The landscape for high-end men’s clothing has changed a lot in the last hundred years. It’s slowly shifted from large, luxury department stores, such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus, to smaller and more specialized boutiques, such as Self Edge and Leffot. Granted, any individual boutique will have smaller sales numbers than a larger operation, but few style enthusiasts I know shop at luxury chains anymore – even those as small as Barney’s. Everyone seems to prefer things that feel a bit more intimate, specialized, and niche.
One specialty store I’ve been particularly impressed with is Skoaktiebolaget. A small, Scandinavian operation that focuses on footwear, it started only a few years ago in 2012. Still, in just three years, it’s managed to build an impressive roster of brands – Edward Green, Gaziano & Girling,Carmina, and Enzo Bonafè. No small feat, especially when you consider that Edward Green has been operating at full capacity for some time and is very selective about who they let carry their label.
Patrik Löf, the shop’s owner, tells me that he picks brands based on what he loves, as well as what each brings to the table. Carmina offers best bang-for-the-buck in the premium segment, while Edward Green has some of the most iconic styles around. Enzo Bonafè also gives a uniquely good value given their craftsmanship and flexible made-to-order program (which he says gives “almost endless possibilities”). “They’re a small family-owned company in Bologna,” he says. “They specialize in hand welted shoes, which the Italians sometimes mischaracterize as hand welted Goodyear.” As readers know, short of going bespoke, it’s hard to find hand welted shoes these days – especially for less than $1,000. Most high-end shoes are constructed by machine — either with Goodyear welting or Blake stitching — even if they market themselves as “benchmade” or “handgrade.”
Skoaktiebolaget has a small, carefully selected line of
ready-made shoes from each label, but it’s their made-to-order service that
makes them special. With a favorable exchange rate and tax discounts, you can get anything you want made — and at a price lower than you’d find at most other
retailers. That includes a number of special make-ups, such as the small batch
of Edward Green Dovers last year in Willow Calf – a unique grained leather that
Edward Green used to offer many years ago, and only rediscovered recently in small
quantities (it’s no longer in stock, I’m told). Patrik also tells me he was particularly pleased with a “Frankenstitch” jumper boot from Carmina. “It was
one of those styles I never looked twice at until a client had us make it in
burgundy shell cordovan.” At the moment, they even have a new M-43 inspired boot from Edward Green as a special MTO.
As for his plans for expansion, Patrik says he just secured a new storage space, so they’ll have more ready-made styles soon (and in greater quantities). “I don’t believe in carrying too many brands, however. We’re specialists, and if we bring in too many brands, it’s hard to maintain an expert level of knowledge for each label.”
There is one downside to ordering from Skoaktiebolaget – when people ask where you bought your shoes, you have no idea how to say the company’s name. When I asked Patrik how to pronounce Skoaktiebolaget, he laughed. “Come to Stockholm. We’ll have some vodka, talk about shoes, and I will teach you.”
Oh well, if you’re worried about butchering the name, like me, you can always say “a specialty shop in Sweden.”
