John Lobb (St James's) ★

Two John Lobbs

This is the most persistent confusion in shoemaking and it is worth settling first. John Lobb of St James's Street, London is a family-owned bespoke bootmaker. John Lobb Paris is a separate business, owned by Hermès since the 1970s, which makes ready-to-wear and made-to-order shoes and also offers bespoke. Both trace to the same nineteenth-century founder; they are now unrelated companies.

A shoe described as John Lobb without further qualification is almost always the Paris business, because it is far larger and has shops. The London firm has one address.

The commission

A first bespoke commission begins with measurement and observation of both feet, from which a last is carved in wood for that customer. A trial shoe is made and fitted, the last is adjusted, and the finished pair is then made: clicked, closed, lasted, hand-welted, soled and finished by different specialists. The whole process runs to something like six months or more for a first pair, and the last is kept for subsequent orders. That is what makes a second pair meaningfully faster and a first pair expensive.

The workshop

The St James's Street premises hold the shop and, behind and below it, the workshop and the last room, where customers' lasts are stored: thousands of them, including those of long-dead clients.

Work is divided among specialists as it is in tailoring: last maker, clicker, closer, maker, finisher. A single pair passes through several pairs of hands, which is why the lead time is what it is.