Edward Green and the test of time
Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 2:33 pm
I was reading a discussion about Gaziano & Girling that many of you are participating in to one degree or another. The basic theme of the debate is that EG is more classical English and G&G is more, or too, modern. I really do not want to participate in this debate but reading these exchanges made me smile because it took me back in time almost three decades when I used to listen to gents complain about the upstart John Hlustik whose “newfangled designs and styles” were just too daring compared to Lobb, “a real English shoe.”
Now many of you were probably in nursery school then so I’ll try and tell the story as best as I can. Lobb was “the English shoe” defined and perfected over generations and worn by any “serious” dresser. In 1983 John Hlustik bought Edward Green for one pound sterling and immediately departed from classical lines and started making lasts like the scandalous 88, “but is it a square or a round!” the gentlemen would cry. “In any case, these new Edward Green shoes look too Italian for my taste!”, was a common refrain or “this Hlustik will be the ruin of Edward Green and Northampton, the industry might as well ship out to Mee-lan--Ohhh if we are to be shod in such vulgar Italian styles.”
A few of us who journeyed up to Northampton to meet John and see the factory immediately realized a shoemaking genius at work. The styles had line, they challenged the established canons of elegance a bit, and they challenged manufacturing methods as well. Edward Green was making a near bespoke quality shoe and selling them in the RTW market “for the few.” John endured a lot of criticism and all of us admired him for it. He pursued his vision to the end, discovered his voice and the rest is history. I have seriously lost count of the EG shoes I own that were purchased in that period. The quality of make and material was second to none. And then there was John’s innate sense of style thrown into the bargain.
So the styles from EG we enjoy today were just "too modern" to a lot of gents back then. Looking back, this rhetoric must seem almost surreal to many of you. But that’s the way it was. I can remember Philippe Noiret, an inveterate Lobb client, being asked publicly about Edward Green in Paris more than a decade ago, his reply was something like “Thanks, I’d rather not..I’ll stick to Lobb.”
In this context it is perfectly understandable to imagine the same kind of dialogue regarding Tony Gaziano, another youngster searching his voice and challenging the status quo. From what I have seen over the past year or so, he is making great strides. Had John been able to stick with us a few more years, I am sure he would approve.
All this leads me to wonder if one day Gaziano style will be challenged by a new entrant and one of you will write about the beginnings of his brand and the hurly-burly it incited among owners of a real English shoe, Edward Green. I hope I’ll be around to read it.
Now many of you were probably in nursery school then so I’ll try and tell the story as best as I can. Lobb was “the English shoe” defined and perfected over generations and worn by any “serious” dresser. In 1983 John Hlustik bought Edward Green for one pound sterling and immediately departed from classical lines and started making lasts like the scandalous 88, “but is it a square or a round!” the gentlemen would cry. “In any case, these new Edward Green shoes look too Italian for my taste!”, was a common refrain or “this Hlustik will be the ruin of Edward Green and Northampton, the industry might as well ship out to Mee-lan--Ohhh if we are to be shod in such vulgar Italian styles.”
A few of us who journeyed up to Northampton to meet John and see the factory immediately realized a shoemaking genius at work. The styles had line, they challenged the established canons of elegance a bit, and they challenged manufacturing methods as well. Edward Green was making a near bespoke quality shoe and selling them in the RTW market “for the few.” John endured a lot of criticism and all of us admired him for it. He pursued his vision to the end, discovered his voice and the rest is history. I have seriously lost count of the EG shoes I own that were purchased in that period. The quality of make and material was second to none. And then there was John’s innate sense of style thrown into the bargain.
So the styles from EG we enjoy today were just "too modern" to a lot of gents back then. Looking back, this rhetoric must seem almost surreal to many of you. But that’s the way it was. I can remember Philippe Noiret, an inveterate Lobb client, being asked publicly about Edward Green in Paris more than a decade ago, his reply was something like “Thanks, I’d rather not..I’ll stick to Lobb.”
In this context it is perfectly understandable to imagine the same kind of dialogue regarding Tony Gaziano, another youngster searching his voice and challenging the status quo. From what I have seen over the past year or so, he is making great strides. Had John been able to stick with us a few more years, I am sure he would approve.
All this leads me to wonder if one day Gaziano style will be challenged by a new entrant and one of you will write about the beginnings of his brand and the hurly-burly it incited among owners of a real English shoe, Edward Green. I hope I’ll be around to read it.
