Clarks Shoes

[Moodyman]

Are these the Brooks saddle of the shoe world?

A pair of their brogues is into its 11th year of Monday-Friday service.

Today, I changed the laces for the second time due to wearing out, but the shoes are still in A1 condition.

A bit of polish every few weeks and they look like they're new.

I've had similar experiences with their casual footwear too.

I'm a fan.

 

[tyred]

Definitely. My Dad wouldn't buy anything else. They do seem to last forever.

 

[Rebel Ian]

I quite fancy buying a pair of the Dr Marten "for life" boots which they guarantee to replace every time they wear out.

My younger daughter (8) has also taken a shine to some of the patterned boots they do.

 

[Globalti]

I wear Barker's brogues, one pair is on its third or fourth sole and still going strong, fits perfectly too after all those years of wear. I have two pairs and I alternate. See my thread elsewhere about being told I can't repair my own shoes; I have found this shoe repair site and will be ordering heels and glue for a re-heel. Prices in the high street range from £7.00 to £14.00 for heels only so it's time to do this myself.

When I'm on business trips I'm an enthusiastic tester of local services and on a recent trip to Nigeria I gave some worn out brogues to a shoe repairer. It took a week because he could only work on the rare occasions when there was electricity but they came back completely rebuilt, with complete new soles for something ridiculous like a fiver.

 

[alecstilleyedye]

i've got a pair of dr martin shoes that i bought for my in-laws wedding ten years ago. they still look pretty good, in spite of being in regular use (at one point they were left at work so i didn't have to carry shoes on my bike)…

i've also got a pair of converse all-stars which, while getting slightly shabby and thin in the sole, were purchased some time before my 13 year old daughter was born…

 

[Moodyman]

Do they still make Clarks in the UK nowadays?

They no longer have the 'Made in England' tag on them, which suggests they're made in the Far East.

 

[Dave Davenport]

The old Clarks factory is now an 'outlet shooping centre'

 

[asterix]

Last pair I bought was made in Portugal

 

[Globalti]

I don't think many shoes are made in the UK now. The upper Rossendale valley used to be a big centre for shoe manufacture but now the few remaining factories are just used to repack and distribute shoes made in the Far East.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

*cough* Loake

http://makeitbritish.co.uk/tag/loake/

 

[swee'pea99]

*cough* Loake

http://makeitbritish.co.uk/tag/loake/

I got a pair of Loakes in a sale about five years ago. £75, which felt like a fortune to me. Quite possibly the best £75 I've ever spent. They're on their third or fourth sole & heels and they still look and feel fantastic.

 

[Fiona N]

I don't think many shoes are made in the UK now. The upper Rossendale valley used to be a big centre for shoe manufacture but now the few remaining factories are just used to repack and distribute shoes made in the Far East.

Same up here in Kendal (K shoes, remember?) - just distribution and an outlet place (K village)


Oddly, Chinese tourists apparently flock to Clarks outlets as for some reason Clarks are all the rage in China but they're very expensive so by buying 20+ pairs in the UK, they can save the airfare from China and get a holiday for free.

 

[Dave Davenport]

Sounds like we've got the answer to the countries economic woes here. We get China to make stuff cheap, put a big mark up on it and sell it back to them.

We can have a fully funded health service, our bin's collected every day and all retire at 50!

 

[Bromptonaut]

Been a Clarks man since the days of Nature Trek/Polyveldt. Usually make then last 2-3 years. The uppers and stitching are resilient but the plastic soles are prone to splitting. A visit to the winter sales in the Clarks shops usually turns up a pair of AirWear work shoes in last years style reduced from £70+ to under £30.

We still have Church's making classic brogues etc in Northampton but little else remains of our cobbling history.

 

[Fiona N]

Been a Clarks man since the days of Nature Trek/Polyveldt. Usually make then last 2-3 years. The uppers and stitching are resilient but the plastic soles are prone to splitting. A visit to the winter sales in the Clarks shops usually turns up a pair of AirWear work shoes in last years style reduced from £70+ to under £30.

We still have Church's making classic brogues etc in Northampton but little else remains of our cobbling history.

I have a lovely pair of Church's man-style brogues. They're mustard coloured suede - sounds dreadful I realise, but the contrast between dark denim jeans and the suede is fabulous and I've had loads of admiring comments from both men and women. And, of course, they're just so comfortable. So when I need to be a bit better dressed than my usual jeans and Birkenstocks but also need to be able to walk a fair distance, it's either them or some rather more bling Navy Boot (Swiss made) black patent oxfords. Men's shoes are just so much more comfortable than women's - even women's shoes without the vertiginous heels.