Boot season - Carréducker boots

I have for the day sampled boots from the duo English bespoke boot and shoemakers Carréducker. I have been following the two artisans for some time now and I was fascinated by their rendition of the two toned button Balmoral boot or "Spat Boot". I do not know how many times I have stated that I am a sucker for boots and especially button Balmoral boots in all versions, so I was not going to miss  the opportunity of sharing the two toned button Balmoral boots from Carréducker with you.

Brogued oxford boot

 Details of the heel with very interesting brogueing/hole punching.

 Black and tan coloured Derby saddle boot.

 Derby saddle boot

Details of the saddle part

 Whole-cut alligator boot

Spat boot or button Balmoral boot (two toned). Now these are my favourite boots, which are rarely seen today. 

Photos sourced from Carréducker blog

The button Balmoral boot accessory

The past week as I was having a conversation with a friend about my commissioned buttoned Balmoral boots from Master Cliff Roberts, my friend inquired as how am I going to button the boots. Well, answer was very simple..... the below picture shows the accessory needed to handle the job.
What I find fascinating about the picture is that, the man buttoning the boots seems to be a simple worker/labourer, not from the top of society, but still had saved some money to commission the balmoral boots. 
Quest is why are so many men today perfectly comfortable with the likes of "Ecco" shoes, good to throw away after buying them. Hmmm....just a week-end thought. What do you think??

Photo sourced from Cyberspace

Peal & Co (England) stunning boots

I mentioned the Peal and Co. here and I am stunned by the beautiful boots the company made during its existance, pity they went defunct in 1965. The Peal & Co house was the ultimate boot makers in England.

Laced riding boot

 The back of the riding boot

 The clients name who commissioned the boot at Peal & Co and the lasted boot trees

 The Peal & Co label insignia inside the boot

 A Peal & Co riding boot - one

 A Peal & Co riding boot - two

A Peal & Co laced riding boot

 A Peal and Co two toned buttoned balmoral boot

Eight buttoned two toned balmoral boot

 Pictures sourced from Metropolitan Art Museum and the Internet

Cliff Roberts - Bespoke Button Balmoral Boots and more

Master Cliff Roberts has made a beautiful rendition of a buttoned balmoral boot which can be seen below. I can not stop mentioning that I am sold when it comes to balmoral boots, especially the buttoned ones. What is interesting about Master Cliff's pieces is that all are commissioned by clients who heard about him from the net or mouth to mouth service. 
The beauty and endless options of bespeaking a pair of shoes/boots is: the client decides the last, select the leather and colour, decoration (medallion, brogue, punching, gimping, sole type and more) and the style (monk, oxford, derby, whole cut etc.) of the shoe/boot. Master Cliff has two lasts, a square chisel and a round last. However he accommodates if and when the client brings his/her favourite last along. Not many bespoke shoemakers accommodate for that.

As mentioned earlier on this blog (here), Master Cliff is a "One Man bespoke operation" ala Eric Cook, which means it takes time to get the product out of his hands, but this is true of most artisans who work solo. As said, a one man operation, but the end product is amazing and worth the waiting process.
For those gents who are into exotic leathers, you can see his work here which was a gift for his son. 

A punched cap toe two toned button balmoral boot in black and dove grey suede. These are working buttons and not sham, please note that.

A two toned buttoned balmoral boot (black and grey suede), the shoe on the left is a pigskin punched cap toe oxford also on the squared chisel toe.

 A brown on brown (leather and suede) laced balmoral boot (square chisel toe). I am in favour of the side seams punched and gimped instead of simple stitching as on the above boot. 

 A black leather and cream suede laced balmoral boot on the square chisel toe.

Photos sourced from Master Cliff Roberts

A 1900-1910 Peal Vintage Balmoral buttoned boot

For today I have picked up an old two toned buttoned balmoral boot from Peal the English bespoke shoemaker, the company closed in 1965. 

 "Peal and Co were founded in 1565 and were the oldest-established and most successful makers in the World, employing up to 200 staff. The firm was established in Durham and moved to Derby in 1765, reaching London in 1791. In 1953 Peal bought their Oxford Street neighbours, Bartley and Son, inheriting their Boot and Fox emblem and moved to Wigmore Street in 1958. The business closed early in 1965, when the family decided that lack of family succession, a declining trade and shortage of skilled staff made closure their best option. The closure of Peal and Co was very helpful to the remaining shoemakers in London including Foster and Son, who acquired two important assets, the boot and fox emblem and Terry Moore.The Peal family had an excellent reputation as innovators, and developed a semi-mechanised production method (not used by us) by which a last hand-made by Terry (Terry Moore last maker at Foster and Son )and his colleagues could be duplicated up to 8 times on a copying lathe. The pattern-cutting was done by hand, but the making itself was done in a large works in Shepherds Bush to increase productivity. The unique Peal "easy exit" last was very suitable for riding boots and slippers. Terry brought many of the Peal lasts with him to 83 Jermyn Street and today our collection of old Peal lasts are retained as a valuable reference point for certain styles of riding boots and slippers for which they where particularly suited". 

Here is a vintage two toned Balmoral buttoned boot from about 1900-1910, in brown (tan/chestnut) and white calf hide, punched cap toe, a single sole and seven functional buttons. Even for its age the boot has a nice patina and shows that it was well kept and cared for by the owner. It is a very stunning & beautiful boot. 

Peal & Co (England) Buttoned Balmoral boot from 1900-1910

Terry Moore (last maker extraordinaire) and his "brood" - Emma, Emiko and Kasia.

Pictures sourced from the Internet, Style forum and Peal's history from Ask Andy About Clothes.

Buttoned Balmoral boots from Perfetto

I can not have enough of Balmoral boots, be laced or buttoned. The Japanese boot & shoemaker "Perfetto" had these beauties exhibited at Pitti. 

Perfetto two toned buttoned balmoral boots

Pictures sourced from Dandy Shoe Care Tumblr

Gabriele D' Annunzio - Italian Dandy, poet & more

Mr. Gabriele D' Annunzio (1863-1938), Italian author, military hero and a political leader.
His colorful career, his scandalous relationships, his daring in wartime, his eloquence and political leadership in two national crises, all contributed to make him one of the most striking personalities of his day. But for the day we will look into Mr. D' Annunzio's shoe (rather boot) collection, which is amazing & breath taking that his shoe wardrobe was 90% made of balmoral boots in all imagined combinations. Hope you all have a pleasant weekend.

Gabriele D' Annunzio himself

In civilian and military uniform

Black and grey balmoral boot with three piece shoe trees

 White balmoral boots

Balmoral boots collection and spats

 Boot/Shoe cases with three piece boot trees

Mr. D' Annunzio's shoe trees

Pictures sourced from Flickr and Britannica