Our Selection of Sneakers 

I'm 25 years old and I gave up on sneakers last year when I subscribed to sartorial talks, Kirby Allison and Vladimir Riché.

My eyes were totally on your chalk stripe shirt. Very casually elegant. Sorry for the sneakers but you really got the fashion taste. I am also looking forward to an episode about jewellery like rings etc. Your wide ring is also stunning.

The expression is: "... not a wave, but a Tsunami..." Love your show.

its strange and yet comforting to know that Hugo is giving a nod to the "sneakers". I actually bought one of those shoes Hugo featured when I was in Italy prior COVID19.

Great recommendations Hugo. I would also take a look at Crown Northampton. Unlike many of the artisans here, they are primarily a luxury sneaker maker, though they do have a couple of boots, slippers and shoes. They are MTO in the Northampton factory and Goodyear Welted, so they can be returned for resoling. Another interesting point about Crown Northampton is that they use Horween leather in some of their sneakers. From chromexcel leather to recently using their shell cordovan, they have excellent quality materials. I have a couple of pairs of chromexcel sneakers and they are extremely well made!

Hi, i am still young but i have been slowly growing out of sneakers. I completely agree with you from @0:01 to @1:59 that these Mass-brand sneakers have done such a good job of marketing a piece plastic to the youth and selling it for the price of gold. They literally take the same shoe and iterate it in endless colors for which kids pay a fortune because the 'swoosh' is yellow instead of blue. Its ridiculous. When you realize that you have two choices: a piece of plastic and Polyethylene foam, which is assembled by kids in Vietnam, from bad quality cheap pieces, glued together under terrible conditions and in which your feet smell after 15 minutes, compared to a shoe made by craftsmen in Europe, who are paid a living wage, from high quality leather and natural materials such as caoutchouc and which may last a life-time....the choice becomes clear. But it takes maturity. I often pass a sneaker store on my way through town in my fine grain, Italian leather monk straps and smile at the ''young adults'' inside shelling out their savings for a new Star-Wars collaboration Nike Sneaker, because the Swoosh has Darth Vader on it this time. In that moment i feel like a man.

„In order to be comfortable you have to sacrifice style.“ well spoken, Hugo! That‘s exactly the fallacy of our time. My advice: Listen to Hugo and Sonja and you will be able to solve this issue. Let‘s make style great again!

Another brand very popular here in NYC and in the U.S. is Thursday Boots and they are making incredible value shoes, boots and their leather sneakers are great.

Great video Hugo, as a sneakerhead and a formal wear enthusiast, I really enjoyed your video. I would like to give an honorable mention to the Lanvin sneaker, designed by Mr Lucas Ossendrijver, which back in 2006 married the French luxury high aesthetic with the mass appeal of a sneaker silhouette. That to me was the true beginning of the luxury sneaker and to this day, an unmistakeable classic. Cheers!

Take traditional GYW Calfskin dress shoe. Then take the traditional low rise court shoe. There is a wide series steps in design down or up. For example - I take an oxford or derbie with a leather sole, then change to dainite sole, then change to black gumlite sole (comfort type sole), etc... or take a white canvas sneaker, then add white leather, then change to brown calf leather, then change the white sole to black sole, then use a blake stitch .... So you see at some point you can find a vast spectrum of variations. I have two pair of calf skin dress shoes where most people would be hard pressed to notice (at first) that they are in fact built on sneaker foundation construction.

Some years ago I all of a sudden found sneakers(and my own way of dressing) to be too immature and it prompted me to both get into leather shoes and dressing batter. It has been nice to see sneakers evolving into something mature and not just a shoe for teenagers and young adults, even though I still don't wear them.

Hugo, an insightful inter-generational take on craft-meets-comfort-meets creativity. I agree that a Sartorial aesthetic has permeated the sneaker genre, good point, no doubt. Extrapolating that process out, how will old Naples, old tie makers, artisan shirt makers and others respond by modernizing their designs? Or will they? There must, I guess, be room on both sides. Sneakers prove the point. Thank you. Nikki

Honestly, I really love the suitsupply collection of sneakers. beautiful leather in clean elegant designs.

