New Bespoke Loafers from Tony at Edward Green

[Hartline]

After a week of miserable heat and dressing like a slob, I needed a pick-me-up, so I wore my new EG’s today that Tony made. For the last month or so, they’ve been in their box waiting for the right occasion.

The shoes are loafers made in a dark brown pigskin on a long elegant last with a sharp, square, chiseled toe. The apron is a simple hand stitch that is slightly raised. I think he referred to it as a pinch stitch. It is not the stitching that is on the Dover. Apparently, that stitch does not lend itself well to pigskin, if I understood him correctly. The strap going over the instep is a simple full strap with slight curves. As a basis for inspiration, we were trying to work off a pair of loafers made by ANTHONY Cleverley that I had seen in a picture. Cleverley does not have that picture on its website. I saw it the Cleverley’s shop inside of a portfolio of Anthony’s work. Mine, I think, turned out more elegant than those.

The shoes were conceptually not hard to make (so I’m told), but the difficult issue, which we knew from the start, was going to be the fit. Loafers area very hard shoe for me to wear because of pronation. Another issue was keeping the shoe from looking feminine. I also wanted them to look English, not overly Continental. (I’m not sure I can parse this last sentence too much and be any more specific.)

Tony did a great job in correcting the fit problems without compromising the sleekness of the shoes, and he also got the styling right. It did take a complete remake and a few subsequent fittings to get them to both fit and look correct. I really appreciated his willingness to keep trying. (I was ready to give up after the first try and go back to oxfords.) He could have easily said that loafers were not going to work because of my physiology. The only other loafers that I have are from Brooks in cordovan, which I have because they are from Brooks and are in cordovan. They don’t fit particularly well, and my lower back starts hurting by the middle of the day.

I don’t have a digital camera, or I’d post some pictures. I’ll ask Tony if he took any before EG shipped them to me.