In an old interview in the Wall Street Journal, Bruce Boyer once said it’s ironic “everyone thinks about luxury but real craftsmen are dying off.” And it’s absolutely true. Part of the problem is truly well-made things are often stratospherically expensive, which places them out of reach of most people. The other problem is that most of us rely on marketing literature for our understand of craft – and most of the time, that literature is put out by companies who have long abandoned traditional methods.

In footwear, for example, Goodyear-welt constructions are often touted as the Gold Standard. Alden says it’s “far superior to any other shoemaking method,” while Allen Edmonds says the “durability of a Goodyear-welted shoe is unmatched.” Dozens of other companies say similar things – “most reliable way to finish a shoe or boot” and such shoes “last longer than any other type of footwear.” This kind of information then gets propagated through online forums, blogs, and magazines.  

For the bulk of his career, DW Frommer II has been arguing differently. An acclaimed American bootmaker, he has over forty years of bespoke shoemaking experience under his belt. He’s also an active member on various online forums – where he’s well-known for his prickly personality. He’s not exactly shy about sharing his views on things, but for all his arguing over the years, he’s also taught many people (including me) the meaningful difference between machine- and handmade shoes.  

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Tomorrow is August 12th, otherwise known as The Glorious Twelfth. It marks the start of shooting season in the UK for red grouse – a medium-sized, fast-flying bird that lives in the country’s heather moorlands. Although wild, red grouse populations are managed by large estates, which open their property up this time of year to hunters. Although, this year, those estates might be closed for business. Unseasonably wet weather conditions have devastated stocks – which in turn have left fewer grouse on the moors. 

As you might expect, grouse hunting is not without its controversies. Mark Avery, a former conservation director for the RSPB, recently published a book titled Inglorious: Conflict in the Uplands. His argument: the intensive management that’s needed for large grouse populations – and thus larger “bags” for hunters – has damaged protected habitats, increased greenhouse gas emissions, polluted water supplies, and left downhill properties at greater risk of flooding. Plus, natural predators – including protected classes of birds of prey – are routinely killed, thus threatening other wildlife populations. With fewer predators, dense populations of grouse are more susceptible to diseases. 

He also argues that grouse hunting has lost all its sport. In the past, men used to walk across hills, shooting at grouse as they were flushed out of the moors. This form of shooting, known as walked-up shooting, happened until the invention of the breech-loading shotgun, which made reloading your firearm much easier (and bigger bags more feasible). Nowadays, estates largely operate on what’s known as driven shooting, where hunters wait in small shelters known as butts, while a distant line of “beaters” walk across the moorlands to flush grouse towards them. As he writes in his recent article in The Independent: 

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Last year’s tobacco Fresco run was a huge hit, so I’ve been working on some new custom-fabric projects. This time, however, I’d like to see if there’s any interest in running things through speciality mills such as Fox Brothers and Molloy & Sons. They’ll likely come with higher price tags, but – as anyone who has handled their cloths will know – the qualities they produce are outstanding. Here are some projects I’ve been thinking about:

• Navy Donegal: Run through Molloy & Sons, a small, father-and-son mill in Ireland. The fabric would look something like what you see above. Except, where that’s a smooth cashmere-blend, this would be rough and tweedy. Price is estimated to be around $150 per meter. 
  
• Tan Flannel: Like khaki cotton, but in a worsted wool. The idea is to have something you can use for trousers, which you can pair with navy or dark brown sport coats. (like this, but in flannel). I’m still looking for the right mill, but at the moment, I’m taking to Fox Brothers. Price has yet to be determined, but their usual out-the-book flannels are about $150 per meter. 
  

• Navy Fresco Houndstooth: Patterned summer jacketings are hard to find. This would be a mid-scale houndstooth in Fresco, which means you could use it for suits or sport coats. The color combination would either be in black/ navy or mid-blue/ navy. Price would be about $70 per meter. 
  
• Green Tweed: Specifically, a district check known as Kylnadrochit. Designed to be used for sport coats, which would end up looking something like this. I’m still looking for the right mill, so price has yet to be determined. 
  
• Textured silk/ linen blend: A dark-brown silk-linen blend with a lot of texture. Something like raw silk, but a little more breathable. At the moment, I’m talking to a UK mill and working out the price. 
  

If any of the projects sound interesting to you, please drop me an email at derek@dieworkwear.com and tell me what you might order (also mention the number of meters). Given that we’re organizing this as a group-order – rather than as a clothing label with guaranteed minimums – I’d like to make sure we have the prospect of putting something through before I ask these mills to run samples. 

For those curious, the jacket above is from Eidos, who ran a really nice, speckled, cashmere-blend last season. The photo itself is from Christian Kimber, who just relaunched with a new line of footwear and accessories. I’m a big fan of his pocket squares. 

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There are probably hundreds of online guides at this point on how to take care of leather shoes, but few that effectively address what to do with sneakers. Over the years, I’ve tried everything – from washing machines to repurposed suede erasers to stiff-bristled brushes dipped in various mixtures. Although they’ve all been effective to some degree or another, none have been anywhere near as good as Jason Markk. Comprised of a simple brush and some cleaning solution, their basic kit takes care of everything from suede to leather to canvas. 