You're right about Herring's transparency. They don't actually say who makes the shoes under their house brand name but you can decipher it by looking at the last shape. For example, I believe the Herring Shakespeare uses the Z160 last so you can figure out that they were made by Carlos Santos!

I bought a pair of Allen Edmonds Canal Court sneakers in brown suede last year. They fit that niche for a look and comfort level when dress shoes are too much, but boat shoes or espadrilles are not enough. Comfortable and stylish for backyard brunches or patio cocktails in the afternoon. With shorts, jeans, chinos and other less formal pants. The latest trend is the hybrid sneaker/dress shoe, and I do not like them. As I see it, if the occasion is casual enough for a white sole, just wear sneakers.

Hiya from England Every pair of shoes my father would buy is LOAKE. Always looked smart and stylish. He would always go for the lace-up shoes. I see they are making this style He died in 2002 aged 71 but one memory out of many i have is when he was a boy his mother used to have to tie his shoe laces

Thank you for running this channel. When I have more time, I watch your slightly long videos. Best wishes to you and you! Well done. Keep the good job in producing even more content for the Stylish Gentleman, which all of us here think we are!

I loved that comment about smelling the Saphir product. Just the other day I was driving with my freshly restored sneakers (!) and my car had that lovely aroma of the macadamia Renovateur :)

Any thoughts on the Crown Northampton sneakers? They appear to be well-constructed. Thank you for making this video. I would love to see a short video on footwear for wide feet, I rarely see fine men's shoes or sneakers in 4E extra wide widths.

Another fantastic episode, thank you so much 👍🏻

I have a couple pairs of Magnanni hightops, and they're great. I like them better than the sneakers from Prada and they're less than half the cost.

I worked for a Wall Street law firm's office here in Los Angeles. On a normal day, we still wore suits with proper formal shoes with the exception of Fridays where we wore business casual (a strict definition either no suit jacket with tie and suit trousers or without tie but with suit jacket and suit trousers) with some form of informal shoes. I've always gotten away with wearing my Lanvin DBB1s with my suits on those days.

What amazing talk! This style of video remind´s me of sartorial discussions about ties. Were we can see the dedication and the passion ! i´m really greatfull for all the work you do!

Wow, nearly the first one. Great and always like your videos! Cheers!

Hi Hugo, your video and reading some of the comments reminded me of an article by Simon Crompton about comfort. It's an excellent and deep thought about the subject. And it led to some of my own thoughts and an experience yesterday that brings it home for me, particularly where shoe are concerned. I think that comfort does not equal softness. They are two different things. I'm quite a fan of the leather sole which feels more comfortable to me than sneaker soles even though they are of course not as soft. I have a pair of Sketchers loafers that I wear at home as slippers. I had to go pick up the dog from the kennel yesterday and accidentally wore them out. I only realised half way there that I forgot to put on my shoes as I realised my feet feel a bit 'funny'. It's not a matter of embarrassment as they're intended to be worn outdoors. The soles are very soft and a little bouncy. By the time I arrived home the soles of my feet were almost numb from the softness. They definitely missed the comfortable grip of my leather soles. Of course I'm not saying there is no place for sneakers ever but on the issue of comfort alone they do not necessarily win over leather shoes.

Don’t sleep on Crown Northampton. Surprised not to see them featured here. Best constructed minimalist sneakers I’ve ever seen. Vegano leather and real leather heal and toe cap stiffeners. Cork footbed. Really sneakers made like dress shoes.

always refreshing and educational...thnx

Hugo, I had to stop the video to defend your usage after you were 'corrected' by someone off camera. Your 'sneak up to' was absolutely correct. There is a slight difference in nuance and usage between 'sneak up to' and 'sneak up on'. I love your shirt by the way. It shows the original seersucker 'milk and sugar' colours, if I am not mistaken. The wide stripes are also quite impressive. I am thinking that I need one like it. Now, back to your video.

Crown Northampton also makes incredible shoes. I’ve had a pair for years and they’re great

Fantastic episode. Have to have a versatile wardrobe nowadays.

