't get to see many other shoes but the last few JLP (John Lobb Paris) that I saw were nice so it is tough to say. I like John Lobb Paris, Dimitris Gomez and Fosters & Son. Although they are not around anymore I admire Anthony & George Cleverley a great deal. We still have some of their original shoes in our London shop which are beautiful and extremely well made and keeps us on our toes in terms of quality.

9. Being apart of the trade since you were 13, how many pairs of shoes have you made/acquired for yourself? 

I have worked with Teemu learning some last making over the years but given that I am always on the road it has been difficult to devote enough time to master it. I have approx 10 pairs of bespoke shoes, 5 AC's (Anthony Cleverley) and over 25 RTW in my collection.  I can never make up my mind on my next pair because with bespoke the options are endless.

10. What's the scariest shoe trend that you see today? 

The scariest trend is how pointy / narrow some shoes are becoming. It just does not look like a comfortable fit and people are buying shoes that are too long for them to accommodate this. The other is I am seeing the words "Hand Made" on alot of products that are not but the general public think they are buying a hand made product.

Me (The Shoe Snob): I also hate seeing "Hand Made" written on the insole or sole of a shoe that was obviously made by machine. It is unfortunate how this word has been slandered over recent years. 
 
11. What advice can you offer to aspiring shoemakers/shoe designers?

I would say focus on one part of the shoe and become an expert at that. It takes on average 3-5 years to learn one part of the shoemaking process with Cleverley. For example, Adam joined Cleverley from Rolls Royce and it has taken him 4 years to become a last maker. He has also been working with John Carnera learning clicking, which he is becoming very good at. Have a house style that separates you from others. Make sure your heart is in the business more than your pocket.


---Thank you George for that wonderful interview. To all my readers: I hope that you thoroughly enjoyed the interview and learned something during it.

All the best,

Justin, "The Shoe Snob"

When a Shoe Looks Like a Piece of Art

The problem with bespoke shoes, is that sometimes they look so damn good that they don't even look like footwear, more just look like art for the sake of showcasing. For me, Riccardo Bestetti's shoes resemble this idea, probably more so than any other maker that I know. The reason that I say this, even though I may believe other makers make shoes more directed to my particular taste, is the fact that when I look at his shoes, they look like they were done by hand, without a second guess, just like a piece of art would be. The lines (and/or curvature) in his footwear from heel to sole, from toe to vamp, to the shaping of the last and the coloring of the leather are all things that you could never really see on a RTW shoe (a shoe done by machine). These are all things that he has done himself, with his passion for footwear, and trying to make the best final product possible. And he does a damn good job at doing so, because I must say that even if I don't like a shoe that he does, say because of the style or shape of the toe, you can be sure that I will at least respect and admire it and still find it beautiful. There is no denying that each shoe that I have posted here is an absolute work of art. You can't help but like them, even if you would never wear them. That's inspirational, and I commend Mr. Bestetti for his talent!

On a side note, I wanted to say that I appreciate everyone that either left a comment or emailed me directly in regards to the email that I received from that reader. I truly appreciate all of the support, the kind words, and vote of confidence that many of you have for me. And while I would never let something like this ever stop me from doing what I feel that I need and want to do, I must say that it is all of you (no corniness here) that help to keep me going, especially when the end of that tunnel looks miles away. I therefore truly thank each and every one of you that continue to read my blog, make comments and support my dreams. And I hope that with my growth, I can continue to repay you all with something entertaining yet knowledgeable to read, as well as great footwear and the complementary products!

-Justin, "The Shoe Snob"

It's Just Me And My Pink Laces!

Some might call this overkill, others might call it brilliant, I just call it being bored from conservatism and wanting to do something about it! Because every now and then, an outfit needs a injection of fun color to liven it up a bit....and as I have said before, a touch of extravagant lacing helps to meet that need. Most people go for the classic red laces but as I had a tie that matched with my shoes (+ the pink laces), I thought 'what the heck, why not?!' The problem with pink though, is that too much of it (especially in a bright shade) starts to create an effect that becomes undesirable to the eye. But when done in control and used as an accent, I quite enjoy the idea of pink being incorporated into one's outfit.

For those that feel the same, yet can't find the laces to complete the outfit, check out my eBay store.

Shoes: Bespoke, made by me.
Suit: Gieves & Hawkes
Shirt: Primark
Tie: DKNY

Today's Favorites - Bestetti's 'Gladiators'

It's been another one of those Mondays that I just could not seem to get the time to bust out my long post. That being, it will have to wait until tomorrow, and you all will just have to settle with a short, but sweet post for today.

