New Bespoke Shoes

Welcome back, dear readers old and new. Another week flies past and a large proportion of it was spent (by me at least) in Brussels, which was lovely. The absolute highlight was the van Buuren Museum a house built and decorated entirely in the Art Deco style - it is an absolute gem with all the original windows, light fittings, furniture and rugs, all of which were commissioned specially for the house. If you are ever in Brussels, you must go - and have lunch at the Brasserie Georges down the road.

But back to shoes. This week we are going to show you some recent bespoke shoes we have delivered to customers.

The first pair is our classic Saddle Boot but with Madeira blue quarters. The black and blue box calf combination really works and adds a very contemporary edge to the boots. These are now living happily in Illinois with their owner.

Love the blue laces.

Military shine on the toes.

Now, these cause comment, both good and bad. But whatever way you swing, they are striking. Pink nubuck and cream kid. Pink slip beading and laces. Carreducker crow's foot stay stitches on the quarters. I have grown to love them after a shaky start (I admit it). These will be a delicate pair of shoes and I would like to see how they look in a few years' time

These are now causing a stir in the coffee shop of a small island on the west coast of the USA - hell yeah!

Fiddle waist and natural finish all over.

Blue Chelsea boots. Madeira blue box calf; red glacé kid lining; military shine on the toes; and a military ribbon tug. I love these boots and would happily wear them. They are bespoke and so have an 'idiosyncratic' shape - but this is the nature of bespoke shoes, they have to fit the feet that are inside them.

Split front seam is a nice detail. It also means that the uppers do not need to be blocked (crimped) which is an advantage.

The elastic gusset was inspired by a military uniform in the Gieves and Hawkes archive.

This is the second pair for this client. His first pair were a brogue Derby which he wanted to be flexible and wearable in most situations. For his second pair, he wanted something a little more casual, so we rounded the toes and used a Longchamp tan box calf to give a more weekend feel. We also antiqued the leather both before and after the making. Beforehand we deglazed it and used some dye washes to mottle it and darken it slightly, and afterwards we used polish to darken the toes and counters.

The toe medallion pattern is a very disguised monogram - TW. You would only really know if  someone tells you. But that is another thing about bespoke shoes which gives real pleasure to the owner - only he knows about these details, but every time he puts them on, he gets that little feeling of satisfaction.

We particularly like the brogue pattern around the  heel.

And there you go, a selection of recent shoes we have made. Hope you liked them. Please, as ever, feel free to ask questions and comment.

Until next week, happy shoemaking!