They are right by Northampton rail station. The factory shop is always worth a visit. Ring first if you have a size and model in mind.

Leatherman was the most interesting and informed poster on Church's. I think he finally got tired and knocked it all on the head.

Trickers are a good beater shoe - cheaper than the others and very sturdy.

Fosters best for me though as the last is closest to my foot shape.

Shooey, when it comes to Doctoring and drinking grass, I will have to cogitate deeply and subtly before following your advice. But my next pair of shoes will be Church's and I thank you for that.

hi all, new to this forum (came upon it by accident) after reading a few others and have to say its refreshing to read some of the views on here (the bespoke disasters one had me in stiches). i have to say after reading SF .. i did start to think that maybe i wasnt 'getting it' on looking at some of the wierd sh8t people there wear ..

interesting you talk about your experience of churchs being good as on SF they are HATED with a vengence, they are berated for being poor quality after the prada takeover, but from what ive observed they are decent shoes. Crockett and Jones are hailed as the king of shoes which has fuelled interest in C&J and im sure done wonders for their bottom line (i believe they are opening a new shop in knightsbridge).

would be interested in more views & experience with churchs choes .. i think the fact that a lot of shoes they make are v conservative goes to making them hated on SF.

mike.

Another thing where the igents always got confused was with grain corrected leather. They wrongly assumed that all grain corrected leather was poor quality, but nothing could be further from the truth. Many people love the high shine of grain corrected and want a high quality goodyear shoe, so they choose Church's instead of low quality grain corrected Loake. You can always tell a high quality grain corrected leather by looking at the back of the leather. The finer and more smooth the back, the better it is. The leather which is rough (in the back) and has chunks hanging off it is low quality. Not all grain corrected leather has faults, but leather suppliers grain correct the finish because people want it that way. But some companies will grain correct leather to cover up faults, but that is not the motivation for all companies.

Amen Shooey.

Gemming failures happen and do so alot more often then anyone lets on. Gemming failure is especially endemic for people who perspire alot (ask me how I know). Bear in mind that this is also heavily dependant on the type/quality/state of cement/adhesive/glue that was used to attach the canvas gemming to the inner sole. Sometimes it isn't even the glue that fails but the actual inner sole that basically delaminates because either synthetics (cellulose/fiber board, etc) or really cheap splits are used as inner sole. So what happens is that you have the intact canvas rib that is still properly stuck to a chank of the inner sole that ripped of.

Personally I am still fond of all cement construction. Basically you can get/use some exceptional cements that will hold on and last very long. This combined with good quality inner soles and uppers can make for very comfortable and well made all cement shoes. That said, resoling will always be problematic as when you remove the worn outer sole there is always a chance that certain portions will still have some strongly adhered cement that will invariably rip a bit of the shoe upper (folded over) that is is attached to. You can easily get tearing along the sole to upper transition if not careful.

Another thing that I am amazed is folks inability to distinguish between leather grades or to confuse them just because of the shoe brands cache. Basically you can get alot of medium quality shoes that use leathers of qualities asociated with the top makers. Also why the hate for corrected grain yet all this love for cordovan. Especially cordovan love from folks who don't realy seam to have any experience with it.

Also, there never seems to be any discussion on the quality of threads used in goodyear or handwelted, but this is very important. I have some handwelted shoes where the only failure point is the threading. Most often this is hemp or linen and is basically just decaying because was cheap/poor quality to begin with. Nowadays it probably is impossible to find good quality long staple hemp or linen - no matter how properly it was waxed. Better to use good quality nylon or polyester thread even though it is not historically how it was done. Sometimes the passage of time forces you to use new materials because noone knows the proper old recipes or the ingredients aren't available anymore.

posted a link from a shoe snob blog below trashing churchs shoes .. and below that is a comment in the Q&A bit of the article .. argument against church seems to be the infamous binder leathers (although they offer many choices from my observations), new 'fashionable' lasts & their new 'fashionable' ranges of shoes.

http://the-shoe-snob.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/downfall-of-churchs-shoes.html


Justin FitzPatrick, "The Shoe Snob" said...
Ari - I don't know how much exposure you have to their shoes, but I see them almost everyday. Their classics are no longer what they used to be. They try to keep the design classic, but I have seen the shape of their new lasts, and they are trendy, using book binder (cheap & glossy) leather and are doing more than trying to attract the fashion crowd. They are turning it into a fashion brand. In the window of one of their stores here they have a full brogue that has spikes in each brogue....that's excessive (and something that Prada does), and not something a "classic" brand would ever do. Also you forget that I am shining other peoples shoes all of the time, and yes while I have not purchased any of their shoes as of current, I am constantly being exposed to them, and the decline in quality that I see and touch.... I say these things because I used to be a big fan, as they made one of the nicest full brogues of all time (that they don't do anymore) and i find it a shame to see where it has gone. I don't take stabs just for the sake of it, and don't say that someone's brand has declined in quality unless i have seen it, felt it and experienced it.

Last edited by The_Shooman (2012-08-27 20:55:23)