Note: At our request, Crown Northampton agreed to send us the Desert Boots that you will discover in this article.

Text : Marcos Eliades
Photos : Thomas M.

Some menswear pieces are timeless must-haves, indispensables. Desert boots are fully part of them. We will not settle the eternal Wallabees/Desert boots debate here - although we prefer the latter model - but we will try to stress out the importance of having this model one's wardrobe.

The available models on the market are innumerable: smooth leather, suede leather, modified leather... The English brand - more than a century old - Crown Northampton revives this historical model and offers a selection of premium leathers as well as an interesting customization.

Here is the story of the Woodford desert boots in Chromexcel color 8 from Horween, made in England.

Let’s have a closer look.

Northampton or the cradle of English shoes

The Woodford family began crafting shoes back in 1908 in London. A few years later the founder Earnest Woodford, relocated production to Northampton, a major manufacturing centre of English footwear.

Each model produced by the brand bears the name of a street adjacent to the Northampton factory. The company is also the only one to have the privilege of using the town's crest on its products: « Castello Fortior Concordia » which translates to « Peace is stronger than a fortress ».

Leather sourcing is certainly Crown Northampton's forte. A selection ranging from suede, to calfskin as well as more exotic like ostrich ! When possible, Crown Northampton collaborates with local suppliers such as the Charles F. Stead & Co Ltd. tannery. If Saville Row is where one should commission a suit, Northamptonshire is where one’s shoes must be welted.

Each pair exiting Crown Northampton's factory is the result of a number of stages performed by experienced craftsmen. All of these stages of production are carried out in England, either in-house or with special manufacturers.

Thus, like the biggest English brands, Crown Northampton carries out its last - or « formes » in French - with the regions’ last manufacturer: Springline. This marks the beginning of the shoe manufacturing process. Then comes the manual cutting of the leather which is known as "clicking". A characteristic clicking sound can be heard when cutting the leather by rubbing on the metal pattern, which justifies this name.
This is followed by other operations such as the sewing process, or "closing", of the different sections of the leather. An operation of "hand lasting" allows the shoe to acquire the final shape desired, the sole is then sewn. The final polishing step ensures that each shoe is polished and quality controlled before it is shipped.

Brief history of the Desert Boot

Like any piece of men's fashion, the Desert Boot model has a story behind. In 1941, the young Englishman Nathan Clark was sent to Burma and then to Egypt as an officer in the Royal Army Service Corps.
Nathan Clark* was abruptly confronted with the reality of the Egyptian desert: the footwear was not adapted to the harsh terrain. In a souk in Cairo, he got his hands on a pair of derbies in suede calfskin with crepe soles. They were comfortable and light.
9 years later, thanks to a fruitful collaboration with engineer Bill Tuxhill, the Desert Boot was born.
A model that is now more than 70 years old!

*His grand-father is none other than the founder of Clark’s, founded in 1825 in Somerset.

The 4x4 of leather: Chromexcel

Crown Northampton offers the possibility to order an MTO model, i.e. "Made-to-order". This means that it is possible to order a shoe while choosing the sole. This also ensures the model is strictly manufactured for you and avoids overproduction.

This is how we chose the Woodford Desert Boot in brown Chromexcel leather #8 from the American company Horween. The color is reminiscent of a purplish eggplant brownish tone. A real trademark. The sole is made of crepe, the shoe has two eyelets - as is customary on the emblematic model of the 1950s - and the model is very light!

The particularity of this model is its leather. The historical American Horween tannery in Chicago provides the raw material. Chromexcel was invented in 1905 by the company, it is a "pull-up" leather, i.e. a greasy leather. This means it has been nourished considerably by various oils, grease and waxes during the manufacturing process. Chromexcel leather has the great advantage of being water resistant.
More than 89 different operations over a 28-day span are necessary to manufacture it, so this leather is expensive. But its beauty is unbeatable: it ensures a beautiful patina over time.
Chromexcel is a hard and resistant leather, we choose to mistreat it voluntarily or rather, not to pamper it. We wish to let it live accordingly daily!

The desert boot can be easily integrated into a casual outfit. A pair of jeans of course, a chunky sweater and a balmacaan coat with raglan sleeves to top it off. Needless to say, this type of shoe is exclusively reserved to casual outfits.

