The All-Inclusive Shoe & Boot Thread

fxh said:
Tan really only works with “streetwear”, I don’t even like it with Smart Casual.
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Tan definitely can be overdone and I don't think I bought any light brown ( i.e. tan) dress shoes until maybe 20 years ago. Growing up they were a bit of a 'no no ' in our house, and I have clear memories of being sent as a child by my father to buy brown shoe polish with a strict instructions that this was to be dark tan and not light tan.

Now I have 4 pairs of tan dress shoes, although a couple of pairs were advertised as 'chestnut' and, for me, they go well with grey, olive and the right depth of blue. They are also appreciated by females I work with, but that might just be because they perceive the colour to be fashionable.
 
I wear tan Oxfords wirh a various coloured Chinos. I wear tan Oxford brogues with cords too.
 
Herring Stratford. Loake 026 last.
Definitely not dandyish and fine for casual wear up to the semi formal.
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I really like the EG Banburys. I have them in black and burgundy

1623054702250.webp


www.edwardgreen.com

Banbury

202 Last — burgundy cordovan with dainite rubber soles
www.edwardgreen.com www.edwardgreen.com
 
florisgreen said:
I like these boots, nice elegant last. I think they are potentially very dandyish. Don't like the crossing lacing. Also not a fan of rings socks.
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With a gibson/derby/blucher I have always done cross-lacing and reserved straight lacing for oxford style shoes. As far as I know, that's English menswear orthodoxy.

As regards the socks, I'm lucky enough to have a job that involves a fair bit of plannjng and scheming and that means feet -up time. It's good to have something a little on the gaudy side to contemplate.
 
Panama said:
Please can anyone recommend a pair of Chukkas? Loake Kempton or Sahara?
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I think Loake no longer offers the Kempton. They have the Pimlico which was an alternate choice for the Kempton and vice-versa.

The Loake Sahara is more like Clark's desert boots. If you are looking for an alternative in this price range, look at Astorflex.

I'll second belinmad belinmad on the Banbury being a very nice chukka. Bonafe also makes a sexy chukka. Hand-welted. Great value for price. Reasonable MTO surcharge.

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Thruth said:
I think Loake no longer offers the Kempton. They have the Pimlico which was an alternate choice for the Kempton and vice-versa.

The Loake Sahara is more like Clark's desert boots. If you are looking for an alternative in this price range, look at Astorflex.

I'll second belinmad belinmad on the Banbury being a very nice chukka. Bonafe also makes a sexy chukka. Hand-welted. Great value for price. Reasonable MTO surcharge.

View attachment 38697
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The Astorflex look pretty nice, a good alternative to the Clark's, that nowadays are no longer perceived as quality shoes.

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Thruth said:
The Loake Sahara is more like Clark's desert boots. If you are looking for an alternative in this price range, look at Astorflex.
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What is the method of construction of the Astorflex?

The sales blurb talks of 'ideal"construction, which looks as if it might be a cemented sole with stitching.
 
Sammy Ambrose said:
What is the method of construction of the Astorflex?

The sales blurb talks of 'ideal"construction, which looks as if it might be a cemented sole with stitching.
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That is what it is. Higher quality than Clark's and other lower end desert boots but less than GYW chukkas.
 
GYW Desert Boots are silly. I get cheap Roamers. Got to pick the right model.

Whack my own cheap Topy on them in the shed when they wear through.
 
fxh said:
GYW Desert Boots are silly. I get cheap Roamers. Got to pick the right model.

Whack my own cheap Topy on them in the shed when they wear through.
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Panama wasn't asking about dessies. He was asking about chukkas and said he wanted an opinion on Loake Kempton and Sahara.

He was then told that Kempton were no longer made and that Sahara (as the name suggests)is more dessyish than chukkarish. And then recommendations start to flow thick and fast on this dessy and that dessy.

Sorry, Panama. Try SF. They have a Loake appreciation thread. Maybe there is useful advice there.
 
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I was just having a (minor) rant.

i have Kemptons 026 last ? Leather single sole and Pimlico on Capital last.

Pimlico is a bit sleeker but on Dainite sole which I don’t like. They are in leather burgundy. They look good.
Not sure they make them in burgundy leather anymore. I can probably dig up an old pic.

in my humble Chukkas (good ones) are v smart casual. Desert Boots casual/streetwear.
 
