Bodileys shoes - made in Northampton

It's always a pleasure to meet owners of well-established British menswear businesses, particularly those which have family links over several generations. I recently met Sarah Dudley of Bodileys, who has recently launched a 'London Collection' of English-made shoes, some of which I show here.

Sarah told me that Bodileys was established in 1919, originally the leading retail shop in Northampton supplying shoes from local manufacturer’s such as Crockett and Jones, Alfred Sargent and Cheaney. Sarah Dudley, fourth generation of the family business, led the move into export and online sales and recently the launch of their own brand, the ‘London Collection’.

John Garner joined Bodileys in 2012 as designer. A well-known figure in the industry, he brought great experience to the company. Formerly of Edward Green (retirement didn’t totally suit him!), his passion, expertise and extensive knowledge in the design and construction of shoes was the perfect fit with Sarah’s dream to launch a collection of shoes that are classic with smooth clean lines and superb quality at affordable prices of around £345.

Sarah was keen that the ‘London Collection’ should be made in England to carry on the heritage, reputation and prestige of Goodyear Welted shoes. The shoes have been made by Cheaney under the very keen eye of both John and Sarah. Cheaney has been under the ownership of two of the Church family members for the past 3 years. They bought the company back from Prada, owners of Church and Cheaney since the 1990’s. 

It was of greatest importance to source the very best calf leather and other materials, the last shapes were chosen with careful consideration and extensive research to give utmost comfort, they come up true to the UK sizing system, meaning that each customer would require their same UK size for all the styles.

Sarah obviously has great ambitions for Bodileys and, although they will continue to supply other makes of shoes such as Crockett and Jones and Alfred Sargent, she plans to develop the Bodileys brand to offer great English made shoes of beautiful design at competitive prices. Having grown up surrounded by shoes, she clearly knows much about men’s shoes and John Garner has become an invaluable member of the development team.

I was impressed by the variety in the range, but Sarah and John will be adding more styles in the coming months to give customers a greater range of choice. Sarah also mentioned that she “particularly enjoys interacting with customer’s queries and is always available to discuss and advise on individual requirements”, so do get in touch with them if you're after any particular design, size or style. Click here to see The London Collection. 

I was really impressed by Sarah's pride in the collection. She showed me many of the shoes. Not only are they beautifully made, but she was keen to seek my thoughts and suggestions, even though I know nothing about shoes, she is very keen to elicit consumer ideas and responses.

For more about Bodileys click here.