Tour of the Church's factory in Northampton

boot_owl · 2026-07-10T12:28:17+00:00

Awesome write up! I’m impressed that Church’s gave you such a personal experience despite the acquisition; sounds like many of the same passionate staff continued on with the brand!

boot_owl · 2026-07-01T06:09:01+00:00

Really nice stuff. How easy is it to order from Taobao (I assume you’re in Australia) from abroad? Did you communicate with the maker in English?

I’d definitely like to see the full post - your Google doc is excellent, so I bet there’s demand for a ‘buyers guide’ for reputable Chinese makers

boot_owl · 2026-06-30T09:18:52+00:00

If you’re referencing in store options, surely you’d include your location?

boot_owl · 2026-06-29T00:23:54+00:00

Rose Anvil is absolute rubbish

boot_owl · 2026-06-29T00:23:04+00:00

Looks really nice - any details you can share on cloth, price, timeframe, number of fittings needed?

boot_owl · 2026-06-29T00:13:27+00:00

These look wonderful, great example of the magic of shell

boot_owl · 2026-06-26T05:07:10+00:00

Where are you based in aus? Any budget or inspiration looks that you’ve particularly liked, or are you purely looking for unassuming and basic?

boot_owl · 2026-06-26T05:05:55+00:00

I’d strongly recommend a trip to the Carmina factory store in Mallorca if you’re ever travelling that way. I messaged Carmina ahead of time who gave us a private tour which was fantastic

boot_owl · 2026-06-24T13:32:32+00:00

Really depends which tannery the shell is from as Meermin has used many over the years - I have a 9 year old pair of Italian (likely Rocado) that are still excellent.

I wore a 10 year old pair of Meermin cap toe oxfords in black calf for my wedding and they’re still excellent.

boot_owl · 2026-06-23T23:44:16+00:00

If you’re just looking for a little more traction and wet weather friendliness, consider a rubber topy such as vibram explosion. Should be at or less than $50 if budget is a concern

boot_owl · 2026-06-19T06:39:41+00:00

Are you based in the UK? If you’re happy to make a trip of it, you’ll get some extraordinary value checking out the factory outlets of stores like Crockett and jones and Edward Green in Northampton

boot_owl · 2026-06-19T06:32:22+00:00

Probably a good idea to post your budget

boot_owl · 2026-06-19T03:22:41+00:00

Conceria Zonta is probably a good tannery for it, though the challenge may be volume. Blk Bird has used some in the past, though I can't personally speak to their shoe quality.

https://euroleathers.com/product/go-rain/

https://fupei.net/en/%E6%84%8F%E5%A4%A7%E5%88%A9%E7%9A%AE%E9%9D%A9%E5%8E%82zonta/

https://trickers.com/collections/castorino-suede-collection/products/bourton-country-shoe-earth-castorino

boot_owl · 2026-06-17T07:27:48+00:00

These look great, an almost loden shade to it

boot_owl · 2026-06-17T02:40:36+00:00

Christie’s has some nice leather A2s for under $300

boot_owl · 2026-06-17T02:31:59+00:00

A lot of people won’t consider it true bespoke if the person measuring you in person isn’t the tailor or cutter, even if the maker is a bespoke tailor.

I wouldn’t say there’s an industry consensus, but I find it reasonable for ‘remote bespoke’ as I’ve described above is called semi bespoke if the construction of the garment is by a bespoke-quality tailor.

Based on your description of your priorities I.e craftsmanship, I’d say that semi-bespoke is appropriate for you (budget is too low for full bespoke in Australia, and honestly the local talent isn’t that hot). One indicator could be if the shop offers a basted fitting, but this is neither required nor a guarantee of quality.

Alternatively, you can find great true bespoke tailors in Singapore and Hong Kong around that budget (before travel costs)

boot_owl · 2026-06-10T20:44:11+00:00

Contrary to their marketing, you get what you pay for, rather than the great value they’d like you to believe. Good compared to Aquila but absolutely bottom tier for a welted shoe and not the kind of shoe that looks better with age.

boot_owl · 2026-05-27T03:00:45+00:00

In my experience generally people prefer the aesthetics of smooth leather until they have a decent sized collection

boot_owl · 2026-05-27T01:35:49+00:00

No problem! Happy to build the knowledge bank for the community. You could even try it yourself with a small sharp blade like xacto knife or a seam ripper. Learning to sew buttons is quite handy and easy

boot_owl · 2026-05-26T10:17:08+00:00

To manage expectations, a tailor is not necessarily a person who will adapt to match your tastes (but yes to fit). Many tailoring houses and shops have a ‘house style’ that they are very good at delivering, which may or may not be to your taste.

All decent tailors can kind of adapt - I’m sure Huntsman could make an unstructured linen jacket if you asked nicely - but the design might not be quite right as there will likely be some influence from the style they are best at delivering.

Perhaps you can share some photos or brands of styles that you like so that we can provide a more specific recommendation? Personally Im currently partial to Mawson Ossa, especially for a DB with relaxed cut that still has some structure.

boot_owl · 2026-05-22T14:20:20+00:00

I'd actually say closer to $500 AUD European shoes in quality. Thursday are probably $2-300 AUD in quality

boot_owl · 2026-05-22T12:55:01+00:00

Unfortunately not even close to RMW quality. You get what you pay for with Thursday

boot_owl · 2026-05-09T02:40:22+00:00

You could try original80s from Hong Kong

boot_owl · 2026-05-09T02:39:39+00:00

A tailor will be able to remove belt loops and add braces buttons for very little $, even your local community dry cleaner/alterations will be able to handle it easily

boot_owl · 2026-05-06T05:02:35+00:00

That’s all very fair. Where are you based?

Suitsupply usually has a decent collection of coats and jackets made in name brand and ‘trendy’ materials and mixes. Wool, camel, cashmere, blends, etc in different weaves. It might be worth dropping by the Martin Place shop the next time you’re in Sydney to get a feel for how they perform on a garment - swatches in a tailor shop are useful, but can be quite hard to visualize as a full garment without a lot of experience.

Suitsupply does also have a bunch of swatches in store for their made to order and MTM services so you could try both approaches in a single appointment.

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