Herring Shoes Shoe Guide

Nowadays casual means everything and…nothing. Originally, gentlemen had to wear suits in town. Casual meant country. Casual meant colours. Casual meant more “room for manoeuvre”

Thanks to our first article dedicated to dress or formal shoes, you know what you should wear with your suits. But nowadays far fewer people wear suits regularly and so things have changed a lot. The “old rules” are no longer available for a lot of men. “No brown in town” for example is completely out of date. These days you have choice and sometimes that is not easy!

This is why also we must tell the difference between casual and…casual.

Do you still wear a jacket or a blazer? Do you walk a lot? Do you drive a lot? Do you want to have a nice pair for the week end only? Or do you only wear denim?

Basically, you should consider that if you do wear classic attire, like a blazer with nice trousers, or even nice blue denim trousers with a jacket, you are more “formal” than casual. In this case feel free to wear nice Oxfords for example, but not black ones. In fact you can almost wear whatever you want as long as it is not black. (This applies to your clothes too – no black!). Think about blue or brown loafers, tan double monks, nice derbies. Be bold and try and coordinate with what you are wearing.

It is the same thing for your socks. Casual means fewer constraints and less rigidity.

Casual also means “practical”. Rubber soles can be very helpful for those who walk a lot or those who need to worry about the rain and the slippery sidewalks for example.

If you are lucky enough not to have a dress code at work, feel free to wear whatever you want. Same thing for your days off and weekends.

But never forget that a nice pair of shoes makes always the difference. Play with textures, fabrics and colours but don’t go to far.

Just forget about black ones, horrible flip-flops or Crocs of course. A contemporary gentleman is still a gentleman and he knows that balance and moderation are the key.

Sartorially yours,

Guillaume Bo ( MenNeedMoreStyle )

Ciao a tutti, oggi sono qui per darvi alcuni consigli e aiuti, su come scegliere il modello di scarpa adeguato in base alle diverse occasioni. Vediamo di seguito,alcuni modelli dai pià classici ai pià casual.

Hello everyone, today I am here to give you some advice and help on how to choose the most appropriate model of shoes according to different occasions. Please see below for my selections.

OXFORD:

Nata nel 1830, è la scarpa per eccellenza delle occasioni di gala sia diurne che notturne. Presenta un allacciatura a 6 occhielli, chiusa. Consigliata con un abito dai toni scuri e pantalone con risvolto ampio (5cm).

First popular in the 1830’s, this shoe is ideal for formal occasions, day or night. The closed lacing makes this style sleek in profile and so the most elegant design of shoe. In black leather it can be worn with a dark suit or brown leathers. For extra flair they work really well with cuffed (turn-up) trousers but you would not do this with a black pair.

BROGUE:

la forma ¨ simile alla Oxford, ma dalla punta meno arrotondata, ¨ caratterizzata da forature dette a œnido di rondine” che rendono questa scarpa classica, ma allo stesso tempo pi casual. Si pu indossare con un abito, preferibilmente spezzato (giacca e pantalone diversi).

The brogue is a style that uses punching details in the leather to create a pattern. This makes it more casual than an Oxford. You can complement the shoe by wearing a broken outfit i.e. non-matching trousers and jacket.

MONK STRAP:

Una scarpa chiusa, con la tomaia che risale verso il collo del piede, sulla quale si sovrappone unâ ala allacciata lateralmente da una (single monk strap) o due fibbie (double monk strap, o dub-monks) a seconda del modello. Meno formale della Oxford, ma allo stesso tempo elegante. Indossabile con un abito dalle tonalità scure.

The monk can have either one or two straps depending on the style. The shoe is generally elasticated to allow the shoe to slip-on without needing to alter the tackles, although if you have a high instep you will need to undo the buckles. This is less formal than an Oxford but a little more elegant than a brogue. This is best worn with darker tones.

LOAFER:

La scarpa pià usata dalglâ italiani, considerata un must per lâ uomo a cui piace essere elegante, ma non eccessivamente. La possiamo trovare con una punta sfilata o quadrata, in camoscio o di pelle. Indossabile con un abito spezzato o con un jeans e camicia.

This is an essential shoe for the Italian people, considered a must for men who like to be stylish but not extravagant. It can have a pointed or square toe and be made of suede or leather. It is best worn with an unmatched jacket and trousers or with jeans and a shirt.

TASSEL LOAFER:

Anchâ essa utilizzatissima dal dandy italiano, che si sente molto giovane. presenta la stessa forma della loafer ma sul collo piede presenta delle noppine in pelle intrecciata.

Adatta per look classic con tocchi sportivi (la mia preferita).

Another favourite in Italy is the tassel loafer, worn by a younger and more extravagant man, it has the same shape as a standard loafer but the tassel and lace around the heel add more flamboyance. This is my favourite design as it is great with classic styling or more sporty outfits.

