Crockett & Jones unveils its new store (and a new loafer) on Jermyn Street
The modern, glass-fronted store is the heritage shoemaker’s latest outpost in St James’s
Words: Jonathan Wells
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The world’s most stylish street – contrary to popular opinion – is not Savile Row. But, you will find it nearby. Because, while the prim pinstripes and trimly tailored silhouettes of London’s famous suiting thoroughfare are undeniably impressive, it is Jermyn Street that has spent centuries shouldering the weight of our wardrobes’ many demands. Whether you’re buying belts, braces, shirts or shoes, it’s something of a menswear mecca. And, with a new Crockett & Jones outpost opening at 77 Jermyn Street earlier this month, the street has once again stepped up its style.
As fans of the shoemaker will know, this isn’t Crockett & Jones’s first foray onto Jermyn Street. In fact, when the Northampton-based brand decided to open its first dedicated store, it did so on this very stretch of St James’s. Since then, Crockett & Jones has opened over a dozen bricks-and-mortar locations around the world, in such other chic cities as Paris and New York, but also popular European destinations, including Brussels. 77 Jermyn Street, however, is something special – and perhaps our favourite of the shoemaker’s stores so far.
Lacing together both the royal-warranted label’s incredible past and its promising future, the new store opens on the heels of another’s closing, mere doors down, at 69 Jermyn Street. But, with Crockett & Jones also operating a store at 92 Jermyn Street, its bold St James’s presence is stronger than ever and still has two feet firmly planted on this finely heeled street.
Inside, the store looks every inch the heritage part. Dark-wood cabinets and grand shelves are well-stocked with shoes that are softly spotlit. Armchairs of rich leather line the walls, every bit as comfortable to sink into as a pair of the shoemaker’s Nubuck chukkas. And the ceilings soar high above the decorative wooden doorway, on top of which is perched a small carved finial, bearing a ’77’ in gold.
Framed pictures – black-and-white windows into Crockett & Jones’s past – hang the brand’s history on the walls. The Perry Street factory photographs, especially, exhibit the type of working life that the shoemaker’s largely generational craftspeople have experienced throughout the years.
But, while 77 Jermyn Street pays homage to the brand’s significant history, it also offers a modern shopping experience. The vista-style glass frontage affords it poise and purpose on the street, and stands the store apart from its counterpart at 92 Jermyn Street. The design has the look of a lavish, open-fronted shoe box, tilted to give passers-by a good look at the Oxfords, Derbys and boots within.
“We are delighted with our new shop at 77 Jermyn Street,” says Jonathan Jones, Crockett & Jones’s managing director, “and equally delighted to see customers from our previous shop at 69 Jermyn Street returning once again. With its modern-classic interior design, and wide frontage with large glass window, it makes a strong impact on the street.”
The store’s rear display, in particular, offers a one-stop shop for those who take their shoe-buying seriously. Not only does it showcase some of the brand’s most dependable designs – including the ‘Camberley’ buckle boot and rugged ‘Denver’ derby – but it also stocks brushes, creams and polishes to ensure every purchase stands the tests of both time, and brisk British winters.
Which brings us to perhaps the most polished part of the smart new store: a handsome new loafer. Available in a burnished burgundy, standing on a single leather sole, and named for the hallowed Ivy League institution, the ‘Yale’ has been launched to celebrate the opening of 77 Jermyn Street. It comes built on a new short-vamp last (391) from the brand, features both a traditional raised heel kicker and a high-walled round toe, and is cut from shell Cordovan leather.
This leather is a textile known for its durability, natural shine and strong waterproofing capacity, and has been a mainstay of the Crockett & Jones collection for well over two decades – almost as long as the shoemaker has maintained its proud presence on Jermyn Street. And that’s what makes the brand’s latest loafer so perfect, proving as it does that both the brand – and the famed location on which its new outpost is situated – are both more stylish and stronger than ever.
Want to learn more about Crockett & Jones? Here’s everything you should know about the brand…
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