While I had never really been the biggest fan of this type of shoe, until I saw a version made by Riccardo Bestetti, I must say that with shoes like this, amongst others that he has done, he continues to impress me with the concoctions that creates. I almost feel that with the way that he shapes his lasts, he could make an ugly pattern look good, and that's saying a lot. Nevertheless, this model here, as he coined 'The Gladiotor,' is actually one of his personal shoes, as is indicated from the word 'Mie' that is shown on his last, which means 'mine.' And what a name given intelligently....for this shoe looks like it could go to hell and back and still be standing. Nevertheless, I thought that some of you might appreciate this.

Another thing that you might all appreciate is the fact that today I am meeting with some individuals who are going to be creating the website for my Shoe Snob shoe products, of which I will sell off of so that I can stop using eBay....I am quite excited about this and getting it off of the ground......my shoes on the other hand, are still happening, but are taking quite a standstill as there have been some kinks in my ability to go to the factory....But fret not, these shoes will come out, I promise!

Shoes Of The Week - Pigskin Wholecuts by Carreducker

The more that I see pigskin used for shoemaking, the more that it grows on me. At first I was not so keen on it, not really sure why, just that I wasn't. But with each time that I get to see a new shoe made up using it, the more that I begin to appreciate the uniqueness of its texture and coloring. Now I could be making this up in my head, but having been around the two or three bespoke models that I have shined, I always seem to notice that the toe area's texture is a bit different than the rest of the shoe (as shown best in last picture). It's as if that when they were lasted over, the grain of the skin expanded and became a lot more smooth and prominent. It's quite a nice look and makes for a great toe shine. This model here, made by Carreducker, is almost precisely how I would want one should it ever come to that. I feel like when it comes to exotic leather, being that most of them have some sort of ostentatious texture to them, they are best served without any added detail i.e. stitching. That being, a whole cut provides the best pattern for them, at least my mind. But that does not mean that I do not appreciate them (exotic leather shoes) in other examples....just that I much more prefer the beautiful blank canvas of the whole cut....particularly in a nice pigskin!

Grades Of Shoe Craftsmanship

Bespoke models by Corthay

As I have stated before, there seems to be a whole lot of confusion as to how a shoe is made (whether by hand, machine or a bit of both), particularly due to the lack of knowledge from salesmen at retail stores, as well as the misrepresentation of words (such as 'handmade') printed on a shoe itself. These two things, coupled with the gullibility and naïveté of many male consumers, leave a lot of people to believe that their shoes are of a higher quality/grade than they actually are. Normally I wouldn't care about such things, as it's hard to try and correct every lie that people are told each and every day in order to buy such and such product, but as a person who truly cares about the reputation of shoes and the fact that I have my own brand coming out soon, I feel that this issue must be acknowledged, thoroughly and constantly until people start to become more aware. Now some of these terms were created many years ago, and have been modified/altered in terms of their defining features, so I will give the account that I believe to be correct, which just might be up for debate...

Mass Produced

While I have never actually seen this done (as in never been to one of these factories), mass-produced shoes would be the kind that are pumped out thousands by the day, as common sense would tell you. Shoes that are predominantly created by machines, conveyer belts, and chemical products. Think glued shoes, shoes that are selling by the millions a year. There is simply no way that people can be there to pump each and every one of them through. Sure you have people who will work the machines and handle the shoes, as in maintain them electronically or however, so that there are no hiccups in production, but there are definitely not any skilled individuals guiding the shoes along, making sure that every detail is sorted out. These will be the shoes that will retail under $200 (£125). They will be shapeless, use low-grade leather, most likely not be that comfortable and won't last a long amount of time. This is not always the case though, as some brands (whose pockets are deep) have found a way to produce the shoes cheap, but give you something that can rival a decent shoe (think Ecco shoes - decent leather, long-lasting but mass produced).

Bench Grade 

Crockett & Jones

For me, a bench grade shoe denotes the presence of a skilled worker at each machine within the factory, who is actively taking part in the production process by guiding the shoes through each stage of manufacturing. This takes people with years of experience and knowledge. Not any 'ol Joe off of the street could just start doing this.... Now, this next bit is where myself and others might differ, but I don't believe that a bench grade level of craftsmanship strictly refers to goodyear welted shoes. Santoni, for example, who predominantly makes blake stitched shoes, has skilled workers positioned at every machine, guiding the shoes along, in order to produce them. This for me, also indicates a bench grade shoe. Now bench grade shoes, are going to be your entry point into quality footwear. They will use medium grade leathers, have a slightly more shaped last than a mass produced shoe, and will be of better quality overall. However, within the bench grade category of shoe, there will be some makes that are better than others, say C&J versus Loake.

