John Lobb

Founded in 1849, Lobb is one of England's oldest makers of bench-made shoes, worn by clients such as King Edward VII (1901-1911, who was Edward, Prince of Wales from 1863-1901), famous 20th century opera tenor Enrico Caruso or actor Daniel Day Lewis.

Hermes acquired John Lobb in 1976 and took over everything except the original John Lobb bespoke shoe shop on London's St. James's Street. Whilst the original, family-owned Lobb in St. James's Street still makes shoes one pair at a time, Hermes has broadened the reach of the Lobb brand name through its ready-made shoes.

At Lobb, special care is taken to select the fine leather skins (with crocodile skin shoes for about USD 1500 at the top of the range) and many of the shoes feature topstitching on the vamp and sole. The traditional British stitching on the bottom of the sole is done entirely by hand. The production of each pair of John Lobb shoes is so time-consuming that only about 100 pair of shoes are finished per day. But do not worry about this exclusivity - Lobbs can be found in all Hermes shops around the world.