If you live in North America and love Saint Crispin’s as much as I do, there’s some good news this month. The company just started their “Saint Crispin’s of the Americas” operation, headed by former Armoury employee Zachary Jobe. This means three things.
First, there will be many more trunk shows. Phillip used to visit the US twice a year, hitting only the largest cities. With Zachary’s help, they’ll now be touring the US on a quarterly basis, visiting everywhere from Miami to Washington DC to Atlanta to Denver to San Diego to Los Angeles (in addition to the usual rounds through NYC, Honolulu, San Francisco, etc). You can see their full tour schedule here.
This is useful since, more than any other shoe company, it can be important to try Saint Crispin’s on in-person before buying. They make their shoes with a lot of shape – cutting things a bit closer to the foot – and use harder stiffeners. That means there’s less room for error when it comes to fit, and the break-in period can be more punishing if you get things wrong. More trunk shows means more opportunities for men to try on their shoes in-person and get professional advice.
It also means being able to try their non-Classic lasts more easily, since Zachary is located in NYC and can bring things from their North American headquarters. I’ve always wanted to try their Sailor and Room lasts, for example, but Phillip never had them on-hand in San Francisco. If you need things in special widths, or want to see non-Classic lasts, Zachary encourages you to contact him. He also says he’s up for visiting other cities if people express interest.
Second, Saint Crispin’s is opening a showroom soon in New York City. The space will be available for private appointments, if people need personal consultations, and have a fuller line-up of their models. No more trying to infer what a certain style looks like from just a few online photos.
Lastly, they have a new, online store for their American customers. The best part about it: there are color-accurate photos of their swatches, which make ordering custom shoes a whole lot easier. Seriously, three cheers for that.
There are still good reasons to work with your traditional brick-and-mortars. In addition to getting another level of service, certain retailers have exclusive lasts. Bryceland’s, for example, has an exclusive chisel toe last they developed with the company. The Armoury is also working on a new loafer last, which should be ready sometime next spring. Having the new Saint Crispin’s of the Americas should just be an opportunity for more people to get familiar with the brand, even if they decide to shop through their preferred retailer.
(photos by Ethan Newton)
