New Shoes by a New Generation

Simon Bolzoni, the Terry Moore-trained lastmaker at bespoke London shoemaker W.S.Foster, was in San Francisco recently and took the time to measure me for a new pair of shoes. Moore is only in the shop part-time these days, and the people he's taught over the past decade are doing most of the work.


Simon is one of four Foster workers that are the heart of the firm's march forward into a new generation of shoemaking. It's a small group and so is the entire craft - I doubt if 200 people in the world make their living at bespoke shoemaking any longer. Foster itself is one of five bespoke makers remaining in London, down from more than fifty after the Second World War.


Simon uses the methods that helped Terry Moore earn his reputation as the best lastmaker in England. He certainly took more measurements, and asked more questions about my feet, than any of the others who have measured me for bespoke shoes in the past.


The outcome of this effort will be a pair of oxblood colored semi-brogues (the design of the caramel colored pair in the photo) with the slightly chiseled toe that's Foster's house style (the toe on the pair on the left in the photo). Oxblood is the dark wine hue that's the default color for Alden's cordovans.

The craftsmanship and quality of materials that go into a pair of bespoke shoes means that they last indefinitely with proper care. If I last that long, my shoes should still be going strong about the time Simon begins training his own successor.

Foster's Coming to Town

When I think of London bespoke shoemaker W.S. Foster & Son I think of superb coloring and shapes that are sheer perfection, like the tasseled casuals in the photo. So I'm happy that, after a year of persuasion and some abject begging by yours truly, Foster's Spring visit to the United States will for the first time extend west of Chicago. Lastmaker Simon Bolzoni will be visiting the following cities on his trip:

New York
Thursday 28th February to Saturday 1st March 9.00am – 6.00pm
Special late night Thursday 9.00am – 8pm
Intercontinental The Barclay 111 East 48th St Tel: 212 755 5900

Washington DC
Monday 3rd to Wednesday 5th March 9.00am – 6.00pm
University Club of Washington, 1135 16th St. (NW) Tel: 202 862 8800

Chicago
Friday 7th – Saturday 8th March 9.00am - 6.00pm
University Club of Chicago, 76 East Monroe St Tel: 312 726 2840

San Francisco
Monday 10th – Tuesday 11th March 9.00am – 6.00pm
The Fairmont Hotel, One Nob Hill Tel: 415 772 5000

Foster's traditional shoe designs are priced from £1,400 (about $2,800) a pair. That's ruinously expensive of course but, to borrow a phrase, you do get two shoes. I hope you'll join me in welcoming them to the West Coast.

Note that I will no longer be updating the visiting artisans calendar. It's been a time consuming project and I am in the midst of converting it to self-service. In its new format it will be joined by several other new resources that will be of interest to ASW readers.

Where Shoes Are Made

I thought readers would be interested in this photo of the W. S. Foster workroom in London where their bespoke shoes (and hand bags) are made by hand. Apprentices typically spend the first year or two polishing, like the woman to the left, and you can see the lasts for the active customer jobs hanging under the center table

Thank you to culverwood on the Ask Andy About Clothes fashion forum for use of the photo.

Thoughts on the Shoe Business

Nobody's asked for my opinion, but I thought I'd share a couple thoughts on the high-end ready to wear shoe business.

As the world's become a smaller place, the remaining ready to wear shoemakers have seen their home turfs invaded by by makers from other parts of the world. England's Edward Green does the largest share of its business in Japan. France's Pierre Corthay is in New York's Bergdorf Goodman, and Hungary's Vass is out, at least for the time being.

The challenge each of these makers faces is that there aren't enough competent retailers to go around, and the ones that exist already have lines. A new stockist that can deliver volume comes around perhaps once every five years, so expansion becomes a zero sum game. For Gaziano Girling or W. S. Foster to get shelf space, another maker loses some of his. Yet none of these companies, or the dozen others that I haven't mentioned, has attempted an end run yet.

Foster Ready to Wear in London

What's an end run, you ask? Ecommerce. Expensive even five years ago, today it takes a lot less investment than opening dedicated retail stores a la John Lobb Paris. I can think of a few things that would make my customer experience much better than it is today.

First, invest in a set of fitting shoes for each major market. They should encompass every last, and every size in the product line, and if that's too expensive cut back the breadth of the line. A maker can't sell shoes until the customer knows what size he needs.

Pierre Corthay Ready To Wear in Paris

Once the fitting shoes are available, work out a method for dispatching a pair or two, secured by a credit card, when a new customer inquires. It's a process that works quite well for bespoke hats. In addition, or at the very least, begin trunk shoes in major cities and promote them so prospective customers can get fit and place their first order. Once they've bought the first time, personal interaction becomes less important.

Second, set up a web site that includes a visual of every model on every last, in every leather, and with every sole. Describe the differences between choices like Dainite and Ridgeway soles, for example, because there won't be a helpful sales professional available to your customers when they order. Take orders on the site. And go out of your way to over-communicate order status by email. Acknowledge the order, provide an expected delivery day, and then provide periodic updates during the months it takes to make the shoes. Once the software is working, email is free anyway.

Then put bar code scanners and digital cameras at a couple major stations on the production line so you can take work in process photos and send them to a database. Give each customer a login on the web site where they can see their shoes as they are being made, and keep a record, of course, of the shoes in each customer's inventory. The first company to do this will have customers posting pictures and praise on every clothing forum in cyberspace.

Since customers are freely providing their contact information, a maker going down this road has a free method to proactively communicate trunk show dates, new models, and other useful information that leads to ongoing relationships and repeat orders.

