OT: Shoes

essex-commuter

Has anyone used Samuel Windsor for shoes online? They look good VFM but I haven't heard of them before.

I bought a pair of decent brogues a month ago, they have leather soles and heels and there is a bluish colour rubber section on the heel which is maybe 3mm thick. Already I have worn the edge of this down (I wear down the outside of the heel slightly) which is rather disappointing. What would a shoe-mender do to these, do they take the rubber section out and replace it? Wondering if I can have steel corners put in but concerned about the noise when I walk.

Anonymous

They look and are generally crap. The suede brogues are probably acceptable but the leather ones look pretty awful and the quality is atrocious. I think the sole is made up of cardboard or something.

I generally have a couple of pairs from Jones on rotation but recently chucked them as the uppers gave up and am now painfully wearing in a couple of pairs from Shipton and Heneage.

asprilla

essex-commuter wrote:

What would a shoe-mender do to these, do they take the rubber section out and replace it? .

Pretty much.

I get my shoes from Churches. Very expensive, but my tan Oxfords must be getting on for 18 years old and are still in fantastic nick.

dhope

The name alone puts me off. Trying too hard to sound traditional British.

I've got Loakes for my normal office shoes. And bought some Meermins recently though not got around to wearing them yet. I'd bought cheapies before but the Loakes weren't much more expensive (~£120) than Jones' I'd had before and they're vastly better quality.
Just had them resoled after about 4 years which cost another £50 but I'd have thrown away about 4 pairs of Jones' by now.

Also
https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/180983/

essex-commuter

Think I'll give them a miss then.

Thanks for the lfgss link, I've read a dozen pages, will go back when I have a few days to spare!

Don't really want to be paying 300-400 for a pair of shoes, even if they do last 15 years. Would rather pay 100 odd and change every 4 or 5 years. That's just me though.

asprilla

essex-commuter wrote:

Don't really want to be paying 300-400 for a pair of shoes, even if they do last 15 years. Would rather pay 100 odd and change every 4 or 5 years. That's just me though.

They have an outlet store at Bicester Village and I have family in Didcot, for their sins.

I think I probably paid about half price.

Anonymous

Jones will give you 2-3 years of service, I reckon. They aren't that bad.

If you want lasting soles, put rubber on them.

rower63

Trad English shoes is one of those things where you really get what you pay for. £100 generally gets you 1 year if you're wearing them regularly, not 3-4, they tend to fall apart after the first wet season. M&S shoes are the classic example. £200 gets you many years, and the really expensive ones, such as Church's, will last decades (no pun intended). I still regularly wear a pair I bought in 1989.

A good indicator of "made-to-last" (arf arf) is to check whether they're "fully lined". Look for leather lining on the underside/inside of the uppers all the way to the toe. Cheaper ones will have canvas just beyond where you can easily see.

imatfaal

Loakes can sometimes be bought fairly cheap at the discount shoe place in Strutton Ground SW1. I am still using some that are about 10 years old

prawny

I've got a pair of Loakes that I bring out for special occasions. Had them for my Wedding (April 2006) and they still look pretty new, couldn't wear them everyday though, for one it says not to in the little book it came with.

I can't imagine spending £100 on work shoes though, I normally get the best looking ones I can find for £20ish and they last a year or so.

dhope

prawny wrote:

I can't imagine spending £100 on work shoes though, I normally get the best looking ones I can find for £20ish and they last a year or so.

But the Loakes I spent £100 on have lasted 5 so far. And every year they've looked and felt better than a £20 pair.

Shoe shaped object etc

prawny

Dunno, everytime I wear my Loakes something bad seems to happen.

Last time they rubbed a hole in my heel at a conference. The first time I ended up married.

Bad times.

