The Crockett & Jones Highbury is a plain fronted derby shoe with three eyelets and a dainite rubber sole. I have always preferred the rubber soled shoes. The leather soled shoes are too slippery, especially if one is working in retail!
Bond wears these shoes with all, but one of his four suits seen in Skyfall, and in No Time to Die with two of his three suits (that we’ve seen so far) and with his Evening Suit in Cuba.
Crockett & Jones: Highbury. Purchased for £350
It’s not the years it’s the mileage
The shoes were, and still are incredibly comfortable. This is extremely rare for me, as I found it difficult to find shoes to walk around in all day. I wear these all day at work, and continue to wear them till I change for bed that night.
The shoes have a classic style and simplicity to them, not only do I wear them with my suits, but as with some of my smart casual items, usually in the autumn (fall) and winter months.
When buying my first pairs of Crockett & Jones shoes, I was told that a well-kept pair could last over 20 years. This would mean that they are not yet halfway through their life. AND can see them going for a lot longer!
Purchase Date: June 2013
My figures are perfectly rounded
The closest version I had previously were a pair of Marks & Spencer shoes, they cost me £50 and would last 6 months before the sole, or the leather would split! I would be buying 2 pairs of shoes a year, at £100 a year. Which won’t break the bank. However, investing in these shoes I have now saved £400 (not including inflation), and not recycled 14 pairs of shoes!
I have had to have these shoes resoled as I wore the first ones out. However, I do wear them quite a lot. About 2 years ago I had them resoled at a cost of around £100. However, I cannot find the actuals for this. I have not (as of yet) had any other pair of my Crockett & Jones shoes resoled, although the Tetbury (which I have had for longer) are probably coming close!
Current Price: £445 (as of November 2020)
No more shines Billy
I use the shoe trees from Crockett & Jones, and place in the shoe bags when put away. This has helped to retain the shape and the condition of the shoes. The show trees also help when caring for the shoes. I use Saphir Medaille d’Or ‘Renovateur’ on the shoes to restore the leather (this was suggested by Alex from the Birmingham store, she even helped me locate where it was sold), before using Crockett & Jones’ own black polish on them. Crockett & Jones have now partnered with Saphir Medaille d’Or for all their shoe cleaning products.
Fillet au Sole
This version of the Highbury shoes is no longer available, as they now come with Crockett & Jones’s new “City Sole”, which are the version used in No Time to Die, although I have not yet seen the City Sole, I am in favour of the Highbury’s return, they are a great investment for the smart gentleman, the fact they were in a Bond film is just a bonus! Review by Daniel Gaster
Available to buy
Currently available to buy from Crockett & Jones for 440 GBP on their website here.
Further Reading
The Crockett & Jones Alex Shoe from Skyfall and Spectre Review
The book From Tailors With Love: An Evolution of Menswear Through the Bond Films is available to buy on Amazon. It’s written by myself and Matt Spaiser and includes the costumes of No Time To Die. The book is now available in colour as an EBOOK, in addition to the B&W hardcover and softcover versions.
