The bespoke workshop of John Lobb Paris is a legendary place for shoe aficionados, known to be one of the largest and most well-trimmed shoemaking workshops in the world. Everything is done in-house in the 600 square meters large premises on Rue de Mogador in the heart of Paris. Shoegazing paid it a visit.
Many questions came up after the fact that the British shoe manufacturer Alfred Sargent have gone into liquidation went public. In this large open-hearted interview with Paul Sargent, part-owner and Factory Manager at the now closed company, you’ll get answers to most of them. The history of why the company ended up where they are, what will happen with the Alfred Sargent brand, and what will happen with the factory. Most importantly – this is not the end for the Rushden factory, Sargent will once again show that they are the phoenix bird of Northampton.
This weekend the annual Independent Shoemakers Conference takes place, the first edition to be held online, due to obvious reasons. The positive thing is that it makes it even more accessible for all shoemakers, and those who are interested in shoemaking. A lot of knowledge is shared in videos and seminars with shoemakers from around the world, and conference participants have a full month to view all the content. Also briefly about the fact that we have once again postponed the London Super Trunk Show, new date is Saturday October 9.
The famous British shoemaking firm Alfred Sargent has gone bust. After not being able to pay its debts and becoming insolvent, the company was put in what’s called “voluntary liquidation” two weeks ago. The fine company out of Rushden, Northampton, have been in big troubles and managed to climb back again before, but this is their toughest situation yet.
The French brand Prince Jorge is a bit off the radar for many, despite offering a wide range of affordable, nice looking Goodyear welted shoes in entry to midrange segment. Now they run a sale on a bunch of models that will be discontinued, starting at 50% off the RRP at €150 making for some excellent bargains to be made.
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A nice fiddle back waist is always a pleasure to look at, and when they are as built-up and well-made as this here by Japanese bespoke shoemaker Main d’Or, they are pure eye candy. Just as aesthetically pleasing as the model it’s based on.
In many ways it’s quite surprising that a fundamental thing like how you lace and tie your shoes are given such a little attention in many cases. Most do what they’ve always done, tie their bow the way their parents though one to do and let the lacing be the way it was when you picked the shoes out of the box. It’s in many cases a big mistake. Now this is of course partly a subjective topic, but here I share what I think is the optimal way to lace and tie your somewhat formal shoes, both when it comes to function and appearance.
British brand Foster & Son now runs a sale on their whole stock of RTW shoes from their own Northampton factory, with a 40% discount. Lots of models and also many sizes available in many cases, some great bargains to be made of these very well-made RTW shoes.
As we head towards one year living under the shadow of a pandemic, it becomes increasingly clear that the quality shoe business is one of the production industries that suffers hard. Now, if ever, is the time for all of us who enjoy great shoes to do all we can to support the brands and retailers that we love, and make those purchases that may prove crucial to save jobs or even whole companies. Read about why the coming months and what we do now will be so important.
It’s not too often we see new books about classic men’s shoes – for us shoe nerds it’s always a thrill when it happens. The latest and greatest of these is the book Shoes – The Art of Male Footwear by Hugo Jacomet and Sonya Glyn. Shoegazing have read it.
