Decent leather shoes

SimonAH

Staid and boring I know, but I've always walked straight into Clarks for a pair of black leather soled shoes for office or general suit duty. My current pair have about eight years and two re-soles on the clock so on the weekend off I sloped to Clarks for a replacement.

Now I did start to worry about Clarks when I took my daughter in there for some shoes a couple of years ago and found that most of the kids shoes had degenerated to the sort that have toys hidden in secret compartments under the insole to make you buy them on pester-power rather than good quality shoes for your children's feet....

Anyhow, pottered around and homed in on the one and only leather soled, welted pair of black brogues on the displays (in years past I would have been able to choose from several styles). Picked them up and the initial quality assessment was Meh. The price was £95 which was OKish, but then on enquiring to the assistant I found out that the display pair (size eight) was the only pair they had.

What is going on with Clarks? Are they slinging their reputation away and dumbing down to match the high street vinyl budget shoe outlets?

Anyway, looking at a pair of Grensons on t'net - I seem to recall that they are a decent quality brand? (Lobb and Church are a bit pricey for work shoes).

Sharkyssurfers

Loake shoes are nice, bit pricey depending on styles, depending which area of the smoke you work in, there is a good shop in strutton ground that sells loakes, church and others as good prices too.

rjsterry

Yep, manufacturing costs have been cut to stay competitive = they ain't what they were. Have you tried Jones the Bootmaker?

rick_chasey

Try asos.com

EKE_38BPM

Black, leather and a timeless classic.

SimonAH

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Black, leather and a timeless classic.

I was expecting that link to lead to a bondage picture TBH :-D

Blonde Cyclist

+ 1 for Jones. Have several pairs of leather shoes from there and the balance between quality and price is very good. Their heels are also incredibly comfortable (if that's what you are looking for...)

veronese68

Blonde Cyclist wrote:

Their heels are also incredibly comfortable (if that's what you are looking for...)

Only for the weekend shoe.

DrLex

SimonAH wrote:

[...]

What is going on with Clarks? Are they slinging their reputation away and dumbing down to match the high street vinyl budget shoe outlets?
[...]

Their manufacturing is now in India, Vietnam, Brazil etc- it's almost a decade since they made shoes in Somerset. I'd recommend a decent British manufacturer like those mentioned; Shipton & Heneage is worth adding in (I've a two pairs approaching 20 years). If you are visiting Oxford, do pop into Duckers in the Turl - a proper shoe shop.

For boots, R.M.Williams takes some beating.

il_principe

Cheaney are very good. Company has been bought by the Church family and are a proper old English shoemaker. Cheaper than Church's and excellent quality. Staff in store are well trained and knowledgeable as well. http://www.cheaney.co.uk/

Grenson are ok - the name was bought by a guy called Tim Little who does all the design. I own 2 pairs of the boots, bought 2 years apart and the quality of the leather has visibly deteriorated. I see them more as a 'fashion' brand than a proper shoe maker.

SimonAH

DrLex wrote:

For boots, R.M.Williams takes some beating.

100% agreement on that one, damn near indestructible boots.

They also do a very nice moleskin jean.

kelsen

If you want light and comfy have a look at the Rockport dress range. They boast that they're good enough to run a marathon in. I had a pair and they were indeed the lightest and most comfortable dress shoes I've ever worn straight out the box.

porlyworly

Grenson are as good as you'll get without spending top dollar

optimisticbiker

+1 for both Loakes and Rockport. Found the same, used to have John Lewis Oxfords... for years and years... then they stopped doing them. Moved to Rockports and never looked back, keep one pair in the office and one at home, plus some more casual slip-ons at home. Also have a pair for Loakes for best and to go with the dinner suit.

clarkey cat

I've always worn Loakes. No complaints here.

There is a place on Southampton Row that sells them for about £60/70 a pair.

Underscore

I've had good shoes from Loake, Grenson and Alfred Sargent in the past.

Note that Loake have now moved the manufacture of some of their ranges to India. If you are wanting to support British manufacturing, as well as getting a good pair of shoes, make sure you look for a pair that are made in England.

_

Kendal Black Drop

Has anybody had any experience of the Quoc Pham Tourer Shoe?
They are SPD compatible, but reasonably pricey at £150.

Kieran_Burns

You know, the most comfortable pair of office shoes I have ever bought are the Pods I am wearing now.

A bit like these:

clarkey cat

are you a post boy?

roger_merriman

clarkey cat wrote:

are you a post boy?

I was a postie for many years, always had DR martin shoes, marked Royal Mail.

Tough shoes still using them now... possibly not boardroom smart mind you!

t4tomo

clarkey cat wrote:

I've always worn Loakes. No complaints here.

There is a place on Southampton Row that sells them for about £60/70 a pair.

Loakes are good, as are Barkers, better than Loakes I would say. If its the same place I'm thinking about on southhampton row, he sells Barkers too.

Churches are great but very expensive.

There used to be a market stall on the Cut nr waterloo that sold slight seconds Loakes for about £40 a pair, but I think he stopped trading a few years ago.

singleton

I bought some chelsea boots from these folks online:

http://www.samuel-windsor.co.uk/

and they seem great so far. Nicely made, good quality materials, although I have only had them a few months so far.

il_principe

Kendal Black Drop wrote:

Has anybody had any experience of the Quoc Pham Tourer Shoe?
They are SPD compatible, but reasonably pricey at £150.

Dromarti do some lovely SPD leather shoes, look far nicer than the Quoc's:



http://www.dromarti.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=10_29_13&products_id=15

Kieran_Burns

You have to be a postie to wear comfortable shoes?

I'm in them for 8 hours a day, I like to wear something that is office smart, comfortable and protects my feet (walking protect that is)

Underscore

I'm waiting for the local shoe shop to get these Loakes in for me to try:



Hopefully, they should tick the same three boxes as Kieran...

_

asprilla

t4tomo wrote:

clarkey cat wrote:

I've always worn Loakes. No complaints here.

There is a place on Southampton Row that sells them for about £60/70 a pair.

Loakes are good, as are Barkers, better than Loakes I would say. If its the same place I'm thinking about on southhampton row, he sells Barkers too.

Churches are great but very expensive.

There used to be a Churches outlet store at Bicester Village. I got three pairs there for £300 which should last me the next 10-15 years.