I submit that the first maker to adopt a system similar to this one will sell a lot more shoes because they'll be making life easier on me, and shoe loving customers around the world.

Reader Questions

From James

"I just bought a pair of very, very nice suede Italian slip ons and wonder whether it will be ok to wear them with a suit in September. I will be in Florida. Also do you know where i can order a couple of pairs of authentic silk socks?"

You couldn't choose a better venue for your shoes than Florida in September. Even HRH the Prince of Wales has been known to wear slip-ons with a suit in summer, and September means you can safely ignore those who claim that you should only wear suede this season or that, or who think that different colors are more appropriate in summer. It's all good.

I can't recommend silk socks for day wear as they tend to fall down unless you're wearing sock suspenders. High quality cotton is better, and there's a wider variety of patterns available. But if you must have silk, CustomShirt1 and Woods of Shropshire both carry a couple choices in high quality silk Pantherella socks.

From Krishan

"Thank you for the interesting and educational articles, and for the time you've taken to assemble the Visiting Artisans Calendar.

I was thinking of making some appointments with Huntsman and/or Anderson & Sheppard for their upcoming visits but am new to the bespoke process.

And for shoes it is between GJ Cleverley and Foster & Sons.

I am sure they are all very good, I was just wondering if you might have some tips and suggestions beyond those in your posts.

Plus I was hoping to get your thought on the production timeframes, what to expect from each producer, etc..."

The shoe part of your question is relatively easy. For bespoke shoes you're typically measured on the first visit, and fit on the second. The shoes are completed and shipped to you, and the maker has you wear them for a while. You bring them in to have them looked at on the third visit, and if all has gone well the maker will take another order from you at that point if you're so inclined.

Each shoemaker will provide any of the classic styles, but if you have your heart set on something unique to one of them you should get it from that maker as the others will be reluctant to copy it. Cleverley and Foster are both very high quality and, unless you get to London periodically and can continue the process there at your convenience, an important criteria should be the regularity of their visits. One that visits semi-annually is going to require nine months to a year for the initial delivery and as much as 18 months before signing off on the first pair.

Before choosing a tailor, you need to choose a silhouette. The two you've mentioned produce clothes that are about as different from each other as you can get on the Row. A&S makes a relatively unstructured jacket (the suits that I'm wearing on my web site are from A&S) that's popular with American customers. Huntsman, on the other hand, makes a very structured coat. You may also want to consider Poole, whose style is a bit more flexible than the other two and whose jackets fall somewhere in the middle. All three are good, but you should first decide what you think you want to look like and let that drive your choice.

If you don't get to London with any frequency, once you choose your silhouette (and that may require you to visit each of the candidates this time around before you make a selection), your next criteria should be the frequency of their visits. Your first suit will usually take one visit for measurement and two for fittings (usually only one fitting is required after the first suit, but sometimes it takes more).

A tailor like A&S who visits once a year is going to take longer to deliver completed suits unless you can meet them in another city during the year. I prefer men who visit two or three times, and I get to London for intermediate fittings in addition. The more frequency the better, in my opinion.

W S Foster & Son, Bespoke Shoemakers

At London's 83 Jermyn Street, the home of shoemaker W S Foster and Son and its sister company, bootmaker Henry Maxwell, the last of Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts sits not far from those of former customers Franklin Delanor Roosevelt, Fred Astaire and Clark Gable.

Terry Moore, by repute the best lastmaker in England, supervises the making of Foster's shoes and boots and has personally trained the rest of the five person bespoke team. Moore began his career with Peal and Co., in its time perhaps London's most famous boot and shoemakers, moving to Foster after that venerable firm shut its doors in 1965.

The Foster shape is a soft chisel toe with a lovely waist. Other than the uppers, which are sewn by machine, the bespoke shoes are made entirely by hand. I was especially taken by the pictured cap toes with gray suede uppers - if I can get fitted in this lifetime I think that will be the model Foster shoe that I choose. They have the look of button boots but I'd be inclined to wear them much more often than I would the boots.


Foster showed me several other unique bespoke samples, such as the Thomas model second from the left, that are relatively well priced at £1,400 ex VAT (about $2,800). MD Sarah Adlam and a lastmaker have begun accompanying shirtmaker Harvie & Hudson on semi-annual visits to the United States. The next trip will be in October - watch the Visiting Artisans Calendar for a schedule.

Waiting for the Rain

Today is a day for reading and lunch in the garden of the house I'm using, waiting for the rain that's followed me from England.

Yesterday began with a train to Paris, a taxi to Gare du Nord, and the EuroStar to London. I visited Edward Green, where my intention had been to see if I could get a better fit in a narrower width on the 82 last. But of course, they had no appropriately sized shoe for me to try (Hilary, this is your flagship store - why don't they have fitting shoes?). I did pick up a great pair of dark navy hose with subtle burgundy stripes though.

From there I went to Fallan & Harvey where I couldn't have my fitting as Peter Harvey was in Portugal (more fallout from the delayed start of my trip) but accomplished my other objective, that being some time with the cloth books. I liked Lesser's air force blue 13 ounce mohair and a 14 ounce Saxony tic weave.

After lunch and more shopping I visited W. S. Foster, maker of the pictured bespoke oxfords (about which I'll have more to say later) and finished the visit with a couple hours of backgammon with its managing director, the delightful Sarah Adlam who, I learned shortly before she beat me, sits atop the 13,000 member Royal Automobile Club's backgammon leader board. Then it was two more trains and a taxi before bed. But I am re-stocked with four English-language books and a supply of Monte Cristos.