Never trust a man who wears cheap shoes. This sage advice is hardly new, but it bears repetition. A man in cheap shoes (unless personal tragedy is involved) can hardly command respect. He has no regard for his appearance (and therefore little respect for the rest of humankind), he cares nothing for personal discipline and his character will be of the ‘anything will do’ variety.  Thanks be to God, then, for the patrons of the discreet premises near London’s Bond Street which are the shop and workroom of George Cleverley & Company. These patrons are the gentlemen (and I use the word advisedly) who have sought out the finest bespoke shoes in the world. I confess that I am of their number. And the shoes which form the subject of this article should convince you, dear Reader, that the union of craftsmanship and beauty, while never cheap, is always worthy of admiration.

George Glasgow and John Carnera are two of the most excellent chaps you will meet in London. Having been his pupils, they took over from the legendary Mr George Cleverley the business of shodding the feet of many of the most discerning of the world’s Great & Good. (More about the history of the firm can be read in the other articles on Bown’s Bespoke.) Nowadays Mr Carnera performs a gentler role than previously, and therefore rejoices in the title of Head Cutter Emeritus. He is on the left of the picture, next to your correspondent. Then comes Mr Glasgow and, on the right, the current Head Cutter, Adam. We look, I think, a contented quartet. And so we should, for the moment before the portrait was taken I had received my wonderful new shoes.

After the first pair, the acquisition of a new pair of bespoke shoes is a straightforward matter. At Cleverley, my last is kept upstairs, along with the lasts of all the other clients for whom the firm makes. This, of course, ensures that any shoes are made to the precise shape and size of my feet. (Slight adjustments have been made to my last over the years to ensure continued accuracy, as age has taken its toll.) All that is necessary, therefore, is to make decisions about style, colour and material and then wait – as patiently as one’s personality allows – for the longed-for letter with the proclamation, “Dear Sir, Your shoes are ready.” It goes without saying, of course, that at Cleverley only the very finest materials are used – like leather for the uppers from the Freudenberg Company near Cologne and oak-tanned leather for the soles from Bakers’ thousand year-old tannery in Dev