Hand Grade

Edward Green, Photo Courtesy Of: Leffot

A hand grade shoe, will start off like a bench grade one, only that there will be more handwork involved, mainly in the finishing part of production. Things like the waist of the shoe, will be finished with a tool that rounds off the edges (bevelled), fudge wheels being used by hand to create those ridge-like indentations on the welt in order to pronounce the stitching, and the sole will have a channel stitch (closed and clean) as opposed to an open stitch that you can see. Everything will just look a bit cleaner, a bit more artisan. The shoes will be more shapely, as they will leave the last inside of it longer (to gain a strong mold), as well as just have a more shaped last, less bulbous. The leathers all around the shoe will be better, from sole, to upper to lining. But, just because the shoe says hand grade, does not mean that it was made by hand.

Semi-Bespoke/Handmade

Deco Range, by Gaziano & Girling

I had never really believed in using the term 'semi-bespoke,' because I always felt like there was no such way to half create something for someone. As in, being that bespoke is defined as 'spoken for' meaning that something was created specifically (to their measurements when referring to articles of clothing) for someone, then how could it be semi-specific? But, that was until I learned that through Saint Crispins MTO/semi-bespoke program, not only do you get a completely handmade shoe, but they also allow you to alter a preexisting last. This means that it is like the idea of MTM suits, whereby you take a standard block and alter it to someones measurements (not perfect, but close) but then created by hand, instead of machine. This to me, would define semi-bespoke, as well as 'handmade.' Now on the other hand, there is also semi-handmade, like the Deco range by Gaziano & Girling. It is considered so due to the fact that certain parts of the shoe (i.e. the waist), were not only finished by hand, but also lasted and stitched too. Therefore certain parts of the 'making' process were completely done by hand and not by machine.

Bespoke

Bespoke Spat Boot by Anthony Delos

Bespoke shoes are shoes that are completely customized and made entirely (with the exception of the stitching of the upper leather) by hand. This invokes a long process, whereby the customer must get measured by the last maker, talk through design ideas, choose toe shapes and await for his trial fit. After the shoe company has made his last and a mock-up of the shoe for the customer to try for fit, can the shoe then be completed. It usually takes anywhere from 4-6 months, depending on whether or not the customer is new (i.e. has never had a trial fit). Be wary of anything that takes a shorter amount of time or does not involve this process. With a bespoke shoe, there should be no size on the inside, you should then have your own last (but they don't give them to you) and it should (in theory) look like a work of art, and not something that you can pluck off of the shelf...

The Green Machine

The thing about green is that when you are able to create the perfect shade of it (think a mix between emerald and forest), it can become one of the most stunning colors there is. While I won't say that the color that I created on these bespoke brogues is perfect, I will say that it is lovely shade that I happen to find extremely versatile. Not only does it pair well with this light gray POW, but I also enjoy mixing it with my navy three piece. And the best thing is that while this green might have been a bit bright for some people, I feel that because of all the brogueing, it tones it down a bit and separates all of that green. Then again, it does so because I blacked out each hole with a permanent marker....Anyway, back to the subject: green brogues = cool, but what's even better is the idea of creating an entire range of brogues in every color that would be appropriate for smart, casual wear. In particular, a full blue brogue...now that sounds appealing!

Shoes: Bespoke, made by me (with Gaziano & Girling "Rothschild" upper)
Suit: Readjusted bespoke by Chittleborough & Morgan
Shirt: Primark
Tie: Tie Rack

Shoes From Around The World

St. Crispins, Photo Courtesy Of: Zimmermann & Kim

I find it very fascinating to examine the different styles that come from all of the different shoemakers from around the world. Each country has its own unique style, look and feel to their shoes. No two countries really duplicate each other. Sure, you have the French and the Italians who love a pointier shoe that many people feel resemble the same styling. But in reality, aside from that elongated toe, their styling is miles apart from each other. Same thing with the English and the Americans, of which I believe there is much influence involved from how the Americans make their shoes, with respects to English craftsmanship and look. Yet, there are differences. And while I have probably put all of the makers listed below, on the blog at some point or another, I have never really thought to list them all in one post, in order to give you a solid piece of easily tangible information. With this at the tip of your fingers, I will try to make it as easy as possible for you to have at least one shoemaker that you can seek out when you go on your shoe shopping holidays!