I have the Soho from Septieme Largeur in white. Beautiful, high-quality leather, easy to clean and keep white with your usual dress shoe products. I walked a lot in them and I can already say they will last a long time... I can only recommend them

Thank you so much!! I was so close to ordering Common Projects but then I thought… maybe Hugo has some better recommendations in mind, and I was not disappointed! 👏👏

Sneakers...why not? They may not be as dressy as we want but in some instances aside from doing gym ie traveling (hours of walkathon in airports, walking tours etc) a broken-in pair of runners (in a sleek silhouette and color/material matched to your jacket) they are God-sent! Specially for people like me who are flat footed and have to use orthotic arch supports. Form and function.

Thank you Hugo, something about knitwear next maybe?

Enjoying the video as usual. The only sneakers I bought recently came from Thursday who use a great leather called cacao in one of their Heritage sneakers.

Some interesting choices in the selection, Hugo. If I may be so bold, I would suggest that you've missed probably the best "casual" sneaker brand out there, Crown Northampton. As the name of the brand suggests, Northampton made, with some unusual features. They offer some very high quality leathers (Horween & C.F Stead), including kudu & deer suedes, buffalo, and shell cordovan. One of their styles, the Upton, is a wholecut sneaker - possibly the first sneaker I would describe as Elegant... Worth a look at least.

Amazing video as always

Thank you so much for this informative talk. I am so discouraged about how the majority of people now dress in the west. I had no idea there were classy sneakers available. My challenge is living in western Canada so it's very difficult and expensive to order shoes (and likely return them because of size/fit issues) back to Europe.

PLEASE REVISIT THIS - with pairing them with slacks, linen suits, jeans, etc. especially warm weather clothing. Even classicists like to be a tad au courant. Well, at least I do. I only own one pair of sneakers, which I have worn maybe 5 times in 4 years. I prefer my Finn Comforts and Rockport's (the latter in suede). I'm below the poverty line, but I buy things to last and keep them forever - until death us do part. Lol

I really encourage you to take a look at the Austrian brand Ludwig Reiter, all hand made in here in Vienna in a beautiful old stately home just on the edge of Vienna. It’s a beautiful place to visit and they have a wonderful factory shop. I have a few pairs of their shoes including their sneakers which come in several styles and are beautifully made by hand.

The best tennis shoes ( and, yes, i also used them to play tennis ) i owned were Addidas that were made in West Germany. I guess that betrays my age.WEST GERMANY!! Great show, as always. Thank you for your work. William from Dublin, Ohio

I have always found myself breaking the rules a lot. What I mean by that is that I love to make the most of clothing, and so you would find me wearing all of my made-to-measure garments both with dress shoes, dress shirts and ties as well as t-shirts, sweaters and sneakers. One thing that is non-negotiable is that, regardless of footwear, I never leave the house without a pocket square. A suit or sports coat with sneakers looks so naked without one.

It's good to see you more casually dressed, Hugo.

All of the well dressed but also WELL ROUNDED men will appreciate this video.

Again a nice video as always, thank you for these valuable insights! I missed somehow some important brands from Italy. My personal favorites for example are Santoni and Paolo Scafora. Btw, John Lobb is making also making very beautiful sneakers. Kind regards..

I would like to add the likes of Archibald London, J.C. Lutz, Stefano Bemer, Berluti, Myrqvist and Skolyx sneakers.

Thanks Hugo. Perfect lessons for a Sunday afternoon.

I have some sneakers but I treat them as necessities only for exercises and such. Dress shoes, dress casuals, and boat shoes are the ones that make me feel stylish and better.

I agree with you the impact is both ways. For example, as it had been when the chukkas came out from Clarks Shoes. The crepe sole suede leather ankle-high boots was very casual but later other versions with some in far higher quality and much dressier were created. So much of a difference the original chukkas are now also called desert boots and the others are just chukkas.

