Why should you always buy Goodyear stitched shoes?

A pair of Crockett & Jones boots ready for repair.Crockett and Jones

• Business Insider recently met Harry Jarman, founder and editor of the men's lifestyle magazine The Gentleman & # 39; s Journal.
• Jarman told us that men should always look for a Goodyear sewn shoe.
• Although the construction of a Goodyear welt has a price, the technique means that the soles can be replaced over and over again and that the shoes will last a lifetime.
• As a result, you will save money on the shoes you should have replaced while protecting the environment.
• Visit the Business Insider home page for more stories.

"It is totally impossible to be well dressed with cheap shoes," said one day Sir Hardy Amies, designer of Queen Elizabeth II.

In today's fast fashion culture, it can be tempting to wear shoes as disposables.

When you can get a pair of pretty looking moccasins at Asos for $ 40, it does not matter if they do not stand the test of time – when they start to crumble, you can just buy another pair and another, and another.

This, however, poses a number of problems.

First of all, it is not really environmentally friendly to throw out many pairs of shoes every year.

Secondly, even though this pair of $ 40 moccasins may seem like a bargain at first, this amount starts to add when you replace your shoes twice a year.

"Footwear is definitely where you spend your money, 100%," Business Joker Harry Jarman, founder and editor of the men's lifestyle magazine The Gentleman & # 39; s Journal, told Business Insider recently.

Read more: The 4 biggest mistakes guys make with their choice of clothes and watches, according to the founder of a men's magazine

Jarman admitted that he too had already been a victim of fashion shoes in the past – "It's like flying!"

However, just because something seems like a good value for money.

British shoemakers Crockett & Jones, for example, have been making shoes by hand since 1879.

Crockett & Jones

"It's a lot of money for a pair of shoes – on the scale of anyone," Jarman admitted. A pair of Crockett & Jones shoes starts at £ 355 ($ 430) and rises to £ 695 ($ 843) for their toughest pair of boots.

"But, I've had the same pair for 10 years now," Jarman said. "So in fact, over time, it becomes more affordable than the [fast fashion] pair that you replace again and again. And also more durable! "

Although Crockett & Jones's shoes are undoubtedly of high quality, it's not the only secret of their longevity. English shoemakers use a welted construction Goodyear, which makes the shoes immortal.

A Goodyear welt is a leather band sewn around the bottom edge of a shoe, attached to the insole and to the upper.

The piping can then be easily disjointed, which allows to detach the sole without damaging the rest of the shoe, which means that it can be replaced several times as and when it wears.

This diagram helps to explain:

Crockett & Jones

Of course, there are many other manufacturers using the Goodyear Welt, but the least you can pay is around £ 250 ($ 303), Jarman said.

"Yes, it's expensive, but you buy something from there that will last your whole life," Jarman said.

"And there are very expensive shoes that can not be replaced and that cost £ 150 [$182] and then after a year, you have to throw them away. "

Jarman hopes that, as people focus more and more on artisbad brands with legacy and independence, the trend goes more to quality than quantity: "Just ask people to think before they're done." 39, buy something. "