Show us your new shoes (Vol 2)
Discussion
MR2 Steve said:
Which OS have you gone for? I have noticed their quality slipping as well. The ones I generally bought used to be made in Italy. Now they seem to be made in India.
Does anyone have a recommendation for a Chelsea boot with a commando sole for winter? Timberland Stormbuck quality has been poor the last few years. The sole isn’t too chunky and withstood a park walk in the rain.
Have a look at https://lanxshoes.com/collections/mens-boots/produ... very impressed with the pair I bought. Only thing I would say is they fit a little small, so maybe go 1/2 size up.Does anyone have a recommendation for a Chelsea boot with a commando sole for winter? Timberland Stormbuck quality has been poor the last few years. The sole isn’t too chunky and withstood a park walk in the rain.
Recommend Sanders and Sanders > https://www.sanders-uk.com/?gclid=CjwKCAiAjfyqBhAs...
And, A Fine Pair of Shoes > https://www.afinepairofshoes.co.uk/
And, A Fine Pair of Shoes > https://www.afinepairofshoes.co.uk/
Louis Balfour said:
Goaty Bill 2 said:
Filibuster said:
ok, I could have anticipated how this has gone down, thanks everyone
picked your post to comment, GB2. You are spot on, regarding what to wear the all black boat shoes with! Personally I will not wear them for anything else than with jeans and maybe black cord jacket.
Since I very, very rarely wear formal business attire (suit and tie) and about once a year formal wear (black tie), I have a very limited selection of black shoes. Basically just three: an inexpensive Blucher from the made in uk line of Loak; a wholecut from Carmina (really nice!) and some grained Gucci Loafers with silver horsebits, which I love
I bought them about 10 years ago, when they where a good bit cheaper (and you didn't have to queue to get into the shop
). Yes, they where stupidly expensive even back then and they get very little wear time because I don't want them to wear out (really stupid thing to say, I know), but: they are absolutely incredible! And since I wear them only on special occasions, it has become something special for me to wear them. They are the what I wear with black tie, as well as with jeans.Carmina makes some really lovely shoes, so good choice.
To be fair, it appears that Paul Sargent also makes some nice looking shoes these days.
I'll be trundling over to that shop Saturday to pick up some Saphir sole treatment so will have a look at his stock. Not buying (shoes)!
A shot of my resoled correspondents (scratches are all mine) with my attempt to restore the uppers to a semblance of decency.
I probably should have done the uppers first before throwing £190 at re-soling. They looked absolutely disgusting after a year in a storage facility but, the result is better than expected (pictures hampered by poor phone camera and lack of photography skills). They are around seven years old with lots of use.
I needed to get some Loakes repaired for my son.
The local high quality place wanted £125 to do a through sole and heel plus new elastic (they are monks). Loake only wanted £110, but with a 30-day lead time.
The shoes cost about £200 originally.
I elected to use a "local but basic" repairer and a half sole / heel / elastic at £60.
The shoes will never be like factory again, but I had to "take a view".
At the same time, I got some Canali half-soled. I didn't fancy sending them back to Italy.
I have some Edward Green that imminently need a sole and heel. The factory wants £285, which is quite strong I think.
So, the factory vs local conundrum continues.
paulguitar said:
How did you manage to find your way past all the current trainers, flipflops and faux walking boots to find a pair of actual shoes at Church's?Always nice to see someone with more money than sense
I prefer double monks personally, but they look quite nice Paul.
Goaty Bill 2 said:
paulguitar said:
How did you manage to find your way past all the current trainers, flipflops and faux walking boots to find a pair of actual shoes at Church's?Always nice to see someone with more money than sense
I prefer double monks personally, but they look quite nice Paul.
The advantage of the double monk over the triple/quadruple (WTF) is that you still only have one buckle to buckle/unbuckle to put the shoe on/off.
To my taste the single monk strap usually looks a bit chunky while the triple(+?) look far to busy sacrificing the natural elegance of the style.
In spite of my love for correspondents (see above), I prefer a shoe to be clean and elegant and as such prefer the monk strap style without a toe cap though, I do have one pair with a toecap. Cheaney Imperials at a price that couldn't be ignored especially as I find the Imperials so comfortable.
The ultimate, for me, is the wholecut style.
In my case between the preference for wholecut and a bit of Bond, I have collected the Alex (Daniel Craig era) series.
That said, Paul's shoes look pretty nice, and the Bond connection is an additional small point in their favour.
Well spotted @Filibuster
To my taste the single monk strap usually looks a bit chunky while the triple(+?) look far to busy sacrificing the natural elegance of the style.
In spite of my love for correspondents (see above), I prefer a shoe to be clean and elegant and as such prefer the monk strap style without a toe cap though, I do have one pair with a toecap. Cheaney Imperials at a price that couldn't be ignored especially as I find the Imperials so comfortable.
