Proper leather shoes

thoughts on dainite soles?

thoughts on dainite soles?

I've got them on my Loake Thirsk boots:

Seem fine so far, and they are replaceable too.

thoughts on dainite soles?

I have them on a pair of Grensons. The shoes are 6 years old and have been resoled 3 times since then. They seem to be quite hard on the welting for some reason and I've had to replace it each time I've gotten a resole, but I'm not sure why.

Once worn in, however, the extra grip is handy for when the the pavement is damp.

Appropriate link is appropriate

...and also old as shit.

Anyone clued up on Loake sizing? Especially how it compares to Church's and / or Grensons. Looking for a pair of shoes to wear with my suit and they seem to hit a good balance between price and quality (?)

As far as I know Loake are bog standard UK true-to-size. They are decent too, if you go with their proper benchmade in England line. They do plenty that seem to be made here but are pretty shoddily put together in the far east. I once had a look at some Loake L1 derbies, made in India, and they were ropey as fuck.

I have a pair of Loake 1880 'Chester' brogues that have lasted and aged well. They're currently back at Loake being resoled and tarted-up generally.

That said, the difference in quality between them and my Tricker's is really apparent. The leather on the Loakes is ok but not remotely approaching the Tricker's. Where the Loakes have creased and cracked (despite my utmost care and attention) the Tricker's just get better and better. Maybe it would be better to spend the money if you can and go the whole hog with a top drawer maker?

Yeah, i'm in two minds. With a bit of patience I should be able to land a pair of decent loakes on ebay for say 50-100, while church's etc would prob reach 100-150.

Haven't decided yet how much I want to spend. They'll need to be slim enough for a suit, which means I can't really get much use of them in jeans, chinos etc, so they won't really see that much use. Then again, buy cheap, buy twice...

if you are only wearing the loakes on special occasions etc... they will still last for ages

my thinking too. as long as they'll look allright, i don't mind if they won't last me ages as I won't use them that much anyway. Rather spend that money on something I can wear daily, like trickers

Had a scoot around ebay, if there's these kinds of deals around next month, it'll be another pair of church's for me

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Churchs-Custom-Grade-English-Handmade-Leather-Shoes-Size-8-5-/120948853343?pt=UK_Men_s_Shoes&hash=item1c291d0a5f

As far as I know Loake are bog standard UK true-to-size. They are decent too, if you go with their proper benchmade in England line. They do plenty that seem to be made here but are pretty shoddily put together in the far east. I once had a look at some Loake L1 derbies, made in India, and they were ropey as fuck.

I have a pair of Loake 1880 'Chester' brogues that have lasted and aged well. They're currently back at Loake being resoled and tarted-up generally.

That said, the difference in quality between them and my Tricker's is really apparent. The leather on the Loakes is ok but not remotely approaching the Tricker's. Where the Loakes have creased and cracked (despite my utmost care and attention) the Tricker's just get better and better. Maybe it would be better to spend the money if you can and go the whole hog with a top drawer maker?

I'll have to look at Trickers. I've had several pairs of Loakes over the past few years (from 5th Ave Shoes and pediwear.co.uk) and all have been very comfortable and have 'aged' well - even with daily wear. One of their fittings/lasts fits my feet very well!

There was a story about Loakes in the Guardian ages ago where the story of a shoe was described - then, the leather was shipped to India (already cut?) to be treated and tanned and was then shipped back to the UK to be made into the shoe. Don't know if that's changed.

Don't know much about leather work, but I think tanning is done to hides, not cut stuff.

Sounds similar to what they do with Grensons now. Design and material choice in the UK, then they ship it off to india for assembly, then they sell it here for plenty monies.

Had a scoot around ebay, if there's these kinds of deals around next month, it'll be another pair of church's for me

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Churchs-Custom-Grade-English-Handmade-Leather-Shoes-Size-8-5-/120948853343?pt=UK_Men_s_Shoes&hash=item1c291d0a5f

ah, shoes of distinction, nice...

also have a gander at this vendor > http://stores.ebay.co.uk/ELITE-FORUM?_trksid=p4340.l2563

Loads of good stuff there, and decent prices too, at least for BIN. Thanks!

drool

Put some jam on the shoes and invite the jeans down for tea.

Those are lovely.

The Alden pages on (NYC shoe shop) Leffot's site are beyond porn. Look at these humdingers:

http://leffot.com/2012/01/28/alden-x-leffot-tan-suede-lwb/

http://leffot.com/2012/03/08/alden-x-leffot-marble-indy-boot/

http://leffot.com/2012/06/01/alden-color-8-cordovan/

http://leffot.com/2012/05/11/alden-x-leffot-brown-chromexcel-longwing-blucher/

http://leffot.com/2012/04/18/alden-x-leffot-snuff-suede-lwb-re-issue/

Too many to mention actually, just look here:

http://leffot.com/2011/12/26/alden-roundup/

A pair of shell cordovan Alden longwing bluchers is my shoe-nerd holy grail. But they look awesome in suede too. And maybe the shell is better shown off on a plain derby. Hmm.

sp you will only need to buy one pair of cordovan brogues. you should do it and start that process of them getting even better looking. delay no longer.

What brand/where, please SP?

nuknow, alden cordovan

Boom. thanks.

Coppi, I totally agree. If you feel like helping out with the £595 you'd be very welcome to ;-)

Been looking at getting a pair of Aldens for a while. Anyone have any idea which kind of sole this is? I've seen a similar pair in Frans Boon but with a more antique sole.