CHUKKA BOOT:

Uno stivaletto con le stringhe, un must per qualsiasi uomo, comodo e chic allo stesso tempo. Utilizzabile su un abito non eccessivamente formale e su jeans.

The Chukka boot, a must for any man, is comfortable and chic at the same time. This is definitely a relaxed style that is best worn with jeans and informal attire.

DERBY:

Una scarpa molto casual simile alla chukkaboot, leggermente pià bassa e con la pianta molto larga e con suola in gomma o in para. Utilizzabile per qualsiasi situazione, non estremamente formale.

Derby designs are great for wearing if you have a high instep, but because of the construction of the lacing being open they are not as elegant and so less formal. They are often in wider fittings and can be seen in country designs with plain fronts. Suitable for most situations but not for formal wear.

CHELSEA BOOT:

Lo stivaletto per eccellenza, adatto per chi ama gli abbinamenti classici con tocchi casual. Presenta la molla ai lati e possiamo trovarlo anche nella versione Brogue.

With elasticated sides the Chelsea is a superb boot for most occasions. It is sleek and formal looking in black or casual and relaxed in brown making it extremely flexible for your wardrobe.

Spero possiate apprezzare questi miei consigli, per qualsiasi domanda, non esitate a scrivermi.

I hope you can appreciate my advice, for any questions please do contact me here or via my blog at nicolaradano.com

Ciao a tutti, Nicola.

Herring shoes are proud to say that we have partnered with CollectPlus as a click and collect courier. Click and Collect is a relatively new service in the UK but is rapidly becoming one of the most popular. What makes the service so convenient is that you can choose from thousands of local stores that are close to your home or workplace. They are often open at weekends and operate for longer hours than usual. This means you can now collect or return your Herring at almost any time.

To select this new service, look at the shipment method in the checkout pages and select CollectPlus from the drop down menu. You will then be prompted to select you favourite drop-off point and checkout in the normal way. As with all our UK deliveries and returns we are pleased to say this is a free service.

If you would like to learn more about this service visit the CollectPlus website where you can find out what locations are near you.

England vs Italy.

No, it’s not a football game. This is about their very different styles. For decades, a gentlemen had to choose which he wanted to follow. The British school is all about rules and codes that are very established. The Italian school is more about freedom, seduction and comfort. This is also the case for shoes.

For example, nowadays we can see a lot of men wearing their loafers without socks or with invisible socks. This is a typically Italian look that, for a British gentleman, is highly unorthodox, and constitutes sacrilege! In the British view a gentleman must not show his hairy ankles and I agree. Wearing formal or business attire can inspire a “style saving” restraint. This helps you to appreciate that you do not only wear clothes and shoes for yourself, but in a large measure as a way to communicate about yourself, to help other people understand you.

So British is best? No.

It can be very “cool” to rock your nice tassels and even monk shoes with more casual combinations. It says to the world: “hey, I’m a gentleman but I’m not that obsessed by myself. I’m open, I’m alive, I’m dynamic”. Italian style takes the essence of British style, the best of it, then modifies and softens it. They learnt the rules so they could break them.

So Italian is best? No.

You can like both schools as I do. Elegance is all about balance, not rules. First and foremost it is about knowing what flatters you and how you feel about what you are wearing. Which style you find most suitable can vary depending on your emotions, your social life and your work.

    

Thankfully our world is not as small as it used to be. Our tastes and inspirations have been evolving as influences from around the world inspire us. Good taste can be found in Asia, America, Africa, anywhere. But don’t forget gentlewomen and gentlemen, classic style is timeless, secure and understated but should never be boring at all.

So gentlemen, it is a draw, Italy 1- England 1 and we are all winners.

Shoes speak louder than words,

Guillaume Bo

Without doubt one of the biggest questions when buying a handmade, lasted shoe is, ‘will shoes made on this last shape fit me?’ Firstly I will try and explain exactly what a last is.

If you can picture a wooden shoe tree then you have a basic idea of what the last looks like. It is a piece of wood that is shaped a unique way, that will form the shape of the shoe when the leather is stretched over it.

Highly skilled craftsmen tack the leather onto the last to ensure it is evenly stretched. Excess leather is then pared away so the shoe-maker can start attaching the sole to the upper. The shoe will stay on the last shape until they are ready to be polished and boxed.

As you can imagine, there are many different last shapes from manufacturer to manufacturer. You will still find that last shapes cross over from style to style, for example the Herring Gosforth  is a Chukka boot made on the 026 last, as is the Herring Knightsbridge, an oxford toe cap shoe.  Although they are two different styles, the footbed and uppers will be the same and have the same overall shape and feel. On very rare occasions you get shoes made on the same last shape that can be a little different inside, this is down to the fact that one of the pairs was perhaps left on the last a little longer or shorter and so the leather may have stretched more or less than another pair. As these are handmade items, the subtle variations are to be expected and are part of the charm of a traditional crafted item, rather than a fault.

