Loake Shoes

[NOTSHARP]

I decided to treat myself to a new pair of shoes, and found a good offer on line for some Loake brogues.

I received them yesterday.

They looked OK

However, I could not get my feet into them :icon_sad:

Usually, I'm fine with a size 10, G fitting, so I thought that I would just check the size marked inside the shoes to make sure no mistake had been made.

That's when I noticed this :

I could see nothing in the booklet to say that they were not made in England.

I have four other pairs of Loake shoes, all English made.
Is this the way of things now ?

I have returned them, and, in the meantime, crossed Loake off the list :icon_rolleyes:


Steve

 

[andyjreid]

Sometimes a good offer can be too good.

 

[Northam Saint]

I decided to treat myself to a new pair of shoes, and found a good offer on line for some Loake brogues.

I received them yesterday.

They looked OK

However, I could not get my feet into them :icon_sad:

Usually, I'm fine with a size 10, G fitting, so I thought that I would just check the size marked inside the shoes to make sure no mistake had been made.

That's when I noticed this :

I could see nothing in the booklet to say that they were not made in England.

I have four other pairs of Loake shoes, all English made.
Is this the way of things now ?

I have returned them, and, in the meantime, crossed Loake off the list :icon_rolleyes:


Steve

Indeed, item 12, they are made in India http://www.loake.co.uk/Shop/History.aspx

 

[GOLDCREST]

I'm finding this quite a lot these days..the sizes I've always worn, that fitted perfectly no longer seem to apply...in both clothes and shoes.........maybe this is why......Only stuff TRULY made in the UK seems to fit as it always has done.

 

[NOTSHARP]

[/quote]

Indeed, item 12, they are made in India http://www.loake.co.uk/Shop/History.aspx
[/quote]

Well, that serves me right ! I never gave a thought to even looking.

Research, research, is the key.:icon_rolleyes:

Steve

 

[The Geordie Shaver]

I bought a pair of cowboy boots (no sniggers please) from the States only to find that when they got here they were made in India too,very disappointing and I would have returned them aswell if it wasnt for the time and hassle involved .
Regards
Derrick

 

[Northam Saint]

Indeed, item 12, they are made in India http://www.loake.co.uk/Shop/History.aspx
[/quote]

Well, that serves me right ! I never gave a thought to even looking.

Research, research, is the key.:icon_rolleyes:

Steve
[/quote]

Not at all I wouldn't of expected Loake to be made there, I would be disappointed and certainly send them back. Seems everything is cheaper made outside the uk. It's a great shame as it takes the skills used away from these shores.

 

[Ken T M]

I asked around a bit about this some months ago. The chap at Duckers in Oxford (a fantastic place to buy shoes) gave me the lowdown:

L1 is the product line that Loakes use for all their shoes made in India. The English made shoes will say Loakes in the shoe, not L1.

The materials used in both lines is identical, but the labour in India is cheaper. While Loakes maintain that the quality of the finished product is unaffected, as the same patterns are used in both countries, the quality control in England is famously strict.

I have owned two pairs of L1 brogues (have the second pair on right now, in fact), and have found that the first pair lasted quite well, about a year and a half of almost daily use, with minimal care (I wasn't stuffing the shoes regularly, nor was I waxing them more than every 6 months or so) and through several resoles/heels, before the stitching on the frontpiece started to come away at the top.

I was happy enough with the wear and the fit to buy another pair.

At £50-70 (depending where you buy), I think they're pretty fantastic value, and I found the quality to be more than acceptable.

Why did you think to buy without trying, though? Surely that is the golden rule of buying leather shoes, unless you keep a last with your shoemaker (and seriously, who can afford that these days)?

 

[NOTSHARP]

Ken,
Try 'before you buy' is not easy up here. To find a stockist with a decent stock would entail a 100 mile round trip. Many folks in Scotland rely on mail order. I don't have a problem with it. The fact that the shoes didn't fit was strange, as my other Loakes' of the same size, do. My concern was that I thought that I had ordered English made shoes.
Certainly, the quality looked OK, and your comments seem to bare that out.

Steve

 

[pugh-the-special-one]

Ken,
Try 'before you buy' is not easy up here. To find a stockist with a decent stock would entail a 100 mile round trip. Many folks in Scotland rely on mail order. I don't have a problem with it. The fact that the shoes didn't fit was strange, as my other Loakes' of the same size, do. My concern was that I thought that I had ordered English made shoes.
Certainly, the quality looked OK, and your comments seem to bare that out.

Steve

Hi Steve there are very good shoe and boot makers in Scotland, I purchased a pair of hunting boots from Hoggs of Fife many years ago, here's the link have a look you might be surprised.

http://www.fifecountry.com/mens/footwear/british-made-welted-footwear-c18
Regards Jamie.

 

[Ken T M]

Ken,
Try 'before you buy' is not easy up here. To find a stockist with a decent stock would entail a 100 mile round trip. Many folks in Scotland rely on mail order. I don't have a problem with it. The fact that the shoes didn't fit was strange, as my other Loakes' of the same size, do. My concern was that I thought that I had ordered English made shoes.
Certainly, the quality looked OK, and your comments seem to bare that out.

Steve

Steve,

I hadn't realised you were so far out. I apologise if I came across a bit brusquely.

