The Last Will and Testament of John Lobb Himself
In the world of bespoke shoes, there is John Lobb, and there is everyone else.
Founded in 1849, John Lobb is the bootmaker to Kings, Maharajas, Titans of Industry, and James Bond. Their shop at 9 St James's Street is less a retail store and more a shrine to the human foot.
But the soul of the company isn't in the royal warrants on the wall. It is in a philosophy laid down by the founder, John Lobb, a Cornish farm boy who walked to London in boots he made himself to seek his fortune.
Before he died in 1895, John Lobb reportedly left instructions—a "Will of Craft"—that codified exactly what it meant to be a Lobb bootmaker. While the physical document is guarded (and parts of it are oral tradition passed from father to son), its principles have become the unwritten constitution of St James's.
The Man Who Walked to London
John Lobb wasn't born into luxury. He was born in 1829 in Tywardreath, Cornwall. A farm labourer's son. An accident left him lame—a cruel irony for a future bootmaker. Unable to do heavy farm work, he apprenticed as a shoemaker.
Legend has it that he walked from Cornwall to London to find work. When the London guild masters rejected him, he didn't quit. He went to Australia. It was the Gold Rush. He didn't dig for gold; he made boots for the miners who did. He famously made a boot with a hollow heel where miners could hide their nuggets.
He returned to London a wealthy man and set up shop. He sent a pair of boots to the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) unsolicited. The Prince loved them. A Royal Warrant followed in 1863. The rest is history.
The Will: A Manifesto for Perfection
The "Will" of John Lobb is not about money. It is about standards. It established the "Lobb Rules" that still govern the workshop today.
1. The sanctity of the 'Last' The 'last' is the wooden form carved to replicate the customer's foot. Lobb's instruction was clear: The last is the truth. You do not make the foot fit the shoe; you make the shoe fit the foot. If a customer has a bunion, the last has a protrusion. If one leg is shorter, the heel is adjusted. Today, the "Last Room" in St James's houses over 12,000 wooden pairs, a wooden archive of the feet of the 20th century's most powerful people.
2. The 190 Steps Lobb codified the process. It must take 190 distinct operations to make a shoe. No shortcuts.
- The Clicker: The cutter who selects the leather. He must discard 40% of a hide to find the perfect section.
- The Closer: Who stitches the upper.
- The Maker: Who attaches the sole. These roles are distinct. A Maker does not Click. A Clicker does not Make. Specialisation is absolute.
3. The Promise of Lifetime Service A Lobb shoe is not a consumption item; it is an asset. The will implied that the maker's responsibility does not end at the sale. It ends when the owner dies. This is why Lobb still repairs shoes made in the 1920s. They simply replace the sole, re-stretch the upper on the original wooden last (which they kept), and return it.
The Great Schism: London vs. Paris
In 1902, Lobb opened a branch in Paris. In 1976, due to lease costs and the sheer difficulty of maintaining the business, the family sold the name and the Paris branch to Hermès.
However, they kept the London bespoke workshop.
This created the "Two Lobbs" we see today:
- John Lobb Ltd (London): Still family-owned (until very recently). Only makes bespoke. Only at 9 St James's Street. The "Original".
- John Lobb SAS (Paris/Northampton): Owned by Hermès. Makes Ready-to-Wear (in Northampton) and Bespoke (in Paris).
Did this violate the Will? Purists argued yes. Mass production (Ready-to-Wear) was anathema to John Lobb's bespoke philosophy.
But Hermès, to their credit, applied their own fanaticism to the brand. They didn't hollow it out (like Prada/Church's). They invested. The Northampton factory (formerly Edward Green's) is now a temple of high-end manufacturing. They respected the "190 Steps" even in a factory setting.
The Modern Application
Today, if you walk into 9 St James's Street, you are stepping into 1895. The smell is the same—leather, wax, tea. The ledger is the same. The process is the same.
You verify the "Will" by the waitlist. It takes 6-9 months to get your first pair (because lasts must be carved). It costs £5,000+.
Is it worth it?
John Lobb's philosophy was that a man spends half his life in bed and half in his shoes, so he should invest in his bed and his shoes.
In an age of fast fashion, where shoes are glued plastic destined for landfill in 6 months, John Lobb stands as a monument to the opposite idea: Permanence.
The Will was right. Quality is the only business plan that lasts 175 years.
Q&A
Q: Are John Lobb shoes really the best? A: In terms of raw construction and materials? Yes. The "Clickers" at Lobb get first refusal on the world's best hides. Hermès owns the tanneries. No one gets better leather.
Q: What is the difference between John Lobb London and John Lobb Paris? A: London is the original bespoke workshop (St James's). They only do bespoke. Paris (Hermès) is the global luxury brand that sells Ready-to-Wear shoes in malls worldwide. Both are excellent, but London is the "Holy Grail."
Q: Can I visit the workshop? A: It is a working shop, not a museum. However, if you are a customer, fitting sessions often happen in the presence of the craftsmen.
Next Read: The 200 Steps: Anatomy of a Crockett & Jones Shoe Related: John Lobb (Cluster)