When looking at the last name or most commonly the number, unfortunately there is no recognised system or table to determine how each one will fit. There is no reliable relation between names and numbers so the 026 standard last is, for example, very different to the wide country 024 last.

The common mistake when looking at last shapes, is to think that a longer last is for a longer foot size. This is not the case. In theory the last is always sized to fit a standard foot size, meaning that a long last will fit the same foot as a standard last shape. The difference is in the appearance of the outline of the shoe.  A good example of this is the Herring Lewis which is made on the very sleek 486 last, but will fit just as well as any other lasted shoe.

To summarise, the last is really more about the outline and style of the shoe, than how it will fit you. The key benefit of buying shoes from Herring is that we test all our shoes for size across all our manufacturers so you can be reasonably confident that any size shoe you find that fits will be similar to any other equivalent size. For the best results, you can just choose another style on the same last shape as this is virtually guaranteed to fit. You can search our website by last shape to make this easier. Just put the last name into the text search and all the styles on that last should appear. We have also added a shoe last comparison page which allows you to see the most popular herring lasts side by side.

If you do find that you have bought a pair of shoe on a last that is not quite right we are always happy to exchange or refund the shoes and we can always offer advice on what lasts would be best for you, based on your previous purchases and our extensive experience of helping customers for many years.

We receive many calls from our customers asking us about polishing shoes, the best techniques and products to use. We have put a video showing basic polishing and bulling techniques on our youtube channel. But this blog post is aimed at the specific challenges of two-tone shoes. Due to the amount of superb two tone shoes we sell ( leather and suede ) we wanted to show you how easy it is to care for them and to show that suede is not as fragile as you may think.

Read on for a full tutorial (with images)

http://www.theshoemakerworld.com/blog/herring-shoes
HERRING SHOES
11/3/2015
La historia de esta la marca que os presentamos hoy, es el perfecto ejemplo de cómo una firma de calzado con más de 50 años de tradición sabe adaptarse a los tiempos y conseguir hacer crecer su negocio por encima de las expectativas.

Herring Shoes fue fundado por Richard Herring en 1966 en la exclusiva zona de Montpellier, Cheltenham. Desde su tienda cercana a sus almacenes empezaron a vender zapatos ingleses de las principales marcas (Church´s, Loake o Barkeys).

The story of Herring shoe is one of adaptation. How do you adapt, change your business model when you have a history of 50 years in the making of shoes? This brand did it and shows us solutions to change and adapt to make your business grow.

Herring Shoes was founded by Richard Herring in 1966, in Montpellier, Chetentham. In this store Herring Shoes was selling top english brands such as Church’s Loake or Barkeys.

Imagen
Con los años Herring Shoes construyo una estrecha relación con muchos de los fabricantes de Northampton trabajando en muchos casos directamente con el Sr. Andrew Loake, William Barker y Jonathan y William Church´s.

Adrian, el director general de la firma, trabajó en la fábrica de Barker durante varios años conociendo en detalle las construcciones y procesos artesanales a la hora de hacer un zapato ingles. A través de estos contactos se decidieron a lanzar su propia gama de calzado diseñado por ellos y fabricado por Barkers, Cheaney y Loake entre otros.

Al trabajar con estas fábricas tan prestigiosas de Northampton pueden servirse del conocimiento y maestría de cada fabricante para fabricar cada tipo de zapato sabiendo que será hecho por los mejores zapateros ingleses.

This business relationship grew into a friendship and that’s how this little store came to know personally Sr. Andrew Loake, William Barker and Jonathan and William Church.

Brand General Manager, Adrian, used to work in the Barker factory, learning how to build a typical english shoe, and learning about the craft of shoe making. Thanks to this experience and to their friendship with great shoemakers, they decided to make their own brand that would be built by Barkers, Cheaney and Loake.
Working with these Northampton maestros, they know they can use their knowledge to build absolutely any type of shoe they want as it will be made by the best craftsmen in England.

 
La gama de calzado Herring se hace a la medida de las necesidades de sus clientes. Al trabajar directamente con las fabricas son capaces de sobre modelos existentes mejorar determinadas especificaciones (mejor cuero, suelas, etc) logrando estilos únicos.

En otras ocasiones tienen la oportunidad de crear sus propios diseños y estilos distinguiéndose de la competencia y ofreciendo la máxima calidad a precios excepcionales. Un papel que desarrolla principalmente Adrian, el cual viaja a las fabricas, diseñando y eligiendo los estilos y modelos.