The ultimate, for me, is the wholecut style.
In my case between the preference for wholecut and a bit of Bond, I have collected the Alex (Daniel Craig era) series.
That said, Paul's shoes look pretty nice, and the Bond connection is an additional small point in their favour.
Well spotted @Filibuster
Had a few pairs of Timberland 7 eyelet boots in the late 1990's the boots themselves were great (especially with the gore-tex lining) sadly the soles would always go on me, I don't know why it never occurred to me to have them resoled but there we go.
I've often thought about them especially when winter is approaching but sadly they are no longer offered by Timberland in this style.
I managed to find a pair in my size on ebay, used but with plenty of life left I'm not sure when they date from my last pair was purchased in 98 and as far as i knew they stopped production around this time, I saw a few listed as '25th Anniversary' so not sure if they were reissued at some point (one difference is they anniversary ones seem to have Vibram soles which I don't think mine had at the time,
Arrived last week and I spent some time cleaning them up, saddle soap for the leather, all purpose cleaner for the canvas & soles and finally cleaned up the eyelets with some brasso wadding. Sourced some replacement laces, they're a bit bright but I was limited in choice as they are quite thin hopefully they'll tone down over time (same with the eyelets as they are a bit too shiny currently)
Picture below, the one nearest the camera has been cleaned up the other was as they arrived
[
I've often thought about them especially when winter is approaching but sadly they are no longer offered by Timberland in this style.
I managed to find a pair in my size on ebay, used but with plenty of life left I'm not sure when they date from my last pair was purchased in 98 and as far as i knew they stopped production around this time, I saw a few listed as '25th Anniversary' so not sure if they were reissued at some point (one difference is they anniversary ones seem to have Vibram soles which I don't think mine had at the time,
Arrived last week and I spent some time cleaning them up, saddle soap for the leather, all purpose cleaner for the canvas & soles and finally cleaned up the eyelets with some brasso wadding. Sourced some replacement laces, they're a bit bright but I was limited in choice as they are quite thin hopefully they'll tone down over time (same with the eyelets as they are a bit too shiny currently)
Picture below, the one nearest the camera has been cleaned up the other was as they arrived
[
Goaty Bill 2 said:
paulguitar said:
How did you manage to find your way past all the current trainers, flipflops and faux walking boots to find a pair of actual shoes at Church's?Always nice to see someone with more money than sense
I prefer double monks personally, but they look quite nice Paul.
Filibuster said:
paulguitar said:
That's the Brosnan era Bond shoe. Churchs's Presley, right? They even advertised with it back in the days:
Mine are these - 'Westbury':
https://www.church-footwear.com/us/en/men/style/mo...
paulguitar said:
Filibuster said:
paulguitar said:
That's the Brosnan era Bond shoe. Churchs's Presley, right? They even advertised with it back in the days:Mine are these - 'Westbury':
https://www.church-footwear.com/us/en/men/style/mo...
The last pair of Churchs I bought was a Ryder 3 about 10 years. I knew that Churchs have become more expensive in eecent years, but that is absurd….
Filibuster said:
They are how much?????
The last pair of Churchs I bought was a Ryder 3 about 10 years. I knew that Churchs have become more expensive in eecent years, but that is absurd….
Eye watering isn't it?The last pair of Churchs I bought was a Ryder 3 about 10 years. I knew that Churchs have become more expensive in eecent years, but that is absurd….
There are others at a similar price point out there that less justify the prices but that puts them a fair way out of reach of people that already pay more for a pair of shoes than 90% of the population.
Paul did say he didn't pay full retail (factory shop perhaps?)
It definitely feels like the current Church pricing falls into “taking the mick” territory since the across the board hikes. £800 for sneakers?!
I imagine that the current price for a refurb exceeds what I paid for mine in back in 2015 and 2018ish - they were around £200 each in the sales, but I hope these will outlast me.
I imagine that the current price for a refurb exceeds what I paid for mine in back in 2015 and 2018ish - they were around £200 each in the sales, but I hope these will outlast me.
Goaty Bill 2 said:
Filibuster said:
They are how much?????
The last pair of Churchs I bought was a Ryder 3 about 10 years. I knew that Churchs have become more expensive in eecent years, but that is absurd….
Eye watering isn't it?The last pair of Churchs I bought was a Ryder 3 about 10 years. I knew that Churchs have become more expensive in eecent years, but that is absurd….
There are others at a similar price point out there that less justify the prices but that puts them a fair way out of reach of people that already pay more for a pair of shoes than 90% of the population.
Paul did say he didn't pay full retail (factory shop perhaps?)
Need to save some money to stock the humidor.
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