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For guys who follow denim boards, 3sixteen’s Kibata jeans might be the most anticipated release of the year. They were actually supposed to come out in late-2014, but with delays at the mill and a dock strike in Long Beach, they finally just hit stores last month. 

Kibata is Japanese for unsanforized, which means customers can now get a fuller, end-to-end experience with 3sixteen’s jeans. That includes being able to customize the fit at home through various warm soaks, and appreciating more of the denim’s natural character. Sanforization, for those unfamiliar, is a process whereby a manufacturer takes all the shrinkage out of denim. In doing so, however, they also tend to flatten the fibers, which means you get something that’s a bit smoother and more uniform. Unsanforized denim, therefore, is the denim’s state as it comes off the loom, which gives you the ability to appreciate the subtle nuances in the fabric before they’ve been pressed out. 

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Much like suit jackets and sport coats – which can look dramatically different depending on their silhouette – the shape and cut of a shoe can be just as important as its general style and color. I don’t think I really appreciated this until I recently received a pair of Saint Crispin’s chukkas. When I originally ordered, I was worried that these might be too similar to another pair of chukkas I own from Crockett & Jones – specifically their Brecon model (available at Pediwear, although Ben Silver has better photos). When put side-by-side, however, you can see that the two couldn’t be any more different. 

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Let’s be honest, few of us are handsome enough to look good in just a shirt and a pair of pants, and summer doesn’t offer many chances for layering. To make up for the lack of outerwear this summer, I’ve been relying on slightly more oddball shirts. I have a patchwork piece from Neighborhood that I sometimes use as an overshirt, and then this linen popover from Visvim that I like to throw over thin tees and henleys. 

The nice thing about popovers is that they’re interesting enough to wear on their own. Dressier versions such as this one from G. Inglese can be worn tucked-in with a pair of trousers for a classic Agnelli look, while more casual versions can be worn out with a pair of jeans and sleek boots. This one from Visvim is made from a soft, enzyme washed linen, and features a painted and distressed button, as well as a uniquely frayed collar line. Together with the dropped shoulder, boxier silhouette, and antique-inspired print, these details give the shirt a slightly more vintage sensibility. I typically wear it with jeans and some suede Chelsea boots, and then roll up the sleeves. 

You can find Visvim at any number of places. Speciality boutiques such as Haven, Union, and Shiprock Santa Fe carry a nice selection. Mr. Porter also carries the line, and some of their pieces are discounted at the end of every season. For the best prices, however, you’ll want to buy second-hand through eBay, Grailed, or Superfuture. There’s also Stylistics Japan, who will sell you something straight from Japan (useful given the strong USD-to-Yen exchange rate). Lastly, you can check Rakuten and Yahoo Auctions Japan, although with those, you’ll want to know what you’re doing. The downside to buying second-hand or from an overseas shop, of course, is that you can’t return something if it doesn’t work out – but on the upside, prices can be a lot cheaper. 

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Before we had Tumblr, Wordpress, and Blogspot, some of the best menswear blogs were obscure Japanese sites that looked like they were designed during the heydays of Geocities. Centipede and Cobbler’s Web were among the best, but neither have been updated for a while. Until now, anyway. Cobbler’s Web is apparently posting again – both as a blog and on Instagram – under the name “Not Fashion, but Style.” (It’s admittedly a bit corny, but I’m hardly one to judge bad blog titles).

The blog is unfortunately written in Japanese, so unless you know the language, you’ll have to rely on the rough translations provided by Google Translate. He does write some English captions on his Instagram account though. There, you’ll find photos of bespoke shoes from G.J. Cleverley, Koji Suzuki, and John Lobb of St. James in London; vintage Edward Greens from the early John Hlustik days; and suits from Henry Poole and Liverano & Liverano. There’s also the only known (headless) selfie of the man behind the site, which I’ve included at the end of this post. 

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I can’t believe it took me over a year to get these boots. The market for shell cordovan, if you haven’t heard, has gotten crazy. Leather is a by-product of the meat trade, which means the decline in equine meat consumption has made it harder and harder for tanneries to get horsehides. Combine that with an increase in demand and the fact that it takes six times longer to tan shell than calf, and you have an increasingly rare leather. 

Horween – the Chicago tannery that makes most of the shell cordovan used for footwear – has responded by focusing on dark colors, such as their famous #8 (a deep brown with hues of purple and red). That’s because light colors are trickier to tan and require completely unblemished hides (which make up only a small fraction of what Horween gets in). As a result, you can still get color #8 pretty easily, but almost nothing else. 

There are some exceptions. Vass sometimes gets unusual colors in, and they’re happy to make things on a made-to-order basis (if you’re in the US, you’ll have to order through No Man Walks Alone). Carmina is another good source, and Viberg is slated to produce mahogany shell service boots later this year. Meermin has also switched to Japanese shell cordovan, which is slightly lighter and thinner than the Horween stuff, but just as beautiful and hard-wearing.

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