Film Noir Buff Style Forum / Alfred Sargent...A Slight Return

Thee Captain · 2012-06-12 03:12:59

I know AS has popped up on here before (Like meself, someone out there was a fan of their dainite Oakley longwing)...

So if like me, you've nearly done yerself a major mischief in recent weeks being caught out n about in a pair of Flo's V cleats in thee current monsoon conditions in Blighty at the mo...then no doubt a decent dainite shoe is on everyone's shopping list:

Tredders are doing the Oakley again after AS apparently discontinued the brand and having bought another pair a few months back, they now come in an uber beast of a dainite sole..has "Commando" on it if that means owt to folk out there?
It's a lot sturdier than the original dainite sole anyhoo...

http://www.tredders.com/shop/Oakley

However, was wondering if anyone's seen these in the flesh anywhere..from their new upmarket "Exclusive Range", clearly an updated version of the Oakley but a big price leap I have to say..

I gives you The Stepney:

http://www.shoes.shoppingsection.co.uk/ … gory_Code=

John Rushton had a sample pair of these below a while back too: maybe not everyone's cup of cha with the sole thing going on but they did seem well made to my previously mentioned good eye...

http://www.shoes.shoppingsection.co.uk/ … gory_Code=

If anyone meantime knows where to pur-chase a nifty sowester/cape combination, please holler....I've a bit of a beard on at the mo so rockin' the MAD CAP'N Birdseye look may at least get me some neutral space on the tube....

Oo Bop Sh'bam · 2012-06-12 09:45:31

I sent mine back, I didn't like the look of their longwings on my feet. They have a very pointy last. Not good with long thin feet.

Thee Captain · 2012-06-13 10:47:05

OBS - were they their new ones then...The Stepney?

The shape on my newer Oakley is slightly slimmer than old but I loves it... and I'm a Size 10...

I'm wondering how AS's new regime is faring tbh...everything's gone up a heck of a lot pricewise tho John (John Rushton) did say the quality was excellent etc.

I lurk on Facebook too and they are forever doing Trade shows so maybe they've picked up a new clientele?

Anyone got/seen those Alden Longwings with the commando sole?

One For Bop · 2012-06-13 11:05:39

Ahh sorry my mistake mine were the older cheaper ones, the Oakley, to be honest I wasn't keen on the leather, but I think with their ones that break the £300 mark they are made with better leathers, at least they look more attractive. I still would say I don't like their signature shape, I like my lasts, bulbous.

woofboxer · 2012-06-16 00:09:23

Even long standing classic designs like the Allen Edmonds Macneil longwing seem to be affected by pointy toe'dness. There is a definite difference in shape between the modern versions:

http://www.rubbersole.co.uk/Allen-Edmon … e&sx=H

compared to the twenty year old examples worn by John Rushton in this video

http://vimeo.com/24528950

Shooman .....thoughts?

4F Hepcat · 2012-06-16 00:15:48

They do look rather good, and I have to say, if you live in temperate zones subject to rain and damp, then rubber soles are the way to go.

Shooey is a confirmed leather sole man, he's not much impressed with rubber soles. But they are practical, especially on miserable rain drenched days, such as these.

Beautiful Edith · 2012-06-16 00:19:33

Worse shoe I ever wore in these damp conditions was a Wallabee. Almost as bad as a leather sole for skidding. I stick pretty rigidly to Clarks' Trek or desert boots.

Hard Bop Hank · 2012-06-16 04:44:47

I have 1960s Florsheim Imperial Longwings that look more tapered than these AE Mac Neils.

Thee Captain · 2012-06-16 10:45:34

Wow - love the John Rushton clip....Top Banana and a place I like to go in just to have a quick natter and catch up on anything looming on the shoe horizon....

Long wing shape is a very serious topic for me indeed: I remember when I first got some AE Macneils I really thought I'd made a terrible blunder gentleman...I fell to the floor...wailed like a banshee...and questioned what demons had made me splash out on this pointy madness...

