Proper leather shoes

Chippewa were fantastic, OG engineer boot inventors claim and great quality. Think they’ve gone dead now though, sold out and killed all their best models 🤷🏻‍♂️

These have been advertised to me Instagram for a while and I’m a fan... not sure I’d buy them for the money when I’m not able to see them in the flesh but anyway... https://jacquessoloviere.com/collections/all/products/olivier-taupe they’re kind of half way between the two you posted...

3 Attachments

They're lovely, I used to have a pair... We called them Cornish Pasties BITD...

You forgot Duffer and Amercian Classics!

And Sam Walker.
Robot on Floral st.
Remember when CG was cool?

And Jones on Floral Street had some good bits as well, brilliant for Japanese denim at sale time... Bond International, etc... Sigh...

Sigh

It’s cause we’re old.
I miss it though.

I remember Paul Smith when it was one shop, he was often in there with his Bristol parked outside.

Did anyone go into the little Italian cafe on Floral Street? Home made lasagne and a cup of tea, smoking a fag and reading Time Out to plan the next thing to do. Seem to remember a Nigel Cabourn shop just off Floral st...?

Any tips on shoe trees? Worth using them? Will plastic do or best off with cedar?

Absolutely worth using! And yes, wooden trees are superior.

Cheers!

If anybody is looking at purchasing: Pediwear.co.uk* have Loake and Grenson shoes n' boots at 50% off. And there's some

Code: HALFLG

*Probably not going to rank highly on any best website names list

1 Attachment

What are they, they are the shit?

Columbia Camden Chukka

Jones on Floral Street

I’ll dig out the tshirt.

While we at it anybody any memories about the hole in the wall where I bought my first Doc Martens east off Brick Lane early mid Eighties? Were maybe £18, south Heneage Street possibly?

@fussballclub @absurdbird I've still got the Redwings from Shelly's circa 1993. American made and at the time, around £115 I think. There was a shop on South Molton/around there that sold them too. About three basic versions of a moc toe. Just like Carrhart at Interstate before they realised there was a massive market for fashion versions, those redwings were my pride and joy and fiercely expensive, mine with the dark Vibram sole. Oxblood/red or Black only. Cheap though compared to the sudden £200 plus price hike when I next looked. I've also got a good pair of Sam Walker George type boots, a Spiewak N1 deck from about 1998 that cost around 80 quid from John Simon in CG and that hatch/place off Brick Lane also sold great value Loakes sort of Cheshire street end if I remember

@fussballclub apols, no wait, that Brick lane place I am thinking of I visited in the early 90s so possibly different.

the hole in the wall where I bought my first Doc Martens

1 Attachment

My first Docs came from a similar sounding place on the Walworth Rd. looked like the cover of New Boots and Panties.
There used to be a shop like that in every area - Brutus shirts and STF Levi’s. last one I know of was in Rotherhithe.

Sound like we were shopping in the same places.
I got a pair of the Japanese Lee 101z repros I wore with the redwings.
Raw denim was niche in the 90s.
Especially as my mates were wearing para boots, camo and dreadlocks.

John Simons is legend.

You could buy the same George Cox DM soled shoes in there that Robot were selling, not as much choice and no crazy colours but black suede was all I wanted anyway... Once I found that place I never went back to Robot... I'm talking '81-'83...

They also sold the crepe soled chukka boots in there for less than half what they wanted on the Kings Road, loved that little shop... On Middlesex Street? I think the black suede chukkas were £11, crazy cheap...

1 Attachment

I used to have a little side hustle selling that era of Lee 101s, had a contact up in Fleetwood who got hold of all the seconds from the factory in Ireland... Consequently me and my mates were all decked out in delicious raw Lee 101z and 101j in the late 90s... Good times, all pre-internet... Loved a good hustle BITD...

Playboys!!!

I wore the black buckle DM sole Robots (were they actually George Cox?) as my school shoes - with slightly short straight leg trousers, neon socks.
Joe Strummer innit?
Although it was already retro in ‘85 - that look segued straight into psychobilly for me.
Flat-top at Andy’s.