I am going to open with a statement that proves how totally ignorant I was about shoes until this year: I used to struggle to tell the difference between an Oxford and a Derby. When looking at pictures online the similarities were too strong. I needed to see the shoes next to each other in a shop to notice the differences.

This is indicative of the modern interpretation of when Derbys (or, as the Americans call them, Bluchers – more later) should be worn. In the past, they were more of a casual shoe for weekend and evening use. But now it is not uncommon to see Derbys in the workplace. A stroll around the square mile at lunchtime confirms this. Just like my novice perception of the two styles, the appropriate usage for Oxfords and Derbys is blurred. The average man on the street would not immediately distinguish between the two. They are both smart enough for the modern office.

So what is the difference? Unlike Oxfords, Derbys have open lacing. This means that the tongue is made of the same bit of leather that runs over the vamp (the top of your foot) and down to the tip of your toes. The eyelets for the lacing are overlapping bits of leather at the sides of the shoe. These are called the quarters and, on Derbys, they are not stitched to the tongue at the bottom which provides more flexibility.

This design makes it much easier to get in and out of the shoes, as the distance between the quarters can be loosened much more than the split seam on Oxfords. Derbys are often described as more comfortable too as there are fewer seams for your feet to rub against on the inside of the shoe. With the tongue, the vamp and the toe being made of the same piece of leather, the shoe also moulds to the foot quicker.

It is safe to assume that it is the twinning of these two elements that inspired Prussian field marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Duke of Wahlstadt to rethink his army’s footwear after helping Wellington at Waterloo. (One war, two new styles of shoe – not bad. More in my next post.) After the war, Blücher commissioned open laced boots for all of his soldiers and the early Derby was born. He also asked for the soles to be thicker so that they would last for longer, an aspect that remains in many Derbys to this day.

The modern Derby evolved when the boot was cut below the ankle to create a shoe. Shoemakers in Budapest and Norway created variations on the modern Derby, but the style was truly popularised by the upper classes, especially on continental Europe, in the early years of the 20th century.

For a long time, the luxury accessories market has been the easiest for high end companies to exploit. But with customers now demanding to know how their products are made and why they cost, there’s now space in the market for a company like Want Les Essentiels de la Vie to focus on high quality accessories.

Founded in 2006, Want Les Essentiels is a Canadian company founded by two twin brothers, Dexter and Byron Peart. Prior to starting Want Les, Dexter worked for 8 years as Vice President of Sixty Canada, whilst Byron worked as Marketing Director of Diesel Canada. “WANT Les Essentiels de la Vie was conceived out of a ‘want’ for premium quality leather goods”, Byron states.

They use Norwegian leather for their entire leather collection, “[it’s] slightly heavier than most leathers [and has] a beautiful grain that is much tougher and long lasting”. The leather travel and computer bags are handmade in a factory in northern Italy, whilst the small leather goods are made in China’s Guanzhou region. They’ve also introduced a more accessible organic cotton line, which uses cotton sourced from a renowned Turkish cotton farm.

The main difference between Want Les Essentiels and a comparable accessories line is the quality of the leather used throughout the collection. “Many brands often use stamped leather, especially in small leather goods. This technique masks the imperfections of the leather by the stamping, allowing many companies to use lower quality grade leather,” the Pearts states. “For Want Les Essentiels de la Vie products, we believe in respecting our customers’ discerning tastes, and use only the same first quality leather through the entire collection”.

“We feel that it’s important to hark back to the days of old, where you give more to the consumer than they expect. We have, unfortunately, become too complacent about demanding more from our purchases. But from cars, to electronics, to fashion and accessories, consumers are beginning to flex their purchasing power - and ultimately that is a good thing for all of us.”

September is fast approaching, which means the end of summer, unpacking our autumn jumpers, and a new Boot of the Month.

As our designer, Annejkh, has posted previously the big story for this boot is leather. It’s made from a type of leather called Kudu that was produced in a tannery that disappeared more than 25 years ago. See her original post here.

