Last Succession of Crockett & Jones

As most English shoemakers have long histories they have lots of lasts developed in different eras. If you are not so into one specific shoemaker, it is nearly impossible to remember all these nonsense numbers.

Crockett & Jones is very proud of its last options and continuously develops new ones to accommodate the trend.

The good thing is that there are some rules to the last numbers, such as the fewer, the earlier it was released.

In current production, the most durable and respectable ones are last 200 introduced in 1934 and 224 in 1953.

Last 200 is exclusively for Chukka boots, and the only model sitting on this last is Chukka (model name).

Last 224 also has one model in production, Chiltern which is also Chukka boots. I cannot help wonder maybe in the early days of Crockett & Jones, Chukka boots are the best sellers?

Further on comes my eternally favorite last, the classic of the classic, last 236.

Crockett & Jones Connaught

It says everything about conservative English with its blunt and elegant round toe.

In 2019, Crockett & Jones celebrated its 140 anniversary and update last 236 with a new version, last 379. The toe is untouched while the width, waist and instep were tweaked.

Crockett & Jones Westgate on last 379

There is one exception to the naming rule, which is last 140. Telling from this number, it should be very early, at least earlier than 1934, but in fact, it was introduce in 2019, and 140 is just the number how long Crockett & Jones has been standing.

Crockett & Jones Lawrence 2 on last 140

As a special last, 140 is only for Handgrade collection, and the first last for Handgrade was 330, so 140 is the modern version of 330. And officially it is called the toe of 330 with waist and heel of last 363.

Crockett & Jones Whitehall on last 330

To expand on this topic, many brands introduce new lasts mainly concerning about the toe shape as this is where says loudly about change and newness, while Crockett & Jones cares the whole because waist and heel is so important to fit and comfort.