Proper leather shoes

I think he's a one man band, as always got emails direct from him - really helpful through the entire process so would definitely recommend!

They look ‘proper’

Very similar story here, I normally allow other people to break in my leather footwear.

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Where are they from? They look expensive

Nearly all my shoes and trainers are second hand.

Super cheap, practically disposable and someone’s done the hard work for you

Trickers Burford from their factory shop. I’d been watching them for weeks while I waited on another pair I had selling on eBay.

As luck would have it they had another £75 off when I bought as it was the last day of their Black Friday something or other.

Expensive then. But worth every penny from their appearance

look like they'll last a while, hope breaking them in is nice and easy!

I might sell them on with a buy back clause once they’ve got a few hundred miles in them.

Actual price was £300 which is certainly at the top end of what I’d allow myself to pay.

A pair of Grassmere which are very similar in appearance cost twice that so still pretty happy with my purchase.

Haha, ideally to someone with identical shaped trotters too!

Help. I brought some Hackett dark brown suede tassel loafers in the summer, size 11. I am in fact a size 10.5 and they fit a little roomier then I’d like, is there a accepted method of making them fit more snugly?

Suede loafers will stretch so not ideal really but you can put a leather insole in

Oof, good luck with them. My Trickers Stow boots are still heel and toe skin shredders after 18 months!

Yeah, I though this might be the only option. I’ll give it a go a report back

Some cobblers would be able to sew a leather patch in behind the tongue to help keep your heal from slipping forward - you could also diy this to see if it helps first?

Does anyone have any experience of this type of sole? Is it crap?

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I had something like that in a pair of boots. I think they were just cheap

I’ve read that fore and aft grip is good, side slip can be a thing though.

Picked up a pair of Loake Bedale boots in black in the sale. Great value for the money (£199.00).

Bought a tan pair in last years’ sale and they are a pleasure to wear.

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I've been on a bit of an Oliver Sweeney splurge recently and just as I said no more I was tempted by these lovely wholecuts in their sale. Way to formal for me to wear regularly but beautifully made for the price of a pair of a decent pair of trainers nowadays

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how you find wearing these in? I got some very similar loakes, non-boot, for my sister's wedding. Wore them to work once. F**ked the back of my heel. Left them alone. Wedding is in 2.5 weeks

No problems to report. Wore them for a long walk yesterday, and another today. I reckon by the end of tomorrow's walk, they'll be there. They are 'roomier' than a standard size, and I wear thick-ish socks with them.

If you’ve got heal rub on the inside of the shoe, this is usually caused by the shoe not following your foot as you go through the normal walking motion. Your foot moves but the sole is too stiff to follow and thus there’s rubbing as the sole resists the movement. Goodyear welted, and well any decently shoes are incredibly stiff when they’re new and take a long time to bed in and get enough flex to follow your foot. I can’t remember where I saw it, but there was an exploded picture of a pair of Goodyear welted shoes, and there’s something like 5 layers of leather and cork on the sole. The final outside layer, whether it be rubber or leather is properly thick and solid. These materials don’t flex well at all, let alone altogether.

For breaking in a pair of new shoes, last time I was in C&J, the guy there was explaining to bend the shoes in half 5 times (or more) each time before you wear them as the soles are just too stiff and won't follow your heel movement. You need to keep doing this before each wear until they become supple enough. The amount he flexed a pair of £450 shoes I was trying on made my eyes water! But following his advice has really worked, and heel rub is a thing of the past! You can be quite forceful, as the movement from walking along doesn’t seem to be enough by itself.

I find with Loakes you have to "break their backs" it is the lack of flex in the leather sole that does the damage. I also have some Loake boots, but they are rubber soled and cause me less bother.

Here they are! I actually got them "nearly new" on eBay hoping someone would have worn them in a bit
Will do some folding in half. I often see brogues that have a clear almost fold in the top of the foot leather once they've been worn a bit so it would happen anyway I suppose

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