Según nos comentaba Adrian, intenta en la medida de lo posible ofrecer algo diferente a lo que podemos ver en Loake, Barker o Cheaney. Pero a veces, por supuesto, es imposible crear un zapato único como un oxford negro, así que tienen que fabricar un zapato idéntico a la gama del fabricante.

Herring’s is proposing handmade shoes that goes with the customer’s exigence. Working hand in hand with the factories, they can change anything you want (leather, soles, etc.) and get unique results every single time.
They also have their own brand in which they do their own designs and get exceptional results to very attractive prices. That’s Adrian role into the organization as he travels to the factory, designs and choses the looks of the whole collection.

As Adrian told us, they always try to propose original designs that differs from the Church’s, Loake or Barker ones, but of course, some basics are ultimately impossible to vary. That’s why their black Oxford design is the same you can find in this brands, and where their price politics is particularly relevant.
Herring tiene cuatro gamas o colecciones diferentes:

1. La colección 1966 la cual lleva el nombre de su año de fundación y representa la gama más lujosa y exclusiva.

2.Ligeramente por debajo de esta gama, tienen la colección Premier, la cual esta cortada a mano, cosida y fabricada en el Reino Unido.

3.Luego tienen la colección clásica que es principalmente de fabricación inglesa y que representa una combinación de calidad y precio justo.

4. Por ̼ltimo tienen su gama casual Рestos son los mocasines, trainers, slippers y otros estilos que se hacen fuera del Reino Unido.

La mayor parte de su colección clásica está hecha por las fábricas de Loake y Barker, mientras que su gama Premier está hecha por las fabricas de Cheaney, Alfred Sargent, Trickers y Sanders. Siendo su gama más alta la colección 1966 que está fabricada por Alfred Sargent.

Herring proposes four different ranges:

1. The 1966: the luxury collection, the exclusive one that got its name from the founding year of Herring Shoes.

2. Slightly less expensive is the Premier collection, handmade and made in the UK.
3. Then is the Classic collection, which for the most of it made in the UK and that is a combination and good quality, and pricing that are studied to be best.

4.Last but not least, the casual collection – loafers, trainers, car shoes, slippers, and other styles made out the UK
Most of the shoes you can buy there are made in the Loake and Barker factories. The Premier collection is done in the Cheaney, Tricker and Alfred Sargent factories. Sargent is also in charge of making the 1966 collection.

 
Sin duda alguna su estilo para los zapatos Oxford, Derby, Monkstrap y las botas es ingles principalmente porque están fabricados en la zona de Northampton utilizando la prestigiosa construcción Goodyear.

Pero sus modelos de mocasines y náuticos son fabricados en España, debidos principalmente a que es en este país donde se hacen los mejores zapatos de este estilo.

Quizás la mayor diferencia respecto a otras marcas del sector, es su capacidad para producir pequeñas tiradas de nuevos diseños – únicamente 12 pares de zapatos- lo cual les permite arriesgar con diseños más “creativos” o novedosos.

Of course, the style for its Oxford, Derby, Monkstrap and the boots is resolutely english as it is made in the factories of Northampton following the Good Year craft.
But its loafers and boat shoes are made in Spain, as it’s in Spain that you can find the best makers for these types of shoes.

Maybe the biggest difference you can find with other brands is the capacity Herring has to produce small quantities of a single models – 12 pairs of the same model – and how it allows them to be more creative.
Desde el año 2000 iniciaron la venta de zapatos online aumentando el negocio exponencialmente. Actualmente venden más zapatos de su marca propia (Herring) que de Church´s, Loake o cualquier otra marca.

Su negocio online es actualmente el más importante – venden zapatos por todo el mundo y son capaces de llegar a clientes que nunca hubieran imaginado hace apenas unos años. Pero donde mas hacen hincapié es en su servicio de atención al cliente, siendo su prioridad que comprar en Herring sea toda una experiencia de satisfacción.

Actualmente siguen desarrollando su negocio online y este año quieren incluir varias líneas de ropa. Unas colecciones hechas en el Reino Unido siguiendo su filosofía.

In the 2000, they began with their own online store and their business grew a lot. They are now selling more shoes of their own brand than Church’s, Loake or any other brand.
Their online store is actually more important – they are selling shoes all over the world and have the capacity to get to customers that they wouldn’t have even imagines a few years ago. But what really defines them is their attention to customer as they want the buying to be an experience and a satisfactory one.
Right now they are developing their online store and this year they want to be able to offer various clothes collections. Collections that are to be made in the UK, following their philosophy.

Sus precios varían de 10 para un par de calcetines hasta los 425€ por un par de zapatos de la colección 1966.

Their price range varies from 10€ for a pair of socks to 425€ for a pair of shoes of the 1966 collection.