Northampton may be the traditional home of English footwear, but Matt Clark meets the Yorkshire craftsman who gives Midland cobblers more than a run for their money.

EVERY woman knows shoes are the most important wardrobe staples, so why don’t men?

Too often an otherwise reasonable outfit is ruined because we refuse to shell out on good English shoes.

Which is a huge mistake. The first thing people notice is your footwear, so doesn’t the old mantra that you should spend half as much on your shoes as you do on a suit bear repeating?

The thing is, cut-price footwear is a fairly recent thing. Once, we all bought Northampton shoes, the finest in the world. Then a flood of low-priced imports put paid to sartorial elegance, leaving in its wake a plethora of stinky trainers and shoddy glued boots that fall to bits inside a year.

However, there is good news. More and more men are waking up to the need to invest in quality shoes.

Crockett and Jones can’t keep up with demand; for some, a pair of Edward Green’s is a necessity, while for the ultimate luxury, John Lobb is as desirable as a Ferrari. And they come at a price. Expect to pay more than £3,000 at Lobbs.

But you don’t need to head to London for a perfect pair of handmade shoes, because in Wetherby, Tony Slinger offers the ultimate bespoke footwear for men and women. He will make you a hand-welted pair for £1,000 and, if looked after, they will last a lifetime.

Tony began his shoemaking career aged 14 at H W Poole in Leeds. In 1987 he won a contract to supply boots to the Household Cavalry and now he specialises also in orthopaedic shoes.

He is a member of a dying breed, but an important one, because most of us have mis-matched feet of up to half a size, still more have misshapen feet, with the occasional sticking-out bone or unusually contoured sole.

Tony takes all of this into account to produce a pair of shoes that really will fit like a glove.“Most people don’t give shoes a second thought,” he says. “They often go for a size too large when buying off the shelf, but the more room you have, the more problems you get, because your feet move and the leather has nowhere to go.”

First comes a consultation to define your requirements and discuss the available options.Then follows a full measure of your feet and soles, followed, five weeks later, by a fitting.

“At this stage, the uppers are done but the sole isn’t attached. I then lay the lasts down by the side of the shoe and before the customer says anything I examine the feet and mark on the last what needs taking off or letting out.” The shoes then take a further ten days to complete.

Unlike machine-made shoes, Tony’s insoles are carved from one solid piece of leather, sole stitching is invisible and the soles are applied wet. “It’s the expensive way to do it,” says Tony, “but the only way to ensure a perfect fit.”

Like the rest of the shoe, sole welting is done by hand, and for this Tony uses nine threads of hemp twisted together and rubbed with beeswax. A painstaking process, but vital to ensure strength.

The threads are then attached to a hog’s bristle which, being narrower than a needle, can move through punch holes at an angle. This is especially important for soles with French, or fiddleback, waists, which are only found on bespoke shoes.

Tony cuts his by hand and by eye, years of experience and a self-made, exceptionally sharp, knife being the only tools he requires. “It's great when people appreciate fine shoes,” says Tony. “It is a passion for me and something this country is good at making.”