For clarification, most of the brands listed will be made in the country that they are listed under, with some exceptions (as listed)

United States

Alden, Picture Courtesy Of: Leather Soul

Bespoke: Craig Corvin, The London Shoemaker (migrated to US from London), Perry Ercolino, DWF II, Don Ville
RTW: Allen Edmonds, Alden, Barker Black (English made),

England

Gaziano & Girling, Picture Courtesy Of: Leffot

Bespoke & RTW: Gaziano & Girling, George Cleverley, John Lobb (St. James =Bespoke, JL Paris = RTW), Foster & Son, Trickers (I believe)

Bespoke Only: Carreducker, Various Freelance makers, i.e. Cliff Roberts, James Taylor & Son
RTW: Edward Green, Crockett & Jones, Alfred Sargent (Handgrade), Church's, Grenson (Handgrade line), Cheaney, Barker, Lodger   

Italy

Bespoke shoe by Stefano Bemer

Bespoke & RTW: Stefano Bemer, Riccardo Bestetti (RTW in the works), Mannina, Paolo Scafora, Silvano Lattanzi
Bespoke Only: Gatto (not entirely sure if he is still alive), Hidetaka Fukaya (AKA Il Micio), Roberto Ugolini, Antonio Pio Mele, Saskia
RTW: Enzo Bonafe, Silvano Sassetti, StefanoBi, Scarpe Di Bianco (found in the states), Sutor Mantellassi, Bontoni (found mostly in the States), Angelo Galasso, a.Testoni, Artioli, Santoni

France

Corthay

Bespoke & RTW: Pierre Corthay, Berluti, John Lobb Paris, Massaro Bottier, Aubercy, Altan Bottier, Clairvoy
Bespoke Only: Anthony Delos, Dimitri Bottier (Gomez), Gerald Thibau, Pascal Carno
RTW: Septieme Largeur, Mark Guyot, JM Weston, Matthew Cookson (English born, French inspired), Caulaincourt, Carlos Santos

Spain

Bespoke Shoes by Norman Vilalta

Bespoke: Norman Vilalta
RTW: George's, Carmina, Enrile (mainly MTO), Magnanni, Meermin

Greater Europe

Bespoke Shoes by Jan Kielman

Austria: Rudolf Scheer, Maftei (also in Romania), St. Crispins (Romanian made), Balint, Materna
Poland: Jan Kielman
Germany: Dieter Kuckelkorn, Klemann
Croatia: Strugar
Norway: J.P. Myhre
Switzerland: Bally, Walter Steiger
Sweden: Janne Melkersson
Hungary: Laszlo Vass, Koronya, David Balazic

Japan

Bespoke Shoes by Koji Suzuki

Bespoke: Koji Suzuki, Saion, Imai Hiroki, Corno Blu, Masaru Okuyama, Guild of Crafts, Daizo Emori
RTW: Perfetto, Otsuka M-5


As you can see, there are many shoemakers around the world, and even way more than listed here. It is always a pleasure to discover new ones, so if you know of some good ones that I have not listed, please feel free to share. I am particularly curious about the shoe trade in South America, as I have never heard of anyone from that region. If you happen to ever have enough time to go through all of these, it truly is amazing to see how the styles differ from one country to the next. As you can obviously see, I did not attach links to these, because it would have doubled the time in order to do this post, but thats what Google is for my friends. Anyway, I hope that everyone gets a chance to discover something new with this post....

All the best,

-Justin, "The Shoe Snob"

Shoes Of The Week - Dimitri Gomez French Derby

I just realized that I don't own any derby shoes, not dress ones at least, just those blue suede/white sole Churchs. Funny that, even funnier that I never really realized it, nor have even thought to purchase one with a leather sole. I have always known that I am not the biggest fan of them, but it never occurred to me that due to that, they were left overlooked in the wardrobe department. I have really just always been drawn to either loafers, oxfords or boots. Could be that American derbys are just big and clunky looking, and that always deterred me from them. Who knows? But it wasn't really until I saw a French style derby, as pictured here by Dimitri Bottier (aka Gomez), that I began to start actually liking and desiring them. The way in which they design them is so much more appealing. The two (or three) eyelet interpretation with the straight line (where the two pieces of leather are attached) coming down to the arch makes it look so much more clean and dressy looking, taking away that sharp point that most other derbys have. And as you can see here, it creates such a beautiful and elegant outcome, leaving a shoe that is elegant and desirable....

Feast Your Eyes! - Roberto Ugolini

Shoes by: Roberto Ugoini, Photo Courtesy of: Gentleman's Gazette

Dear All,

I am feeling a bit under the weather today, and therefore do not have the capacity to write anything longer than a sentence or two. That being, I want you to study this amazing picture, taken by the author of Gentleman's Gazette, of some of the collection of Roberto Ugolini (Florentine bespoke shoemaker) and ask yourself, "what if this was my shoe wardrobe?" Imagine that....

Best,

Justin, "The Shoe Snob"

Today's Favorites - Bespoke Austerity Brogues

I have a friend who like me, once ventured outside of the US to go and study shoemaking (among other things, such as be with his wife...also like me). That adventure landed him in Germany, where he is currently residing and continuing to perfect his craft and skills, in the hopes (of which will occur) of becoming a bespoke shoemaker who offers lovely shoes to people around the world. On occasion, he gets a chance to pop over to London, of which he will usually stop in to have a chat, only this time, he brought a pair of shoes for me to also shine. While he is hard critic on himself (as one should be to become great) and feels that he is still far off from becoming a credited maker who could offer shoes to clients for purchase, I on the other hand, believe that he is not far off. The hardest part in shoemaking is what is called 'finishing' the shoe, i.e. making the sole and heel area look flawless, and it is something that takes a long time to perfect. And while he still has some work to do before it's tip top, I think that his progression is very good and wanted to show all of you, as I thought that some of you might appreciate it as well.....

Foster & Son: An Ode To Archaic Bespoke Shoes

I am a firm believer in the thought that technology, albeit amazing, has made society as a whole, a lot lazier. We don't have to work nearly as hard (or at all in the case of some production) to create the same things that our forefathers did. And in many industries, this change in quality of production is very obvious. Let's take the shoe industry for example. In my opinion, the quality of production has taken the form of a giant U, when put onto a graph of where X represents the year in time (e.g. 1941,1942 etc.) and Y represents quality of production, although we have not actually reached the top of the right side of the U, more so that we have just passed the all-time low and are now working ourselves back up. That being, to me, shoes +80 years ago were made a lot better than they are today, with a whole lot less stuff to work with from materials to tools to comfortable working environments. This is not to say that shoes today are not well made, only that I believe that they were made better before. Attention to detail was higher, shortcut taking was less prevalent and probably the most important of all, is the fact that people were proud (very proud might I add) to actually be making the shoes, whether bespoke or in the factory. For many, these days, it's just a job that pays the bills. Don't get me wrong, there still are passionate people out there, and I have met them, some beyond passionate, but still, there is a difference to the way it used to be.

As you might be able to tell from the title to the pictures, the reason that I am on about this subject was due to my recent visit to Foster & Son, of which I was fortunate enough to be able to take some photographs of the amazing shoes that are presented in their archive of old bespoke shoes. It's something that I have been wanting to do for awhile, for all of you that might not ever get the chance to come to London, but just have been too lazy (if I must tell the truth) to do so until last week. But having this opportunity gave me the chance to inspect bespoke shoes that were at least 50-80 years old (and maybe older), in order to see and appreciate the level of craftsmanship that went into them. While it might be hard to tell from the pictures, the things that set them apart are definitely not far and few between. The closing of the upper leather (stitching it together) was beautiful. Every line was damn near perfect. The stitching of the welt to the sole was superb. I think that you might find that these days, a standard procedure is 10-12 to the inch, where they commonly did 14-16 to the inch (if not more). It may be hard for you to fathom that, having never done it, but let me tell you that getting 16 stitches to the inch is very hard, as each hole created by the awl must be very close together, and done so without breaking the welt. But probably the most impressive thing to me, is the way in which the upper leather is connected to the welt. Usually you will find that there is a little gap here, but if you look closely it's as if they are one piece, flowing from upper to welt without any space in between. To me, that's simply amazing!

Another reason that I write this post, is that I feel that Foster & Son is tremendously underrated in the shoe industry, yet has amongst the richest history out of all of the makers to this day. From Henry Maxwell, to Peal & Co., to the legendary Terry Moore (lastmaker), Foster & Son has been associated with great names for over 50 years and remain to this day one of the oldest bespoke shoe firms still standing. And considering their history, with their shoemaker Mr. Foster having been killed by a bomb during World War II in 1940, I would say that it is quite impressive that they are still around. Not taking into account their rich history, they make beautiful shoes nonetheless, yet I feel as if one were to think about bespoke shoemakers, the Foster & Son name might not even get mentioned, for reasons unbeknownst to me. But tell me if you have ever seen a full brogue in suede that is nicer than the one above? I sure haven't! And the illustrious saddle loafer that is making a nice come back.....this too I believe stems from the archives of one of those greats mentioned above. But aside from all of that, it's not often that you are able to see shoes whose age might triple yours, and I figured that it would be lovely to share this with all of you that have never been to London. But I must say, that if you ever manage to get over here, seeing these in person is ten times (if not more) better than doing so on my blog.....

Happy Monday to all!

-Justin, "The Shoe Snob"