Savile Row is probably the most famous London street for fine menswear. But, Jermyn Street runs a close second.
If you are looking for shirts, ties, shaving gear or cologne, Jermyn Street has what you're looking for. But the real star attractions of this street are the shoes, glorious shoes.
The British shoemaking industry is centered around Northampton. They still have real shoe factories that make real leather shoes. You won't find Gucci or Prada shoes on Jermyn street. This is where the pride of British craftsmanship exhibit their wares.
I have to confess, I
love well-made English shoes. I bought my first pair of Church's English shoes around 1994 at the Galleria in Houston. They were solid and elegant. They were not the most fashion-forward shoes by any means but they had beautiful leather that I studiously cleaned, conditioned and polished them. I wore them for about 25 years.
Good English shoes are typically made with leather soles that can be repaired when worn out. The key to this, is the use of what is called a Goodyear Welt. Basically, a strip of leather is stitched all around the base of the upper part of the shoe and then the sole is stitched to that flat leather strip. The worn sole can be cut off and a new sole stitched on. The shoes aren't inexpensive and sewing on a new leather sole isn't cheap. But I personally think it's worth it.
Jermyn Street is my favorite street in London!
Churches store window
My current favorite - Crockett & Jones
Fine jackets and shirts
For fantastic shaving and grooming products
~ FIN ~
2 comments:
Uh-oh - Sounds like you may be travelling with an additional suitcase (full of shoes !) And is there even such a thing as a "cobbler" anymore ? Does anyone still get their shoes repaired? (We fix ours with Shoe Goop - but it's not quite the same ... )
Alison, I dutifully would get my worn out leather soles replaced. It was always a bit of gamble tying to find a true cobbler who knew what they were doing.
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