Crockett and Jones Shell Cordovan, An Alternative to Alden.

Shell Cordovan, when mentioned as any true shoe afficionado knows refers to the tough leather from the hind quarters of a horse, said to posses legendary qualities of toughness and longevity, and said also to retain a shine with the very minimum of effort, requiring only a wipe with a cloth to be returned to its factory fresh status.

This is partly true, but obviously not completely true, the claim that it is very strong and hard wearing are true, however it is not only going to ever be requiring a wipe with a cloth, for if you walk through a muddy puddle they are going to need a polish, also as time moves on and towards the end of their life, they start to require a little bit of tlc to maintain a shine.

It is a marketing claim with a grain of truth that requires a little bit of common sense to be understood truly, like Barbour claiming to be 'totally waterproof', try standing in a typhoon and test that theory, same for mackintosh and numerous other brands.

The one brand that is particularly famous for producing shoes from this leather is Alden of New England.  Very good at standard Calf also, they are particularly famous for Cordovan, alternatively Allen Edmonds another American brand has a similar Heritage.

French and Italian Brands don't seem to go for using Cordovan, nor English Brands for the most part.  Certainly if you are commissioning a bespoke pair you would most probably be able to request it, but then you could request them to be made of papier-mache if you so wished, unfortunate for many as the styles of the two American brands mentioned tend to be slightly boxy and trad (with obvious occasional exceptions) however as a choice of ready to wear there is only one brand that has a comprehensive selection of Shell Cordovan Shoe, that is Crockett and Jones.

So if your are looking for a broad selection of elegant English Shoes made from sturdy Shell Cordovan Leather then check out Crockett and Jones, prices are around £435 a pair.