Historical Re-Enactment

As a bootmaker with nearly a century of tradition behind us we have a natural affinity for history and the past. Our Historic/Heritage collection reflects this. Here you will find exquisitely made and deeply researched re-creations of some of history’s great boots – everything from elegant Hessians that wouldn’t have looked out of place in the grand ballrooms in a Tolstoy novel to Edwardian artillery officers’ boots to those bad-boy, café racer biker boots from the days of England’s Mods and Rockers in the 1960s.

We take great pride in the research and attention to detail we put into each and every one of these styles. In the case of our Hessians, that obsession with authenticity meant an 18-month painstaking search to re-discover the lost art of pleating the leather on the instep in precisely the same way the great bootmakers did back in the Napoleonic age.

For our World War I-vintage Foch and Aviator boots we were able to work from rare, original examples to create faithful modern copies. Going the extra mile for authenticity, and using our deep connections within the bootmaking world, we were even able source the buckles for the Foch from the same old French firm that supplied the original buckles nearly a century ago.

Our hand-crafted classics not only look the part, they are as sturdy and wearable as the originals as well. Custom made to your measurements, with appropriate leathers and soles, they will give years of reliable service and provide the perfect finishing touch for historic military uniforms and period attire for classic car and motorcycle rallies.

Indeed our boots are becoming classics in their own right. Our Aviator, in particular, patterned on a 1917 motorcycle dispatch rider’s boot, has become the vintage boot of choice with intrepid travellers the world over and has proven itself time and again on period motoring expeditions, from harsh desert scrub in Baja California to steamy rice paddies of South East Asia to the frigid steppes of Siberia.

If you’re looking for a truly authentic boot from history, you need look no further. If there is another period or style you are interested in, give us a call. We’d like to hear from you.