Johnston & Murphy Handmade shoos.

[The Shooman]

Amazing highend shoos, perhaps the best RTW to come out of America ever! An extemely rare 18 spi on the uppers and top notch construction and are made with beautiful high quality French calfskin. They are starting to develop a beautiful patina and are really comfortable to wear. They are no longer made......last pairs to be made were about twelve years ago.

The J & M handmades were also used as a promotional tool by Johnston & Murphy to promote the quality of Made in America. They were often given as gifts to heads of state, Presidents and royalty, and were worn by many high profile clients such as members of the Rat Pack. From what l can gather, the shoos remain unchanged from the 1950's....maybe even much earlier.

They are one of my favourite pairs of shoos. No more Church's shoos for this little Shooman.

(Another pic.....click to enlarge).

 

[John in Covina]

Perfection in a shoe.

What is an RTW and what is 18 spi? (Stiches per inch?)

I recall reading a great article in Cigar Aficionado in the first couple years of publication about hand made shoes in the UK and how these companies still have the wooden lasts (foot moulds) from all of these famous people. Some very cool shoes. If you found a pair you liked they could recreate them in your size.

How ever back on earth, you need to be fairly wealthy or poor yet obsessive about your footwear to consider the prices. If you foot stays the same they will last a loooong time and be worth every penny, but... I myself, have had my feet change size over the last 20 years, getting longer and wider. So, I am glad I did not consider getting a pair, as it would chap my hide to have the perfect shoes that don't fit anymore.

 

[The Shooman]

RTW = ready to wear off the rack shoos. The shoos are largely handmade, but made on a common stock last.

18 spi = stitches per inch on the leather uppers. Very few RTW shoos in the world have this feature. The stitching is very fine indeed.

l am very much a shoo person. l've been in love and had an extreme fasination with shoos since l was 6 months old.

l'm trying to get into hats, and have tried on many, but none really suit me. l want to get a bespoke hat made like the one Elton John wore to his 1984 wedding in Sydney.

P.S: my signiture is The Shooman.....that's why l use the word shoos instead of shoes. lt's my signiture word. l thought l would just explain that before people started asking questions.

Regards: The Shooman.

 

[John in Covina]

If the Shoo fits....

Welcome to the Lounge.

 

[The Shooman]

Thanks. l've been reading the forum with great interest lately.Your loves for vintage clothing and hats amaze me.

 

[undertaker]

Greetings Shooman

I also want to welcome you to the lounge. I too have a fondness for shoes, namely two tone wing tips or saddle shoes. I wore J&M shoes for several years and they were great, however I lost my source to buy them at discounts so I have changed to Allen Edmonds which seem to serve me well. I must say the shoes you posted here look great, I would love to add a pair of these to my wardrobe . For what its worth below you will find a picture of an pair of J&M that I have and that are for sale in the classifieds.

Regards,
J.S.

 

[The Shooman]

Hi Undertaker. Thanks for your kind words. l'm unable to view your picture at the moment (small red cross instead, even when l right click to show the picture) The J & M's i'm talking about are worlds apart from the J & M stuff they sell these days. 12 years ago, The J&M Handmades retailed for over $1,000 U.S.

Here is a better picture of some J & M Handmades: (Click on pictures to enlarge)



Here are J&M Handmades from what l believe to be the 1950's: