It looks as if Trickers shifted production from England to Italy at some point.
I wonder if The Shooman rates them at all.
The pair I bought recently were a slightly wide fitting.  The shape of my feet has changed since losing weight.  The pair I bought today for the price of a pint of London ale (probably not, at current prices) are a good deal better.  Comparable S/H pair on Ebay just touching £100.  In Kenya.

Now how did someone get away with that?

Happy to say, though, mine are the real deal.  I like Italian shoes very well, Astorflex in particular (all hail The Weejun) - and I loved my old desert boots to pieces.  But this I do not much approve of.

Interesting.  I wouldn’t have thought to rate trickers over Alden. Maybe depends upon years. 

I assume Alden has grown in sales since internet came into being and pushed them.  On other hand some of the brooks offerings must’ve moved a lot of shoes. 

Haven’t warmed to the Alden chukka which i own.  Quality is fantastic.  Maybe the Brit’s do better. 

For me unless I know exactly what i want and how it’ll fit, i have to buy from a brick and mortar store. 

That said:: convenience of internet is something that I’ve gotten used to.

Can’t imagine when I’ll be in London again but a visit to truckers will be a stop.  Do they have a store in Paris with complete collection? 

Shoos has been my downfall.  Not to Imelda Marcos level but the one thing i get for which I’m not deterred by price.

Just bagged some new black Sanders military apron split toe shoes made for Japan at low price at the bay. Very happy. Got them in burgundy before and maturing nicely after many years of wear.

Last edited by An Unseen Scene (2024-12-07 13:25:03)

"Alfred Sargent shoes went into liquidation in November" - wow, I didn't know this. I agree with the sentiment in your post.  Particularly for formal shoe companies, they need to transform into higher end casual shoes and also be able to sell into more traditional countries (China, Japan etc) or there simply isn't enough market for them any more. They'll increasingly end up owned by bigger companies they are a small part of, especially outside UK for their domestic audience.

The Sanders military shoes arrived this morning and are a thing of skill, care and wonder. I paid £140 for them, supposedly a second due to something cosmetic, but their quality is so high in these military shoes, I cannot see a single blemish. Mrs Unseen was particularly impressed. I already have them in the Burgundy/oxblood so after waiting probably a decade, it's great to finally get them in black at less than £300 and having to reimport them from Japan.

Abbots Shoes appear in my Google feed this week - it seems they are an ebay style reconditioner and reseller for good quality formal shoe brands (at near full price). They say reconditioner, but some of the soe soles look poor so check all the pictures. However I spotted a few interesting shoes in my size so worth a peruse:

https://abbotsshoes.com/

Last edited by An Unseen Scene (2024-12-10 06:22:07)

Yes I am unsure they are ever worn by the Japanese military. I just like the style and quality.

Yes, in decline for a number of years. Then featured heavily in John Rushton Wimpole Street.

https://shoegazing.com/2024/10/24/news-the-sargent-factory-closed-again/

Rushton also took the remaining stock of great Little Venice shop  Martin-Stone when it closed years ago.

A good few years ago I pitched some ideas to both Barker and Grenson. My previous employer has done work for Church and Cheaney.
I'd noticed how much money was suddenly being spent on so called designer footwear and thought there was an opportunity for British brands off the back of this.
I was shocked at how little they understood basic marketing.
Unfortunately, I think many traditional brands will die off as they're solely focused on manufacturing and lack little understanding about the mechanics of desire.

When I collaborated on the Northampton and the Ivy League exhibit – launched in Northampton we did a whole series of shoots, the aim being to encourage the manufactures to up their game, work with us as a creative team etc, the following year Loake and Another I forget totally ripped off the work we had done. It also started the trend for doing factory shoots to show manufacturing and highlighting the workers involved in the crafting of fine footwear, all of it was my Creative Direction for the exhibit, we went to Trickers, The Church Bros, everyone, no interest.

Last edited by Tomiskinky (2024-12-12 03:49:21)

Had my C&J Grassmere shoes on yesterday for first time since the pandemic. How the time flies! They were like warm butter on the feet all day, such a wonderful experience.

I remember that these were bought using the mail order forms I had to post to them back in 2017, then hope for the best.  They are only worn for big occasions at home or work since.

It was like the last days of the old era, no internet shopping experience and a personal phone call when they were despatched.

Last edited by An Unseen Scene (2024-12-13 04:36:37)