When I eventually got a grip on meself and got my own shape into them, then BINGO - I "really" got into them and liked the fact they were a change from the usual gunboat style I'd gone for previously.... I also have Florsheims/a pair of Alden's and various Tricker's (not longwings of course) which are all quite a chunky wider rounded shape etc...

So returning to these Sargent Oakleys, the newer pair I got from Tredders are deffo a very slightly narrower shape than my older ones from John Rushton's back in the day but I have to say, I think the newer ones are excellent...the leather seems better and as mentioned, the dainite sole is a serious bit of kit compared to the older ones... if you spend a lot of time on seedy alcohol riddled floors like wot I do...then they really are a necessity, never mind the bleedin' awful summer weather we're havin'....

Personally - I loves em

I think AE can do a dainite sole over the water which I may well consider one day...like em or loathe em, they really do have a distinctive shape...and for that fellas...I salute them!!!

Methinks this post wouldnae sit well on the minimalist Ivy thread, he he.....shoes shoes shoes....hurrah for shoes!!!

One For Bop · 2012-06-16 12:12:30

Question is, what is the best shape Brit shoe/last at the £200 - £350 mark? I like my duckers and sons but i also like trickers shape. I hate pointy or square shoes no matter how well they're made

Hard Bop Hank · 2012-06-16 12:16:49

Check the link, Bop. These are certainly no pointy shoes, not even almond shaped, they're just sssssssslighty more narrow than others, you can barely see that in the pics.

Anyway, what I meant was that my old Florsheims are a different shape than, say Aldens on the Barrie last...

One For Bop · 2012-06-16 12:20:26

I've had them Hank, and the three other pairs of Alfs I've had have something I'd describe as a little beak on the end of them, its the classic Alf look on their 70 and 80's last.

Last edited by One For Bop (2012-06-16 12:23:36)

One For Bop · 2012-06-16 12:25:29

That's the view that shows it off the best

Kingston1an · 2012-06-16 13:14:35

Hard Bop Hank wrote:
Check the link, Bop. These are certainly no pointy shoes, not even almond shaped, they're just sssssssslighty more narrow than others, you can barely see that in the pics.

I agree with Hank.

One For Bop · 2012-06-16 13:32:30

Beaky.

One For Bop · 2012-06-16 13:50:39

i'm not talking as you look down on them, I mean as you look across them, the isometric view, they have quite a distinct line that runs to a point, like I said I've got three pairs cause they go cheap (beak pun) on AFPOS, they don't have the roundness of American brands or Trickers, also they have quite a high instep, and a shallow heel. Of course that just comes down to how you fit them, but I wouldn't recommend the Alfs in the £100 - £270 bracket.

woofboxer · 2012-06-16 15:14:56

One For Bop wrote:
Question is, what is the best shape Brit shoe/last at the £200 - £350 mark? I like my duckers and sons but i also like trickers shape. I hate pointy or square shoes no matter how well they're made

I like the look of these Robinson's brogues from the website, no idea what they are like in the flesh

http://www.robinsonsshoes.com/p0/robins … ues/77.htm

Kingston1an · 2012-06-17 02:59:51

woofboxer wrote:
One For Bop wrote:
Question is, what is the best shape Brit shoe/last at the £200 - £350 mark? I like my duckers and sons but i also like trickers shape. I hate pointy or square shoes no matter how well they're made
I like the look of these Robinson's brogues from the website, no idea what they are like in the flesh

http://www.robinsonsshoes.com/p0/robins … ues/77.htm

Interesting. You can clearly see the leather join on the inner side of the shoe though.

Hard Bop Hank · 2012-06-17 03:44:46

One For Bop wrote:
That's the view that shows it off the best

http://www.shoes.shoppingsection.co.uk/ … n_zoom.jpg

Hmmm... Yes, in this picture it looks pretty narrow. It might be like that because it looks like an extremely small size, no?

My point, though, was that it's not "pointy". These are pointy shoes:

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(that last pair of winklepickers is from Adam's Neatsville blog and the other one from the original modernists page on FB...)

