p.28-29 mens for barkers 6:FOOTWEAR NEW TEMPLAT 10 08 20/05/2009 13:42 Page 28
Men’s Formal Footwear
Henry Harington tests
A town shoe and a country shoe
Aesop’s fable of the town and country mouse told of the snobby town mouse
unimpressed by the fare offered by his country cousin. When invited to feast at the tables of
the town mouse, the country mouse stricken with fear by the dogs. He says,
"Better beans and bacon in peace than cakes and ale in fear"
THESE SHOES OFFER
t could be seen as the tale of the town mouse and adopted initially for country wear. But, more
the country mouse: the two pairs of Barker’s recently “brogue lite” shoes have been adopted as a
A COMFORT AND
I
shoes I was given to test were as different as a fashionable city shoe.
Rolls Royce and a Range Rover. My Barker’s brogues were like the country mouse.
CONSISTENCY THAT IS Range Rovers are 4x4s. Their excursions off road Not fashionable or flash, but justifiably proud of their
NOT AVAILABLE WITH
are usually confined to parking on grass at a point-to- timeless rustic heritage: they would not look out of
point, so that champagne and smoked salmon can be place stepping out of the Range Rover at a point-to-
THE MASS PRODUCED
served from the tail gate by people in Barbours point or to finding one’s stand at a shoot. Indeed the
discussing how Fiona’s pony performed in the broad welt and circular tread on the sole would give
SHOES
gymkhana. one a firm stance while taking aim at a speeding
Similarly, many of the brogues sold today are not woodcock or panic stricken pheasant.
designed for an assault on the moors that requires the But, their traditional Goodyear welt construction
traversing of bogs and streams that was the original that separates the upper from the sole ensures they
job of the brogue. Brogues evolved from the realms of are naturally water repellant. And, the tooling on
Irish bog trotters and hunt servants for deer stalkers brogues was not originally for decoration but to
in Scotland, until the brogue’s robust, water resistant ensure the water drained away as quickly as possible.
qualities were recognised by the upper classes and Like a Range Rover, Barker’s shoes continue to be
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FOOTWEAR TODAY
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JUNE/JULY 2009
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