A little late to this video but Reebok actually sell their legacy trainers from past decades. The ones that your father wore were probably the Club C85 tennis shoes which are still made with leather (even full grain leather in a couple of models) despite their low price. The Loake Sprint are IMHO the best Loake sneakers and they are made in India where Loake has a factory, rather than England or Portugal

The good news with sneakers is that more elegant options are becoming available and that they can spare your more expensive leather-soled shoes from a lot of daily wear-and-tear walking the dogs, etc. The bad news with sneakers is that the rubber technology hasn't improved much and that, since the rubber is not designed to be resoled, must be replaced every year to avoid gradual injury. A great solution is the suede Geller Trainer by Beckett Simonon. It is cheap enough to replace every year or sooner as the rubber wears out. It is also very elegant being a whole-cut suede shoe. For more convenience and elegance, try pairing them with no-tie elastic Straight Laces.

Looking forward to the episode « Our selection of sartorial cars » 🚗😁

I’m not a sneaker fan and never thought I’d see this.

I really have been pleased with those made by French company Asphalte, who only produce the goods on preorder. They use French leather and have a reputable Portuguese manufacturer. I’ve just ordered a second pair as the first ones were very well made and are comfortable. Great value at around 100 Euros.

Hugo, I wasn't going to watch this video as I couldn't believe you were doing a presentation about sneakers. What's next, your Crocks collection? (I'm kidding, but perhaps an April 1st video.) But of course I knew it would be entertaining to listen to anyway. A very interesting video though I'm not sure I'm ready for sneakers. I am a huge fan of Herring. I live in Shanghai and I get all my shoes from them. They are here in days and great quality shoes from Loake, Herring and Carlos Santos etc. I'd recommend their service to anyone.

Excellent advice on an unexpected subject.

Interesting selection. I believe people who wear high end sneakers usually aim at minimalism. Sneakers presented here are mostly too flashy or trying too hard:-D Crown make a wholecut version of their sneakers for example. By the way, Cheaney have their sneakers made by other companies. Better looking, in my opinion, is the range by Goral. Their Mellor 2 is fairly minimal and obviously made in UK. Those sneakers are resolable. Crown Northampton belongs to the same category. High end materials and workmanship and soles that can be replaced.

The first pair you showed is the most beautiful sneaker I have ever seen

I am a big fan of sneaker, but have always appreciated the the more classy sort of sneakers. I own 2 pairs of Bally Switzerland and 2 pairs of ETQ Amsterdam, and I used to have a Dolce and Gabbana and Pantofola D'oro. I also have a very special pair of classic Lanvin Cap Toe in the original Black Suede, but due to their fragile nature, I have only worn them twice on very special occasions. All of the pairs have been wonderful.

The channel Rose Anvil has a great reviews of real leather sneakers. He cuts them apart and examines how well they are made, the quality of the leather and if they live up to the price tag.

Could you maybe do a video on shorts? I know it is not realy "super sartorial" but at a resort or somewhere it is basicaly mandatory.

Sneakers...Summer casual. Not much else. Whoever invents GOOD LOOKING classic style orthopedic- friendly leather dress shoes/ boots that don't wreck your feet (think cramped, pointed toe box, high heel drops that create bunions) will be the next billionaire...seriously.

My last pair of trainers are now my gym shoes and my everyday shoes are my tassel loafers, they go with everything, even shorts

Throughly enjoyed your discourse on sneakers. Well done.

Great video as usual, Hugo! All the best!

Great video!! I know this is a gentleman's channel but I would love to see Sonya check out The Office of Angela Scott shoes. Great shoes!

dear hugo, i hope the second part comes out,and will be mentioned,john lobb levah,zegna triple stitch sneaker,santoni leather sneakers with patina,Thank you!

Great episode Hugo. Sneakers do have their place today I agree. They call them the Sneaky Blinders because they sneak up from behind you, and slashing with the razors they hide in their hats, they aim for the eyes. RIP Helen McCrory. She spent her last days feeding the hungry in the pandemic.

Complete and exquisite review.I love it.

Mr Jacomet I think you forgot a very good " shoemaker" in this category, cobbler union. Their sneakers are made in Spain and are very beautiful. Due and Uno are the models. I just grab a pair of Uno with vintage cognac colour...

