Once the leather specialists at Sanders, Trickers, Sebago and Loakes have selected the best leathers for their proposed footwear the production process can commence. Each pair of shoes or boots may take anything up to eight weeks to make by highly skilled craftsmen and women. Most shoes have at least 75 separate parts.
Stage 1 is the clicking process whereby the separate leather components are cut to shape from the hide. Different areas of the hide are used for different parts of the shoe.
Stage 2 is the closing stage whereby the separate leather pieces are sewn together to produce the upper.
At stage 3 the upper is placed over the last and the insole is attached. Sanders, Trickers and Loakes only use a good, thick leather for their insoles.
Uniquely in a Goodyear welted shoes is stage 4, the welting procedure. Here a thin strip of leather known as the welt is stitched to both the insole and upper.
The sole, either leather or rubber, may then be securely lock stitched to the welt. This process, almost unique to English shoe production, means that the sole can be replaced in due course without interfering with the upper leather.
The edges of the soles and welt are then trimmed before being stained.
The final stage in all Sanders, Trickers and Loakes shoes are the crucial burnishing, dressing and polishing processes which bring out the most beautiful aspects of the leathers.
The construction of Loakes shoes.
