The ‘tassel loafer’ is very much so in essence an American shoe. Initiated by Oscar winning actor Paul Lukas and then later designed and developed by the Alden Shoe Company in the late 1940s, the tassel loafer became a phenomenon across “corporate” and “preppy” America. Lukas had bought a pair of Oxford shoes from the UK that had little tassels on the end of the laces, on his return to America he was on the hunt for something similar. Fast forward to 1950, Alden Shoe Company launch their first line of tassel loafers. They proved highly popular in the country clubs of Los Angeles and on Wall Street in New York. As time went on throughout the 1980s and 1990s...
Exclusive Christmas Offer. 15% off all your orders. Use Code: SAVE15 This includes the new products featured below. We've now added a new range of Chelsea Boots and Chukka Boots to our collection; perfect for the winter season and all its festivities. Above you can see the casual Chelsea Boots in tan with durable and flexible stylish navy gusset. This gusset appears on both sides and elasticated, thus enabling easy fitting for the wearer. Now here we have another pair of casual Chelsea Boots but this time in the all round one tone colour of burgundy. The twin elasticated gussets again enable easy fitting for the wearer. These new Chelsea Boots are both leather lined and can also be worn...
Chelsea Boots, for as long as we can remember have been a constant fixture in men’s fashion when it comes to footwear. In fact they originate from the Victorian times and the design of the ‘Chelsea Boot’ is attributed to a gentleman called J.Sparkes-Hall who was a boot-maker to Queen Victoria. At the time, what allowed the boot to come into fruition was the invention of vulcanized rubber; this type of rubber played a pivotal role in the design of the Chelsea boot as it allowed the boot to be slipped on and off with ease. FYI: they were initially known was ‘elastic sided ankle boots’. The three primary characteristics of Chelsea Boots in addition to the vulcanized rubber element...
Faux Suede can be used for both clothing and footwear; in the case of the latter, it can be quite durable, easy to clean, as well as maintain. The fabric tends to be very soft and has a matte-esque finish to it and interestingly enough they typically have what is known as a ‘grain’ definition, which means if you were to rub the fabric in one direction you may see a different colour tone and texture to the ones you may see when rubbing it the another way. The fabric is made entirely from synthetic polyester, once threaded and weaved, manufacturers may opt to run a coarse brush over the entire fabric to create a fuzzy texture that gives it...
This iconic and now vintage shoe was initially designed for men as a “sports” shoe. Particularly for the Golfer community, given the two-tone colour scheme incorporated within Golf Club uniforms and attire. This proved popular throughout the 1920s and 1930s, especially in 20s amongst women interestingly enough. Women were quick to take to the men’s saddle shoe, as they liked the pure white contrast design with black leather saddle. Towards the end of the 1930s designers began to move away from the traditional black and white or dark colour and white contrast, incorporating more blues and lighter shades of brown. This change happened to compliment lighter summer clothes and fabrics because as time went on the saddle shoe moved away...
