Is anything good still maufactured in this country?

[Albert Fegg]

Alfred Sargent shoes http://alfredsargent.co.uk

[Robert Poste's Child]

Lovely, but out of reach for most of us unfortunately.

Can't help thinking that men do seem to be much better served than women when it comes to clothes and shoes, and the concepts of style, workwear and quality sit together more easily. Wondering what this says about these industries' views of women.

[Jeremy]

Supply and demand...

[steveo]

Helmet on

Women like this year's flimsy trinkets

Men like their pants hand carved from an oak stump

[Otta]

I'm someone who doesn't buy things like boots/shoes very often. Basically only when I've worn the last pair down to nothing. So I am all for spending a bit on a decent hard wearing pair.

BUT I just can't imagine ever having ?400 to spend on boots. There will ALWAYS be something I'd rather spend that ?400 on (probably some guitar related gadget that I'll never actually use to it's potential).

[david_carnell]

And vice versa Otta.

Spend on shoes and bed. If you're not in one, you're in the other.

Any good British bed makers?

[Jeremy]

The one time I spent over ?100 on a pair of shoes (budget-end Loakes) they fell apart within a couple of months, so since then, I stick to around the ?50 mark! I can totally understand people buying nice things (people can spend their own money however they want) but it's not for me.

Saying that, I'm quite tempted by a pair of those Solovair boots...

[nashoi]

DC You mean to say you're not sleeping on a bed from Norris, I'm shocked. Not just british, but SE London no less.

http://www.norrisbedding.co.uk/

[????]

I've had some Church's brogues for over 25 years (resouled a few times)......now, I bet THAT shocked Mr Carnell!

[Jeremy]

That's the other thing... a proper re-sole job costs what I'd normally spend on a pair of shoes.

[DulwichFox]

Brooms..

I've had the same Broom for 25 years...

Its had 17 new heads and 14 new handles..

Foxy

[nashoi]

I'd be equally shocked to hear DC wasn't buying all his top hats from Pateys on Gowlett Rd.

http://www.pateyhats.com/

[uncleglen]

There is still a substantial industry around home grown wool e.g. fair-isle knits, aran kits etc. Rowan and others market wools shorn and spun from British breeds and there are some alpaca farmers in the UK.

[Robert Poste's Child]

I have a pair of socks I bought 25 years ago. I wear them maybe 20 times a year and they still have no holes, though they're a bit battered. Hard to imagine anything I've bought in the last few years lasting as long.

[david_carnell]

nashoi Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I'd be equally shocked to hear DC wasn't buying

> all his top hats from Pateys on Gowlett Rd.

>

> http://www.pateyhats.com/

I once contacted them asking to see the factory and never received a reply. For shame.

[Lowlander]

All good links. To add,tobacco; not cigarettes but snuff (relatively harmless) using machinery from the Napoleon era: http://www.samuelgawith.co.uk/default.asp

[almost peckham]

Getting back to the original shoe/boot thing. For really good handmade boots at not ridiculous prices have a look at William Lennon - based in the Peak District I think. For beautifully made flat/round toe shoes for women check out maikodawson.com - not cheap but a genuine london-based one lady band - bespoke service and will modify a last to your fit. And she takes them back in when they eventually need repairing.

[lizbells6]

www.clockmakers.com

www.rwsmithwatches.com

[Robert Poste's Child]

If I was a man, I'd definitely want something from this company: http://www.jeffery-west.co.uk/jefferywest/collection.asp

[Otta]

DulwichFox Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Brooms..

>

> I've had the same Broom for 25 years...

>

> Its had 17 new heads and 14 new handles..

>

> Foxy

Alright Trig?

 

[DaveR]

http://www.johnlewis.com/inspiration-and-advice/products-we-stock-that-are-made-in-the-uk

[steveo]

???? Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I've had some Church's brogues for over 25 years

> (resouled a few times)......now, I bet THAT

> shocked Mr Carnell!

'Resouled' should be a word. I need a new one

[????]

My shoes have a soul...like 'billy's boots'

[red devil]

True dat, as George Michael once said, guilty feet have got no rhythm...

[Robert Poste's Child]

I wonder how reliable the info on the 'still made in Britain' type of sites is. Just been to Church's in Bond St, only to be told that actually their women's shoes are made in Italy - only the bulk of the men's are bench-made here - and this is because Church's is now owned by Prada. Perhaps this explains what's happened to the big-name brands and why most of those producing in this country seem to be smaller and/or newer. (Still focusing on shoes and clothes here, so may obviously not be true of jet engines or talent shows.)