Annejkh and I have been arguing about whether we should do the boot in a grey or tan. So we made samples of both versions. We still haven’t decided which one we should release, or if we should offer both. Any comments or thoughts would be much appreciated. Here are the two options:

Grey: Dark, rugged, and a bit more tonal in colour. This version will look like an antique pair of work boots from the very first wear. 

Tan: This colour is something special. The deep gouges in the shrunken leather are contrasted very strongly between the lighter tan base and the darker brown welts. I’ve never seen anything like it before.

Both boots are going to be finished with a skeleton lining in matching Kudu leather and a purple velvet from our favorite cloth makers, Scabal. The inscription will be hand written on a square of French calf that is stitched into the lining. 

Let us know which version you prefer or whether we should do them both.  

Operation Christmas Child is a great charity. Kids fill shoeboxes with toys and treats, wrap them and send the boxes to disadvantaged children across the world. I know a fair bit about this as my Mum has helped collect boxes for the last 10 years. 

While growing up I was always surprised to see that a large minority of the boxes were from some of the finest shoemakers in the country. I had images of children pestering their Dads for shoeboxes until he gave in. Well, at the risk of sounding selfish, Dads across the country need to be made of stronger stuff.

Shoes are bagged, wrapped and packed to protect them during transit. And it is good practice to use the boxes to store your shoes at the end of the day. Not only will this keep your shoes tidy, but it will also protect them from being accidentally damaged. A friend of mine recently showed me a picture of his daughter using his Pierre Corthay shoes as string puppets. Undoubtedly cute, but what would she have done with the shoes had he not been in the room?

The shoebox also provides a dark environment. If you are planning to keep your shoes for a long time, then you should keep them in the dark for as long as possible. In the long term, leather is damaged by too much exposure to light. In addition, using a shoebox means that the shoes are stored on their sides. As a result, there is no chance of the uppers on either shoe being damaged by the edge of the other shoe’s sole.

Keeping hold of shoe bags is also advisable. They keep the dust away and will give the shoes extra protection from rubbing against each other and from the hard sides of the box. Ideally shoe bags should be made of a natural fibre such as cotton or bamboo to allow the shoes to breathe.

So keep the packaging for your shoes. If you want to be really geeky, you can take a Polaroid of each pair to tuck into the lid of the box so that they are easy to find. And use boxes from your trainers, or better still steal one from the Missus, to send toys to Operation Christmas Child.

The upside of the renewed interest in quality clothing is that designers who were previously dismissed for not being ‘fashion’ enough are being rediscovered.

That’s certainly been the case with Margaret Howell, a designer who was the dictionary definition of under the radar. Like Nigel Cabourn, Howell belongs to a group of British designers who have a stronger presence in Japan than their homeland due to their adherence to the details (regardless of the cost).

Howell started her label in the 1970’s with former husband Paul Renshaw, making her first complete range for men in 1978. A favourite of editors and fellow designers, menswear bloggers discovered her through her strong presence in Japan, where she’s had stores since 1983. To give an example of her presence there, she now has 56 stores in Japan compared to 3 in England.

Howell does make seasonal collections, but they’re produced in a different manner to most collections. “My kind of designing is a far cry from what a fashion student does when they take a “theme” to work around. My work comes from something I respond to, perhaps without at first realising it. Often I see a good exhibition and it opens me up to something… a colour, a texture, a mood.”

As you’d expect for a company that employs over 300 staff, Howell can no longer design every piece in the collection. “I have been designing clothes for 25 years and I am stepping back now, working more as an overseer with younger designers”.

When asked about how she perceives her clothes she replies, “I like to make high-quality clothes based on classic British traditions but with a contemporary feel. My clothes are rather like art. I design carefully edited collections, balancing fashion and tradition, with individual pieces designed to last, and I hope these items will be regarded as the best of their kind.”