History Of Johnston Murphy

Johnston & Murphy traces its roots to the William J. Dudley Shoe Company, founded in 1850 in Newark, New Jersey by William J. Dudley, a European immigrant and master craftsman who had been schooled in the classic tradition of English shoemaking.
The William J. Dudley Shoe Company specialized in quality, highly durable work shoes for men, women and children. During its first 25 years, the company’s growth forced five moves to increasingly larger locations. In 1880, Newark businessman James Johnston joined the company as Dudley’s partner. Johnston’s vision was to expand product lines and distribution channels. The company took the durability of its work shoes and built that into a line of higher-fashion footwear, which quickly became popular. In 1881, founder William Dudley died, and Johnston assumed control of the company under a new name, The James Johnston Company.

In 1884, William A. Murphy, another prominent Newark businessman from a distinguished family was intrigued by the success of Johnston’s local shoe company. A partnership was formed, and the company became known as Johnston & Murphy.
In 1895, Murphy sold his interest in the company to Herbert P. Gleason, a former top salesman of the company. Gleason knew the value of a recognized brand name and decided to keep the Johnston & Murphy name as well as establish a national sales and marketing force. In the 1920s, Gleason’s son, George Gleason, coined the company’s first slogan, “The best shoes anybody can buy.” He also developed a series of “handsome lifestyle” advertisements and ran campaigns in high-profile magazines such as Vanity Fair and The Saturday Evening Post. Ads featured the Country Club Series, a line of golf shoes, which became one of Johnston & Murphy’s most popular.

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The History Of Allen Edmonds

Allen Edmonds gained much of its following after providing shoes to the US Army and US Navy during World War II, with many of the recipients of the shoes being loyal to the brand for the rest of their lives. Allen Edmonds began handcrafting Made in U.S.A. shoes in 1922 on the shores of Lake Michigan in Wisconsin. Today we continue this manufacturing tradition and offer the finest men’s dress and casual shoes available featuring classic American styling and fine craftsmanship.
Allen Edmonds is a moderately expensive brand of shoes that men typically wear for a very long time and repair rather than replace. The company offers recrafting services, rebuilding a pair of shoes for a fee, replacing soles and heels, creating a new cork base and strip, and reapplying the finish. The Horween Leather Company supplies leather shells for footwear to Allen Edmonds.

​Shoe size is more than length. Width is just as important. We have big, small, narrow, wide and everything in between.

Because we are the manufacturer, we can handcraft shoes in varying sizes. Competitive shoe companies make their shoes overseas and to keep inventory low, they make only “gut” sizes (e.g., 10-12 medium) that supposedly fit everyone. As a result, most men wear shoes that are too long for their feet as they need the room to accommodate their foot width. Men who get fitted by a Master Fitter are surprised to learn they have never worn a proper fitting shoe.

Specifically, what sets Allen Edmonds apart?

From size 6 to 16 and narrow AAA to wide EEE, we craft over 100 sizes of shoes.
Proper fit is important for durability and comfort along with foot and back health.

​With proper care, Allen Edmonds shoes can last for decades so you can stop buying throw-away shoes every year. Our Goodyear welted and handsewn shoes are made so well they are available for our legendary Recrafting® service where we rebuild the shoe from the bottom up to extend the life of your favorite shoes.

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History of Salvatore Ferragamo

Salvatore Ferragamo was an Italian shoe designer and the founder of luxury goods high-end retailer Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A.. Ferragamo worked with many Hollywood stars in the 1920s, before returning to Italy to found the eponymous company making unique handmade footwear. His scientific and creative approach to shoes spawned many innovations such as the wedge heel and cage heel. Film stars and celebrities continue to patronize his company, which has evolved into an international empire spanning the world.

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To Boot New York

To Boot’s designer Adam Derrick is the men’s footwear specialist. He approaches each season with his customer’s lifestyle in mind and presents options that work to fulfill all their footwear needs.

With over 100 choices, his customers will find everything from dress shoes to sneakers amongst other styles that are refreshed seasonally. In fall, he offers a range of boots and brings in textured leathers and suedes. For spring the collection gets more relaxed with the addition of moccasins, sandals and drivers and the newest sneakers.

With his close connections through the industry he stays aware of all trends, but strives to create shoes that transcend fashion, becoming new classics. His factories in Italy build comfort, quality and integrity into each pair, ensuring that his customers become loyal repeat clients who collect his To Boot shoes from season to season; “old friends” he calls them,”the shoes they come back to again and again”.

Adam knows his shoes can only be as good as the materials that he uses, and only first choice select Italian and French calf make the grade. The skins are hand-selected and hand-cut ensuring the highest quality product. From cutting to sewing and final polishing, each pair of To Boot New York footwear is the product of over 200 individual hand operations. Produced exclusively in Italy’s finest factories this is modern footwear handcrafted with the great time-honored shoe making traditions

By using only natural materials, fit trial testing, and incorporating the latest in comfort technology, To Boot New York offers some of the most comfortable and wearable footwear available today.

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Zelli Italia Shoes Belts

Enduring style does not chase trends, and neither do you. The classic, iconic styling of a Zelli shoe is both timeless and contemporary. Fine luxury shoes and accessories are defined by details. Zelli exemplifies this ideology through thoughtful dedication to excellence in each of these areas: material, style, construction and artistry. There is a reason that the most exquisite shoes made are crafted in Italy. It is for this same reason that each Zelli shoe is cut and sewn by the hands of highly-experienced Italian artisans, ensuring your best fit. Purity and perfection of details take discipline and focus. You apply these tenets to your own life, and so should the shoes that carry you through it.

With these guiding standards, the Zelli brand was formed in the mid-1990s. We started with a small collection of footwear, belts and wallets in premium calfskin and fine exotic leathers. Zelli quickly became known for its luxury Caiman crocodile, Teju lizard, and ostrich products all expertly crafted in the Tuscany region of Italy and sold in the best men’s specialty stores in the US. The Zelli standards continue today along with a passion for providing incomparable customer service.

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