Proper leather shoes

Purchased during a thunderstorm - my amazing sense of timing:

:)

Tour de TK...

suede is great in a thunderstorm, especially sans sox :)

Less to dry

Never could tell if I'm a soigneur or domestique

Saw an amazing pair of oxblood brogues today. All they said inside was "Made In England" and "Leather Upper, Leather Sole" and the insock was all leather too.

They felt nice, and the stitching was very...hmm... old school I guess. They looked like they came from a small maker, especially with the sole's welt stitching so far toward the edge, and the pinning of the heel was amazing, loads of pins all across to hold in place. The insole lifted easy to shoe the build of the shoe. They were 8 1/2 though, and I need a wide 9, or 9 1/2 (sometimes buy 10, and use an extra insole).

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Any of those "live, love, laugh" framed posters alongside that Keep Calm one?

:)

This was in Chippenham, cringe levels were set to fatal.

how far in was the stitching on the sole to the outside? It would be difficult to save material when you have to re-sole them, you can lose between 0.5mm-1.5mm on the finishing belt.

It could definitely be resoled with a good cobbler. I mean, it was maybe up to 1mm further out than I'm used to seeing on Loake/Barker/Church/etc, but it wasn't dangerously so. The original sole felt solid and hardly worn (no soft spots), and the construction as a whole felt quite light. There's a chance you could get away with cementing and pinning along the midsole - that's what I had done with a couple pairs recently.

Losing 1.5mm along the welt seems quite a lot, unless you mean after 3 resoles, or a massive cock-up.

forget the brogues, that beige canvas slip-on look super comfy..

Cheers, top tip. Just picked these up from TK Maxx - awesome quality for the money.

http://www.tkmaxx.com/new-in-mens-shoes/chocolate-leather+suede-derby-shoes/invt/27245823

Good choice. They are value for the money for sure...

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They have some Barkers and Loakes in stock online, if you have hobbit size feet.

Certainly a question thinking forward (totally rock bottom of overdraft and still job searching right now) but...

A while back I was lucky enough to find a great vintage pair of black oxfords by Alfred Hall in the charity shop. Alfred Hall was a tailor that closed in the early 90's, and the styling on these shoes look like they must be old especially considering the blake stitched half sole repair (possibly cemented originally) and curved midsole onto heel. They look classic, I'll try take a photo some point but basically all the detailing is subtle, they look nice but the previous owner damaged the toe cap so one side is dented. Probably irreparable but a nice vintage shoe. They polish up really well, not quite mirror shine, but well.

The leather is super super soft. They aren't like contemporary dress shoes with rock solid shiny black leather. These are comfortable, the leather shows grain (or a lifetime of creasing). They look a little Italian if that makes sense.

So big question - who has seen shoes like this from a current shoe range? Black oxfords that lack the stiffness and structure?

que?

Like these?

From your description it just sounds as if you after soft calfs leather with a soft matt finish.

By Italian, I'm guessing you mean a slimmer, longer looking shoe? That will just depend on the last.

The C&J in the middle of Germin St has a large range so you could look there to start.

I'm need help with my wedding shoes.

I'm going to be wearing a dark grey suit with a slight speckle and a turn up on the trousers. Quite tapered at the bottom.

I was considering a quarter brogue loafer in black with patent toe cap and a tassel. Thoughts?

I'd never heard of a brogue loafer, so I Googled and found this:

Honestly? That ^ looks hideous.

I think people often try too hard with wedding shoes. I would stick with something simple with a low slim fit.

What colours are the buttons of your suit?

Got any pics of the suit?

I'd probably be mindful of going a bit OTT - but also give AF as it's your wedding so may as well break all teh rulez

They do look fucking awful, but then that's a full brogue.

I'm talking about a quarter brogue, so just a straight strip of brogue:

I think loafer is the wrong word? Maybe just a slip on Oxford? Fuck knows.

I saw someone wearing a pair years ago, liked them, never seen them again. Probably for a reason.

Haven't picked it up yet from being tailored, will post a pic once I've got it.