If there is a difference between the American styles of Longwings and this Alfred Sargent version, it is probably that the Alfreds have a more English silhouette, almost like English suits, slightly curvy (is that the word) with a smaller waist (if you can use that word for a shoe)... I'm not sure if this decription makes sense. If I had a camera I could show this better. Maybe comparing pictures of Alden and Edward Green shoes would show this best as these are the extremes...

One For Bop · 2012-06-17 04:10:25

Finally a shoe in my size!

One For Bop · 2012-06-17 04:13:43

Anyway I was spurred on to do a little research, the 70 last is actually ok, it's the 80 that has that little beak effect you see it most on their loafers.

annadale · 2012-06-17 04:49:38

woofboxer wrote:
I like the look of these Robinson's brogues from the website, no idea what they are like in the flesh

http://www.robinsonsshoes.com/p0/robins … ues/77.htm

Carrickfergus, 'the town where I was born'.

My uncle buys these, and says they are the best shoes he has ever owned, but then he would be a little biased as he lives only twenty north of Carrick, further along the Antrim coast. All I can tell you is that they appear to age very well and look very solid in the flesh. I have never been to the shop- personally I would baulk at paying more than €250 for a pair and at the current exchange these work out at €350! My Loakes will do me fine for the moment, but if ever I can raise my personal spending, that has been rapidly curtailed by the contraction of business, the European fucking debt crisis, and my hungry hoho of an ex-wife, I shall treat myself to a visit and report back to you chaps.

Thee Captain · 2012-11-16 09:00:59

There's summat not right about these I feel....and I just don't mean the price.....?!?!

http://www.afinepairofshoes.co.uk/colle … ton-rustic

Drum Thunder !!! · 2012-11-16 14:02:13

Words say a thousand pictures,.... or something like that.

C&J for Peal & Co.

The_Shooman · 2012-11-16 21:03:32

4F Hepcat wrote:
They do look rather good, and I have to say, if you live in temperate zones subject to rain and damp, then rubber soles are the way to go.

Shooey is a confirmed leather sole man, he's not much impressed with rubber soles. But they are practical, especially on miserable rain drenched days, such as these.

Sorry to hijack the thread, but l have been meaning to ask you how those shoes you had repaired at the cobbler's went. Got any pics? Are you happy with the job? Did he strip back the cork or was he a joke cobbler?

#1 2012-06-12 03:12:59

Alfred Sargent...A Slight Return

#2 2012-06-12 09:45:31

Re: Alfred Sargent...A Slight Return

#3 2012-06-13 10:47:05

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#4 2012-06-13 11:05:39

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#5 2012-06-16 00:09:23

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#6 2012-06-16 00:15:48

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#7 2012-06-16 00:19:33

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#8 2012-06-16 04:44:47

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#9 2012-06-16 10:45:34

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#10 2012-06-16 12:12:30

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#11 2012-06-16 12:16:49

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#12 2012-06-16 12:20:26

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#13 2012-06-16 12:25:29

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#14 2012-06-16 13:14:35

Re: Alfred Sargent...A Slight Return

Hard Bop Hank wrote:

#15 2012-06-16 13:32:30

Re: Alfred Sargent...A Slight Return

#16 2012-06-16 13:50:39

Re: Alfred Sargent...A Slight Return

#17 2012-06-16 15:14:56

Re: Alfred Sargent...A Slight Return

One For Bop wrote:

#18 2012-06-17 02:59:51

Re: Alfred Sargent...A Slight Return

woofboxer wrote:

One For Bop wrote:

#19 2012-06-17 03:44:46

Re: Alfred Sargent...A Slight Return

One For Bop wrote:

#20 2012-06-17 04:10:25

Re: Alfred Sargent...A Slight Return

#21 2012-06-17 04:13:43

Re: Alfred Sargent...A Slight Return

#22 2012-06-17 04:49:38

Re: Alfred Sargent...A Slight Return

woofboxer wrote:

#23 2012-11-16 09:00:59

Re: Alfred Sargent...A Slight Return

#24 2012-11-16 14:02:13

Re: Alfred Sargent...A Slight Return

#25 2012-11-16 21:03:32

Re: Alfred Sargent...A Slight Return

4F Hepcat wrote:

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