Great video as always! Hugo i would love to hear an episode of your show about the philosophical side of your work , a lot of people have a misconception about sartorialism as being about Vanity , Ego , and Money . I would love to hear your outlook on that , especially about how to implement your style and advice even if i am somebody who doesn't have that much money but still is fascinated with your work , style , and sartorial thinking . Thank you so much for all you do . Big Fan.

really enjoyed m.jacomet, thanks.. today watched 4 episode..:)) thanks

Hello Sir, What do you think about Oliver Cabell sneakers? Thanks

impressive sneakers at 34:00

Hugo you're a gentleman, and a scholar.

I use Superga white trainers myself……Steve McQueen wore this brand. The problem I have is I aggressively wear out the back heel at a steep angle which renders the shoe bin worthy far too soon so unlike shoes I can take to the cobbler for replacement heels etc I can’t with trainers

Thank you Hugo for this. Do you know of Crown Northampton? They make some amazing quality sneakers too.

Enjoyed this video. Like you, I’m not a fan of Magnanni dress shoes, but I like their sneakers a lot. I have several pairs. In fact, I just ordered one today:) I like the look/design of their sneakers, and I find them very comfortable for my somewhat wide feet. Other sneaker brands can be too narrow for me.

Excellent! Regards from Brasil

We’re still in the throes of the global pandemic when Monsieur H.J. is now a Sneakerhead 😆

Have a look at Crown Northampton sneakers! I Bought a pair and they are very high quality. Beautiful made!

Cobbler union has also a great selection of sneakers. But i own a pair of white Uniform Standard ones, i like them a lot

Crown north Hampton should be here in addition to the great , Archibald London. In addition, Koio.

Are there re-soleable sneakers / plimsolls / trainers / gymmies? Goodyear welted? I realise welting would generally go against the aesthetic of sneakers.

Hugo, very clever choice to talk about sneakers. You miss mentioning Common Project as well as Koio and Oliver Cabell. All of them are famous for their white sneakers, a must in every wardrobe today. The last brand you mentioned was put "a la fuerza". First, you mentioned you were not going to talk about crazy things but they really are artistic stuff not really adding style.

I have 2 pairs of the Grenson Sneaker 1, both pairs made in India not England. Fantastic sneakers, beautiful quality.

I would have liked to hear you talk about the Santoni clean icon sneakers as well as sneakers by Paolo Scafora. Please consider a part deux on sneakers.

I think there is a place for sneakers with suits. Obviously not with a formal suit and tie. But in an informal setting. For eg. Meeting friends for brunch, or chilled out drinks in a spring/summer evening. Lately, i have been experimenting with my burgundy suit (single breasted, thinish lapels - not slim) with a white T-shirt and a pair of plain white sneakers. I find that it really does dress down the suit very elegantly in occasions where a suit, tie and dress shoes would be OTT. Obviously, I am not going to do the same with my navy blue, charcoal gray or pinstripe suits. But it would pair well with unconventional / dress down suits. I have feeling Hugo would consider that blasphemy :-)

Thank you Hugo, I love the first sneakers you mentioned. Loake. Sending to Australia costs $400 I agree with you, a quality item for a good price.

I live in southern California u.s.a. where it gets quite warm. I try hard not to sacrifice too much style for comfort but there would always be more style than comfort for me.

OMG Hugo without a suit😳😳😳😳 Someone pinch me awake lol

Enjoyed the show but a little surprised you didn’t feature the Crown Northampton sneaker range, especially the shell cordovan hand stitch range.

Hi just saw your channel and I love it! I was wondering what color you chose for the altan bottier sneakers?

For me to reach 180, I'd have two options. Copying the footwear of either a) any member og Kiss, or b) David Bowie in the early seventies. Leaning towards staying short, but would clearly choose b over a.

I just discovered the channel, I love it and love you both! You make me laugh and I so wish I could dress as you. Of course you have to have big funds to dress ass you do!

Thanks Mr Hugo

Can you tell me which patina you chose for your Altan Bottier. I like them very much but not sure which patina you chose.

How did he leave out Crown North Hampton?

Another great content! I don't always wear sneakers but when I do...

Would be fantastic if you could please make a video(s) on Artisan Wallets and another on small gentleman's leather goods.