Hello dear friends! As the holidays close in and we quickly approach the arrival of another new year (and American Duchess’ 14th birthday), we have been having fun looking back at some of our tried-and-true, utterly classic styles. Of course, Londoner Edwardian Oxfords fit the bill. These beautiful late 19th c./ early 20th c. shoes are one of our most popular styles of all time. They are wonderful for fall and winter. All you have to do is pair them with your favorite tights and a wool skirt of your choice, and that’s more than half your outfit sorted. Or, they look very smart with trousers, and even jeans. One choice review of Londoner on our website reads, “Where have these shoes been all my life?”
Londoner first debuted for pre-order back in October of 2016. As you may know if Edwardian fashion history is up your alley, womenswear in the early 20th century was heavily influenced by menswear. More simplified silhouettes, clean leans, stiffer collars, neckties, and oxford shoes were all fashionable as activewear and women’s social movements became part of the zeitgeist (especially for daywear). For more about this topic, check out our blog post “All About Oxfords: The Early Years”.
Oxfords from the Selby Shoe Company, 1907.
An assortment of ladies Oxfords from the collection at the Metropolitan Museum, ranging from the 1890s to the 1920s.
There are myriad examples of heeled oxford shoes, both with and without broguing, in museums, and in our collection as well. The first Londoners were based on a variety of these original examples. Details like stacked leather heels, pointed toes, and broguing were widespread across oxford options for different classes, so they were incorporated into the design for the first Londoners.
The very first Londoners, from 2016.
Now before Londoner, there was Gibson. Gibson is another one of our classic Edwardian shoes. Originally debuting in 2013, Gibson was based on a very tattered original Edwardian shoe from our collection. The last for this shoe was designed to emulate the fashionable, pointed-toe lasts from the time, adjusted to fit the modern foot comfortably. Our custom 2″/5 cm French heels were developed to go with this last. When Londoner was being designed, this last and heel made for a perfect match for an Edwardian oxford.
Something wonderful about many of the original oxfords from the early 20th century is the dimensionality of the leathers. Colors like deep reds, browns, burled tans, and cordovans were used. In an effort to emulate these colors, a deep cherry colorway and a burled whiskey tan colorway, complete with graduated patinas and stacked-look heels, were developed as the first Londoners available for sale.
Since then, Londoner has been finessed and re-released. Last year, we developed and released Londoner in D-width. After many, many, requests for Londoner in black, in 2021, we finally developed a version of this shoe in black that we felt met the standards we were aiming for, and since then, Londoner in black has been a top-seller. More colors have been introduced as well, including a gorgeous dark brown. Of course, we still carry the original cherry and tan as well!
Eight years on, and our affection for this beautiful and versatile Edwardian oxford has yet to wane in the slightest. We think you must agree, as we continue to sell and restock these beauties!
Londoner is currently available in ‘women’s’ sizes 5-13 , in both B width and D width. If you are looking for one Edwardian shoe to go with pert near everything, Londoner is an excellent choice that we will always recommend.
