What differentiates good brands from elite brands? What are the hallmarks of quality? The elite, master makers don’t stop just at world class fabrics like super 1X0s (100s, 110s, 120s, 130s, 150s, 180s, etc) wool, or cashmere, angora, etc. Even Vicuna isn’t a guarantee of quality. Nor is location: To be sure some of the world’s elite makers are located in London/Northampton England, New York/Chicago/Los Angeles and Naples/Napoli Italy. But there are also plenty of low quality makers there, and elite quality makers elsewhere. The true hallmarks of quality are: a) construction — is the garment canvased, and has the care been taken to make it by hand or at least design and inspect it by hand; and b) cut and fit — does the garment hug and flatter the wearer’s body contours — a high arm hole, relatively narrow waist, lack of collar gap, etc.
For shoes, elite qulity shoes will all be either Goodyear welted, Norvegese welted, or in some instances Blake / Rapide welted, and will all be made by hand, at a bench, using a last.
Sorry, SHOE TREES NOT INCLUDED
