Some variation of this phrase guides the style of many men: Buy your shirts French, your tailoring Italian, and your shoes English.
The English shoemaking craft is legendary and some of the most iconic makers continue to this day: John Lobb, Crockett & Jones, Edward Green, you name it.
But as men have dressed less and less formally over the decades, fine English footwear has seen a steady decline, with many firms closing permanently.
Crown Northampton is a shoemaking firm in Northampton, England, which has been making shoes for more than 100 years. But under the leadership of fifth-generation family member Chris Woodford, they’ve introduced casual styles more popular in a modern context—without reducing the quality of materials or craftsmanship you’d expect from an English shoemaker.
Leather sneakers aren’t my style so much, but they have two styles that appealed to me immediately: Their Belgian slipper (Artizan it’s called), and their desert boot (Woodford, named for the family name).
The fit
The desert boot fit just great out of the box. It’s totally unlined and made in a soft, supple suede. Its structure feels the same as Alden’s highly regarded chukka boot, and its shape is reminiscent of that as well. Not a super rounded toe like the Clark’s desert boot, but not a pointed “dress” chukka either. The crepe sole dresses it down, but you can get it in a darker color painted edge to dress it up a bit if you want.
The Belgian is the clear winner to me, however. But out of the box they were downright painful. The heel shape did not fit me at all and cut into my Achilles.
But here’s where Crown Northampton’s business model shines: I emailed them about this issue, the owner and pattern maker Chris Woodford himself jumped on a Whatsapp video call with me, and after looking at the back of my heel, made an adjustment to the pattern and they made a new pair for me. The new pair are perfect, outrageously comfortable, and my new favorite casual shoe. Belgians are great because they look good with shorts when worn sockless (and these are lined in a very supple leather that’s comfortable sockless).
So 1,000% recommend those.
By the way—remaking the pattern for me is what they do for any customer. He explained that it makes sense to do so because they’ve found customers who they make adjustments for tend to become long-time, repeat customers.
All-day walking test: Artizan Belgians
I wore the Artizans for a full day during Pitti 108. My step count during Pitti on a given day is about 20,000—and that, on cobblestone streets from the Middle Ages. I wore them with socks. At the end of the day? Still comfortable, no blisters, no pinched toes. They were so comfortable I switched into them for an outfit change on the next day when I changed for evening events.
Any Negatives on the Woodford Desert Boots?
If I have one complaint, it’s that the near total lack of structure on the desert boots (the heel cup is very structured and the toe box is formed, but otherwise it’s just a very floppy single layer of suede for construction) means that the lacing on the top can sometimes hurt the top of my foot—all the pressure of keeping the boots tied is centered on that one spot. Other more structured desert boots, such as ones I’ve gotten from Astorflex, mean the pressure is spread out more on the leather pieces on the top.
This is the same issue I’ve had with other very lightweight chukkas, including the Alden and a pair from Allen Edmonds I’d bought 10 years ago or so.
It was because of this that I chose not to take these on my recent Pitti trip but instead opted for my Wallabee’s, which are so comfortable it should probably be illegal. (Sorry for the dumb turn of phrase).
So I definitely recommend Crown Northampton. Quality of materials, fit, construction and customer service. Go give them a look.
I wonder if adding a tongue pad like what Pedag sells would help alleviate the discomfort from the laces over the thinner leather on the desert boots, might be worth a shot!
Great idea, hadn’t thought of that.
Great review! I’ve been eyeing these for awhile but was surprised I couldn’t find much in the way of first person review. Any sizing advice for the Artizans – like what you normally wear in other shoes (e.g. Wallabees)? Thanks!
I took the normal size for me that is my Brannock size, converted according to their size chart into the UK equivalent. My rule on sizing for any shoe brand is to follow their specific size chart for international conversions because some are different than the generic ones you find when you Google it.