Edit- The main thing is I can spend the remaining £80 on bike stuff.

pblakeney

I have Church, Loake, and have had Jones and budget shoes.
My last purchase was from here and they have been an ideal balance between quality and VFM.
http://www.ctshirts.com/uk/mens-shoes/

dhope

PBlakeney wrote:

I have Church, Loake, and have had Jones and budget shoes.
My last purchase was from here and they have been an ideal balance between quality and VFM.
http://www.ctshirts.com/uk/mens-shoes/

CT shoes are actually Loakes

pblakeney

dhope wrote:

PBlakeney wrote:

I have Church, Loake, and have had Jones and budget shoes.
My last purchase was from here and they have been an ideal balance between quality and VFM.
http://www.ctshirts.com/uk/mens-shoes/

CT shoes are actually Loakes

I knew they'd be a rebranded something. Just didn't know what.

itboffin

i used to wear Church's when I lived in Rushden northants and could pop along to the factory shop they are exceptionally good shoes, now i wear Jones brogues in suede and black leather I think they were £100 each many years ago

captain_chaos

Dr Martens for me

itboffin

Funny enough they were in the factory across the road from church's

Quins

I was lured in by the S Windsors about 8 years ago, bought brogue dealer boots and chukkas. Absolute pony, the dealers are horrible. Had the chukkas resoled and keep them under my desk as a spare. Shine up well but as someone else said, the soles were cardboard...

I'm another one for the Strutton Ground shop for DrMs for the walk 2-3 miles to and from office to London stations ( if not in bike kit). Next visit will be for Loaks or Church's to replace the M&S ones.

rower63

Of course if Church's are just a bit too common and cheap for you, you could try Lobb shoes. In fact, this should probably be in the bargains thread.

asprilla

rower63 wrote:

Of course if Church's are just a bit too common and cheap for you, you could try Lobb shoes. In fact, this should probably be in the bargains thread.

Those are ex-vat prices too. Wonder if I can get some through the company?

rick_chasey

Still remember a candidate once who insisted that his £5k lasts were the best value thing he'd ever bought.

DrLex

The other top tip is not to wear the same pair every day, but in rotation with others. Oh, and try and fully polish them at least once a month. I'm still wearing shoes bought when I was at university, over thirty years ago.

asprilla

DrLex wrote:

The other top tip is not to wear the same pair every day, but in rotation with others. Oh, and try and fully polish them at least once a month. I'm still wearing shoes bought when I was at university, over thirty years ago.

And, of course, use cedar shoe trees.

Anonymous

I have 2 pairs for work I now alternate. Need to sort a second pair of shoe trees for them.

The others are worn rarely and only have trees to help the shape, sadly not the moisture. Annoyingly cedar trees are about £20 wherever you look.

guy.spartacus

I've got a couple of pairs from Samuel Windsor - a pair of the Country Boots and a pair of brogues

I wear the boots for work and they seem to be holding up ok - they don't look too sad either.

The shoes though are some manky grey/blue colour and had a ridiculous amount of bloom on them when they arrived. Very rarely wear them to be honest.

At the weekends I wear my Wolverine 1000 Mile boots but always find myself looking at Viberg or Truman alternatives. As well as Tricker's for a good old fashioned British twang

rick_chasey

Put rubbers on each autumn.

pblakeney

Rick Chasey wrote:

Put rubbers on each autumn.

Just the once a year?

kingstonian

I wear Cheaney - have 4 pairs now. They fit my foot shape perfectly, where in the past I've found that Church's don't.

When I buy them, before wearing them the first time I always give them a coat of polish.

As others have said, try to rotate your shoes (ie not wear them day after day) and put cedar shoes trees in them at the end of the day. Regular polishing keeps them looking great.

They may be expensive but if we'll looked after they last for ages and always look the nuts.

meanredspider

Good shoes are certainly worth the money. Like others, I had some Church's (bought half price in a high street sale) @£120 and they were both incredibly comfortable and lasted forever.

That said, I bought some Ecco Chelsea boots when I moved to Amsterdam and wore them almost daily for work (including the shortish bike commute) in all weathers and, after two years, they are now looking a bit "loved and lived in" but, like a favourite old pair of jeans, I'm struggling to dump them.

rick_chasey

PBlakeney wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Put rubbers on each autumn.

Just the once a year?

If you cycle to work you won't be walking that much.