History

Charles Frederick Stead, having gained much experience within the trade, decided to set up in business on his own, in small premises near the present site of the Leeds Television Studios around 1895. In 1905 with business booming he took over Sheepscar Tannery, which had up to that time been operated as a tannery and glueworks by Messrs Wilson & Walker Ltd. Some of the present day buildings date back to the founding of Wilson & Walker Ltd., at Sheepscar in 1823. The Meanwood valley contained many tanneries then, all relying on the soft water of Meanwood Beck.

The original leathers produced from 1904 by C F Stead were based on domestic sheepskin for making bookbindings, chamois and 'fancy' leathers ('fancy' was the term for leathers for wallets, purses, bags etc) Rough vegetable tanned skins imported from East India were also further processed and dyed. These were used for fancy leathers, shoe upper leather and also for the bellows inside household gas meters. With the introduction of superior chrome tannage, pure 'vegetable' tannage and 'semi-chrome' tannages (part vegetable part chromium) gradually gave way to goatskins, which was much sought after in the 1920's and 1930's for fashionable but comfortable ladies shoes. Following the development of grain kid leathers came a fashion for suede kid, utilising the same raw material, and again primarily for womens fashion footwear.

In 1929 the founder's son Mr P K Stead began a gradual but significant change, first into the curing and tannage of Deerskin and Buckskin for the traditional high quality Northhamptonshire men's Goodyear Welted footwear business, and then into splits and 'de-grains' when the supply of Deerskins became too irregular and unreliable. Stead have always maintained the prime objective of creating the tightest possible fibre structure to their suede in order to maintain the tremendous wear characteristics achieved in the original suede kid and Buckskin productions. This was achieved primarily through a tannage developed specifically for this purpose, that is to shrink and tighten the fibre structure, and this tannage remains unique to the company to this day.

The Englishman's love of suede shoes cannot be blamed on some outlandish pop star. It's all the fault of a one-time member of the Royal Family; Edward, Duke of Windsor, the best-dressed man of the 20's and 30's, wore suede shoes with his lounge suits. Younger men of today have already adopted his Prince of Wales check suits. The shoes were a natural next step.

Paul Keers, author of a Gentleman's Wardrobe (a guide to classic clothes and the modern man) discovered that the Duke once caused a sensation by wearing brown suede shoes with a dark blue suit. When a by-stander expressed surprise at this sartorial 'faux pas', one of the Duke's friends commented, 'It would be wrong if it were a mistake. But he knows better, so it's all right.

Ever since the Duke of Windsor took a liking to suede shoes with lounge suits, the combination has been regarded as peculiarly English. But if you bump into the boss of Fiat, Giovanni Agnelli, take a look at his feet. 'He is considered as one of the best-dressed men in Italy and, yes, he does wear suede shoes,' said a company spokesman.

Classic styles are the Brogue, Monk shoe, Oxford loafer, Chukka boot and of course the famous Clarks Desert boot.

Snuff suede is the most correct wear, except among the avant-garde. For them a pair of black suede Dr. Martens or some other matt black chunky shoe goes best with Japanese designer wear. Beige and white are fine with light, summer clothes.

What makes our classic suede shoes such a sought-after commodity worldwide? The answer seems to be a combination of English tradition, top quality shoemaking and the expertise of a small family-run leather tannery in Leeds where they claim to make the best quality shoe suede in the world.

The company is called Charles F Stead (England). The product is Cape Butt Classic suede.