Polo Ralph Lauren Bench Made Shoes

[hlambert]

Dear Members,

I was looking at the Polo Ralph Lauren bench made shoes the other day. I was surprised by the quality style and also expensive of their shoes which apparently fit into their 'purple' clothing range. Does any member know who in Northampton makes these shoes for RL?

Thank you very much.

[sartorius]

Edward Green used to make for RL. Not sure whether they still do.

[lancepryor]

The regular Polo Ralph Lauren shoes, "Benchmade in England," are made by Crockett & Jones. It seems that the quality is somewhere between C&J's regular Benchmade line and their Handgrade line, although this is somewhat speculative -- e.g. some of the shoes have a hidden channel on the outsole (akin to the Handgrade line), whereas others are stitched aloft. The quality of the leather used is also unclear in comparison to the C&J Benchgrade and Handgrade lines, though most reports are that it is not as fine as the C&J Handgrade's leather.

The Ralph Lauren Purple Label shoes are made by Edward Green, to the same standards as regular EG shoes -- as a general proposition, EG have had only one quality of production, with the exception of their special "Top Drawer" line from the late 80's - early 90's and recently resurrected. Note that RLPL have started sourcing some shoes from Italy, reportedly (and likely) of lower quality than the EG-produced products. Note also that some RLPL shoes are made on the 89 last, which I think is exclusive to RL.

[hlambert]

Thank you both very much for your information