I have a very hazy recollection of a man at the discount shoe store on Strutton Ground (Victoria, London) telling me that L1's manufacture to width G as standard, meaning that I can shoe a 10 in L1's, very comfortably (I have slightly hobbity wide feet), but with most other off-the-shelf shoes I wear size 11's, with my toes peering into a vast cavern at the end of the shoe.

Was the shoe too narrow or too short, or something else?

 

[NOTSHARP]

Ken,
Try 'before you buy' is not easy up here. To find a stockist with a decent stock would entail a 100 mile round trip. Many folks in Scotland rely on mail order. I don't have a problem with it. The fact that the shoes didn't fit was strange, as my other Loakes' of the same size, do. My concern was that I thought that I had ordered English made shoes.
Certainly, the quality looked OK, and your comments seem to bare that out.

Steve

Steve,

I hadn't realised you were so far out. I apologise if I came across a bit brusquely.

I have a very hazy recollection of a man at the discount shoe store on Strutton Ground (Victoria, London) telling me that L1's manufacture to width G as standard, meaning that I can shoe a 10 in L1's, very comfortably (I have slightly hobbity wide feet), but with most other off-the-shelf shoes I wear size 11's, with my toes peering into a vast cavern at the end of the shoe.

Was the shoe too narrow or too short, or something else?

I couldn't get the shoe past my instep. Maybe, had I managed to get them on, the width would have been OK.

I do have two pairs of Loakes in an F fitting, and I wear them with no problems, although a G is better.

You did not come across as brusque at all. I had an inkling that you didn't understand the finer points of shopping in North East Scotland :icon_rolleyes:


Steve

---

Ken,
Try 'before you buy' is not easy up here. To find a stockist with a decent stock would entail a 100 mile round trip. Many folks in Scotland rely on mail order. I don't have a problem with it. The fact that the shoes didn't fit was strange, as my other Loakes' of the same size, do. My concern was that I thought that I had ordered English made shoes.
Certainly, the quality looked OK, and your comments seem to bare that out.

Steve

Hi Steve there are very good shoe and boot makers in Scotland, I purchased a pair of hunting boots from Hoggs of Fife many years ago, here's the link have a look you might be surprised.

http://www.fifecountry.com/hoggs-of-fife-b31
Regards Jamie.

Yes, Hoggs are nice Jamie. I am trying to find some to try if possible.

I like the Roxburgh, which is a G fitting

Steve

 

[shrink]

the problem is that the loake shoemaker, L1's and design ranges are all cut price models made generally in india and italy. They do not represent the best that the brand is capable of.

The only ones that are guaranteed to be bench made, in england are the 1880 range which are a far better quality shoe IMHO. As long as you're buying an 1880 you'll get a good shoe. I started out on loakes, and they got me excited about well made english shoes. Now i try to find Crockett & Jones in sales whenever I can. They are a fair distance better in all areas.

That said, for around the same money as loakes, you can pick up barkers, and some alfred sargeants which are both a far higher quality shoe overall. Both do suitably wide fittings. I do own one pair of Loake 1880's, in the chester brogue, and they are pretty good, but the finishing is a little in-delicate and clumsy.

for good online shops check out:

afinepairofshoes.co.uk

and

herringshoes.co.uk

 

[Boab]

Last few pairs of shoes I bought were from Herring online, they will detail the origin of the shoe, either UK or import. I like the idea that they tell you up front on the page when you buy then you have no surprises.

 

[Ken T M]

I don't know enough about shoe manufacture, or have enough comparable experience to express a valid opinion on whether the durability and quality of finish is better in England/India/Italy/Kathmandu, and so I am not predisposed to believe that shoes finished in India are of a lower standard.

Nevertheless, I do know that for a fraction of the cost of most English "name" shoes (Loake, Church, etc.), you can pick up shoes of a much finer grade of leather in Spain, in an excellent finish. This is largely because Spain still has over 100 tanneries, some employing hundreds of people, meaning that leather as a raw material in Spain is a lot cheaper than in England, where there are probably fewer than a dozen tanneries, judging by online presence (although short of contacting the UK Leather Foundation, I can't support this). By it's very nature, however, the finer grade means that these shoes require considerably more care to last as long, so perhaps the trade-off is not that great.

And yes, I am a regular tubthumper for most things Spanish. Except Catalunya, which can snap off and sink into the Med for all I care.

 

[pugh-the-special-one]

I don't know enough about shoe manufacture, or have enough comparable experience to express a valid opinion on whether the durability and quality of finish is better in England/India/Italy/Kathmandu, and so I am not predisposed to believe that shoes finished in India are of a lower standard.

Nevertheless, I do know that for a fraction of the cost of most English "name" shoes (Loake, Church, etc.), you can pick up shoes of a much finer grade of leather in Spain, in an excellent finish. This is largely because Spain still has over 100 tanneries, some employing hundreds of people, meaning that leather as a raw material in Spain is a lot cheaper than in England, where there are probably fewer than a dozen tanneries, judging by online presence (although short of contacting the UK Leather Foundation, I can't support this). By it's very nature, however, the finer grade means that these shoes require considerably more care to last as long, so perhaps the trade-off is not that great.

And yes, I am a regular tubthumper for most things Spanish. Except Catalunya, which can snap off and sink into the Med for all I care.

Sorry Ken I must correct you there, but English tanned leather as no challengers, it needs no introduction, just as we know the Swiss make the finest watches and Saville row make the finest suits, English leather as no equal, Spanish leather wouldn't even make it into the top 20.

Jamie.