Edward Green's Banbury for Paul Stuart

I used to be surprised when I came across decades old shoes from Edward Green that appeared to be virtually untouched and were certainly unworn. However, after seeing a few pairs of shoes in my own collection go neglected year after year, I can no longer feign complete and utter shock when a new old stock pair of shoes comes into my possession.

While 25-30 year old new old stock shoes aren't particularly hard to come by, one rarely finds shoes in this condition still in the box, with the original dust cloth and quality control card signed by one of Edward Green's staff. The total package, in this case, is what separates this vintage new old stock example from rest. 

In this case, the shoes in question are a pair of 3-eyelet ankle boots made by Edward Green for Paul Stuart on the not-quite-in-circulation 404 last. The calf leather is in the chestnut color and is from an era when the patina was much more even across the length of the upper, although there is slight burnishing evident in the toe box and at the rear quarters. More recent models in the ready-to-wear line also feature more of a beveled waist along the sole than this pair of shoes - from what I understand, that's an entirely cosmetic detail.

Note the D width. I've seen this before with Edward Green shoes sold at Saks and Ralph Lauren. I'm not quite sure if this was an ordering faux pas, but in my experience these are not US D or medium widths - these are actually UK D width shoes made for the US market, so it's really a US C width. I don't think Edward Green would have provided the UK and US size but then just the US width, as they've never done with any of their models as far as I know. But in the past, when I've asked the salesman what the width was, they responded that it was a D width as listed on the shoe box or inside the shoe. Of course, it was a UK D width, not a US D width - so that is actually a US C width, a fact that I had to find out a few times the hard way :-)

The boots really are in pristine condition. If I was forced to point out anything out of the ordinary, it would be the slight discoloration just above the welt, along the upper edge of the sole. I've certainly seen this before on some of my other pairs of first quality Edward Green shoes, so I don't believe this would even quality as an imperfection. But there it is!

I plan on posting these to eBay either tonight or tomorrow, but interested readers with a UK 11 or US 11.5 foot that can handle a slightly narrower width should feel free to reach out. I have no experience with the 404 last, but if that's a wider last (similar to the 202), then a slightly narrower width would probably work out quite well for a slightly narrower US 11 foot. I'd be happy to end the auction early for a loyal reader :-)

Here's a link to the auction!