Northampton's heritage and English quality

To our knowledge, Crown Northampton is one of the few footwear manufacturers on the European continent to offer this type of Chromexcel "color 8" leather. The pair is sold for £275. An investment, but it will be a long-lasting one. One can even send their pair for a repair service. Yes, one can change the crepe soles.

After all, a pair made expressly for you and in the best conditions possible, worth it, is it not ?

Note: At our request, Yarmouth Oilskins agreed to send us the 2 pieces that you will discover in this article.

Yarmouth x Les Indispensables (1).JPEG — Yarmouth Oilskins

*Workwear made in England*

I remember the first time my eyes landed on a Yarmouth Oilskins label. It was in a thrift store. The second time was in Douglas Gunn's excellent book - Vintage Menswear - in which rare pieces from the store's personal collection were displayed, including a yellow Yarmouth fisherman's parka. The third time, a menswear designer friend told me about it during a conversation we had about CC41. My curiosity had been aroused, the brand appealed to me aesthetically. After some research on Instagram, I discovered the brand still exists and is well developed in Japan ; it is distributed under the name of Yarmo and mainly focuses on workwear. Today a major aspect in menswear Yarmouth had been keen on displaying for years now.

Let’s have a closer look.

HISTORY

On February 1st 1898, Johnson and Sons, as it was called, became a limited company. Three days later, four members of the company joined with other local businessmen to form Yarmouth Stores Ltd.

The company opened stores in ports throughout the United Kingdom and before World War II broke, employed over 1,200 people; the majority of whom were machinists making overalls, uniforms, blouses and other work clothes.

At the height of the herring fishing industry, Yarmouth stores were open until 11:00 p.m., when young Scottish girls arrived to equip themselves for the arduous task of sorting, gutting and packing fish. Oilcloth skirts, aprons and boots were a must. Between the 1930s and 1950s, Yarmouth stores went through a difficult period. The fishing industry declined dramatically throughout the World Wars. The Wars resulted in the closure of many of the brand's stores, which never reopened.

In the 1960s, natural gas was discovered off the coast of Norfolk and a new industry developed rapidly. Yarmouth Stores responded quickly by providing Great Yarmouth's ships and crews with functional clothing, which it still does today.

At the dawn of the 21st century, the family-owned business responded to a changing marketplace while remaining true to its heritage. The twenty machinists at the plant cover all aspects of functional apparel production, allowing the brand to be "sold throughout the world".

We are pleased to present two pieces of the Yarmouth Oilskins wardrobe: a work jacket and a pair of ecru work trousers.

REVIEW

The driver jacket bus became popular in the 1930s. It is a short jacket, designed to be worn with matching trousers. Yarmouth revisits this heritage by offering it with a shirt collar, a shorter cut at the waist, square silhouette and a Corozo fish-eye button closure from Courtney & Co, a very good English button-maker

The jacket has generous chest flap pockets. At the shoulders, two deep pleats for easy movement complete the look. Made from 100% unlined cotton twill*, the jacket is made in Great Yarmouth, Great Britain.

*The brand is transparent on the matter, the fabric is not woven in England but the finishing stages are

The English jacket is more fitted than its French counterpart – as seen everywhere in the streets in Paris and around the world – but remains perfect for Fall layering. The fabric is very durable but not rough, as Yarmouth washes all their jackets making them comfortable to wear.

As for the ecru trousers, they are one of the many "work suits" made by Yarmouth stores. Each trade had a specific suit adapted to its needs. The chef's suit, steward's suit and painter's suit are all featured in the 1905 Yarmouth Stores catalog. These trousers have a straight casual cut with deep double pleats at the top. They feature a corozo button fly, wide belt loops, and two deep front and back pockets. All of which is of course made in Great Britain.

Let's say it once and for all: white trousers go with everything. Period. Some people are reluctant to wear them in the rain, which is quite understandable. Fortunately, nowadays we have washing machine and extreme stain removers!

These trousers are high-waisted, which is very pleasant and comfortable to wear. The cotton is also worth the detour: beautiful and sturdy !

This is the look we’d combine these trousers and jacket. A Heimat wool turtleneck sweater and a pair Clark's Desert boots with orange over-the calf wool socks.

This outfit is certainly one of the most workwear we have done so far, but it has the merit of highlighting beautiful materials and comfortable pieces.

Yarmouth Oilskins is a brand that deserves to be more widely known in France, some pieces are simple but ingenious at the same time. In an industry consistently reaching for technicality, Yarmouth Oilskins chooses to highlight certain materials from the past that are worth rediscovering today.