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I have Clarks made in Italy desert boots.
They kind of go with a military theme of Submariner and Duffel coat. I was thinking of getting a pair of Chukkas to do a more Polo theme, probably with OCBD - the original Polo shirt. I may also get a pair of Sanders Hi Tops to do the McQueen theme. One day I can play as Bond or Cary Grant.

I am being slightly humorous for those of a literal persuasion.
 
Morning all,
I'm lazy, could someone please remind me (summary version) why we hate Cleverley? I'm tempted but don't want to make a life-altering mistake. Is there something wrong with quality or fit?
 
belinmad said:
Morning all,
I'm lazy, could someone please remind me (summary version) why we hate Cleverley? I'm tempted but don't want to make a life-altering mistake. Is there something wrong with quality or fit?
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Cleverley make some of the best shoes in the world - great workmanship and fit with a style arguably unequaled. They can make great bespoke. The problem is that they can pull the wool over the eyes of many igents and clueless folk, and poor results can be had because they have convinced many clients that skipping important steps in the bespoke process (having a salesmen measuring feet instead of the last maker) is true bespoke. Many gullible clients fall for it. In short, gullible clients and Cleverley are a bad mix, and i've met the clients and seen the results to prove it. Most of them don't know what true bespoke is, so they settle and get treated as second class people.

George Glasgow Jr tells the truth when he tells the igents they are not ready for Cleverley bespoke, but they never listen...they think they know better. George warns them...STAY AWAY, but they still come like lambs to the slaughter, and then they complain when they get poor results and get treated badly. They are a society shoemaker, not one for ordinary people, and they make no apologies for that...but igents are egalitarians who can't accept it, and they get crunched up because they refused to take the hint. *sigh*

Berluti would never cut corners with bespoke because they will specially fly their last maker anywhere in the world to measure a client. That is true bespoke.

When l went to Cleverley l asked for the royal treatment, and they gave it to me. They flew the last maker out to Oz at my request and used their finest maker to take the extra time to make my shoes. The result? Numerous Cleverley clients had not seen shoes so meticulously made before.

Most clients will never get something like this. They send out the wrong signals, so they get put in a different category where they get second best.

Cleverley alligator bloo- mine.jpg



Cleverley is not for most people, it is only for a certain type of person, ie, the elites and true footwear connoisseurs. If you aren't one of those, you risk having a bad experience. I got the royal treatment because l said the right things and asked the right questions. Igents don't know how to handle Cleverley, so they often fail.

Respect needs to be earned if you wish to get the Cleverly goodies!
 
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I told a big igent daddy at S.F (HUGE ego) this story and he went off his head. I told him he was well out of his depth and had no place complaining about his ill fitting shoes when he didn't understand the bespoke process. He tried to be the big man, but he ended up looking 1 inch tall. I told him he didn't know how to handle Cleverley and he got insanely angry. He is one of those narcissist types who everyone thinks is an expert, but in reality he knows very little.

Igents hate truth bombs.
 
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Thanks Shooey, much appreciated. How do you feel about their off-the-shelf product? Worth getting? There's a sale going on now (Mr Porter) with some attractive options.
 
belinmad said:
Thanks Shooey, much appreciated. How do you feel about their off-the-shelf product? Worth getting? There's a sale going on now (Mr Porter) with some attractive options.
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Their Anthony Cleverley range is made by Edward Green, and while not quite to the standard of Edward Green, they make some of the classiest shoes around on lasts that transform the feet in the typical Cleverley way of making them look elegant and smaller than they are. Good for a thin man.

The normal Cleverley range are good too. Very classy styling of decent quality, so if you like the style, get it!

Cleverley are a very special company. Unique in every way.
 
The outworker for Cleverley failed to hand welt the shoo properly. See the exposed stitching between the welt and upper.

See how rough the waists are compared to the alligator in above post? See how clean the lines are on the alligator shoe? That alligator shoe is like what you see on Anthony Delos' better days. You don't even see G&G bespoke at that level of artistry. My maker was that excellent Japanese maker, just AMAZING!!! Almost everything was perfect, and few makers have made more perfect shoes on their best days (Fukuda, Delos, Berluti).
Cleverley bespoke - welting problem.webp
 
belinmad said:
So how do we feel about these ones, for instance, quality and fit wise?


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I could not find a good fit in their AC line which is why I went bespoke with them. For me, it was heel looseness. Laced or slip on made no real difference.
 
The Shooman said:
Cleverley make some of the best shoes in the world - great workmanship and fit with a style arguably unequaled. They can make great bespoke. The problem is that they can pull the wool over the eyes of many igents and clueless folk, and poor results can be had because they have convinced many clients that skipping important steps in the bespoke process (having a salesmen measuring feet instead of the last maker) is true bespoke. Many gullible clients fall for it. In short, gullible clients and Cleverley are a bad mix, and i've met the clients and seen the results to prove it. Most of them don't know what true bespoke is, so they settle and get treated as second class people.

George Glasgow Jr tells the truth when he tells the igents they are not ready for Cleverley bespoke, but they never listen...they think they know better. George warns them...STAY AWAY, but they still come like lambs to the slaughter, and then they complain when they get poor results and get treated badly. They are a society shoemaker, not one for ordinary people, and they make no apologies for that...but igents are egalitarians who can't accept it, and they get crunched up because they refused to take the hint. *sigh*

Berluti would never cut corners with bespoke because they will specially fly their last maker anywhere in the world to measure a client. That is true bespoke.

When l went to Cleverley l asked for the royal treatment, and they gave it to me. They flew the last maker out to Oz at my request and used their finest maker to take the extra time to make my shoes. The result? Numerous Cleverley clients had not seen shoes so meticulously made before.

Most clients will never get something like this. They send out the wrong signals, so they get put in a different category where they get second best.

View attachment 38730


Cleverley is not for most people, it is only for a certain type of person, ie, the elites and true footwear connoisseurs. If you aren't one of those, you risk having a bad experience. I got the royal treatment because l said the right things and asked the right questions. Igents don't know how to handle Cleverley, so they often fail.

Respect needs to be earned if you wish to get the Cleverly goodies!
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Great informatve post, as are those that follow, Shooey.

It would be really good if you could put these shoos on and let us see what they look like 'in action', so to speak.
 
Todays shoo - alligator special.jpg

The man who made them:
Cleverley - Yohei Iwasaki 2.jpg


The two men on the right (looking at photo) are responsible for the alligator perfection. Top TOP experts, the two of them. Both have left Cleverley now, thank goodness. I wonder what my shoemaker is doing now, he seems to have vanished. Would have thought he might have started his own brand, but then again, bespoke making doesn't make much money....certainly not glamorous. Cleverley - Yohei Iwasaki 1.jpg
 
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The Shooman said:
View attachment 38752

The man who made them:
View attachment 38749


The two men on the right (looking at photo) are responsible for the alligator perfection. Top TOP experts, the two of them. Both have left Cleverley now, thank goodness. I wonder what my shoemaker is doing now, he seems to have vanished. Would have thought he might have started his own brand, but then again, bespoke making doesn't make much money....certainly not glamorous. View attachment 38750
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Even though alligator is not my leather, these shoes are simply stunning.
 
The Shooman said:
Now Sammy Ambrose Sammy Ambrose I think it is about time for another pair of your shoos. I have been missing them. Your pairs are very nice, very classic.
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No. We've had enough of mine for now, Shooey. More maybe later.

As I said in an earlier post, we don't want to focus excessively on Loake. We need to hone in on other brands. And perhaps the best - and definitely the most entertaining - way of doing that is to see shoes on a poster's feet.

So let's have a few more pics Shooey!
 
florisgreen said:
Even though alligator is not my leather, these shoes are simply stunning.
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Thanks florisgreen florisgreen that is a compliment coming from you. I probably should have ordered it in medium brown, but l am a real sucker for navy blue shoes.

A family shot of some of my colourful shoos.

I like colourful shoes in the warmer months. The one on the right at the front is a rare aussie bespoke, he was one of the finest aussie shoemakers and l was his only client for handmade bespoke. He stitched over 3,000 pairs in Italy and came to Oz in 1957, but he made machine shoes for everyone else except for me.

The purple shoe is perhaps the finest rtw derby ever made, but BIG Johnny Lobb of course. What a beauty!
Shoo hoo1.webp
 
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