Time for the annual walkthrough of some new and / or interesting quality sneakers from a bunch of different brands. Most brands doing quality shoes nowadays offer sneakers of some kinds, and plenty others do ones with good materials and sometimes more proper constructions.
The Australian brand R.M. Williams has done a lot more than chelsea boots for a long time, but it was only quite recently they introduced their first sneaker model called Sandbar. A new leather addition was this dark brown pull-up leather called Antique Caramel. Priced at €300.
The Belgian brand Lennertson makes rugged welted boots and casual shoes in Portugal, where it’s always clear that a lot of thought has gone into the design and the details of the shoes. Same thing with their sneaker model the pilgrim with the semi-closed lacing and toe detail. Available in a bunch of different leathers and a couple of sole colours, price is €260. (Also top banner image)
Myrqvist is a Swedish brand making Goodyear welted, Blake stitched, Sidewall stitchd and cemented shoes in Portugal. This trainer is a pretty sturdy take with a thick sole and nice mix of suede and fabric, which cost €220.
Crown Northampton is one of the brands who really do proper sneakers, with excellent materials throughout the whole shoes and not the usual shortcuts with paperboard lasting boards and plastic heel stiffeners, here it’s all proper leather. They just dropped two models made in whole or in part of Shell Cordovan leather from the Japanese tannery Shinki, where especially the inverted take of the GAT sneaker looks interesting. The latter are priced at €750, so they are pricy, but good.
Many of the classic Northampton brands are quite conservative and haven’t entered the sneakers realm. Loake is not one of them. They have a bunch of sneaker styles in their line-up, this bowling shoe inspired one called Mayfair is one of them. Cost about €300.
I don’t know any other sneaker brand that offers more versions of the classic minimalistic sneaker than the French brand J.C. Lutz, with Italian made sneakers. They have one style, but this you can personalise with choosing from loads of different leathers and colours, soles, laces and other details. If you can’t find the version you’re looking for from other brands, this is your solution.
Low profile trainers have been gaining popularity recently, and now you can find more choices also of higher quality. These are from the company I work for, Skolyx, where they have the same high specifications also internally as the rest of the range of sneakers we make in Portugal. Real leather lasting board instead of cardboard, leather board heel stiffeners instead of plastic, fully lined in veg tanned leather and so on. Price is at a competitive €180.
The American boot giant Thursday Boot’s has this high-top sneaker style in some more rugged leathers, like the dark brown oiled one seen here. Still with regular cup soles though, surprised we don’t see more models like this with cup soles with a more proper tread making them suitable for snow and real harsh conditions. Think mainly the sole manufacturers needs to step up here with more offerings.
Seamlessly transitioning to an example that has much of what I ask for above. Vibram Cup sole with a bit of a tread, and really durable leathers, that’s the recipe for the small scale Canadian brand BH Handmade Boots. These are Made to Order, and price is seriously impressive at just €300 (450 CAD).
As always, I end these sneaker roundups with some higher end stuff. Feit is a brand that makes sneakers with a lot of handwork. These here have uppers that are fully handsewn and has type of a hand welted construction. Made entirely in vegetable tanned leather in the brand’s own workshop in China. Price is quite hefty though at €900.
