Lifelong brand ambassador

It's nearly 40 years since I bought my first pair of Loake shoes - for the May Ball at Warwick University. The shoes were nearly new, bought from a second-hand shop in West Ealing - and I still have them (stored in a Loake box, in the garage). Over the years, I have had over 20 pairs (see this post from nine years ago). I associate with the brand value - a fourth-generation family business currently run by Andrew Loake (see my 2016 interview with him here). Shoes can come from a factory in the Far East that churns out stuff for volume's sake, and branded with a brand that had clever and expensive marketing attached to it.

Bought in Warsaw, here are my latests Loakes - the model is named Pimlico, and is somewhere between the tough desert boot (Loake Kalahari) and something acceptable for wearing in the office. The Dainite sole is a huge plus for Warsaw streets - mud, snow, ice, puddles etc.

Compared to the Kalahari, the Pimlico feels stouter - the three-eyelet laces give a closer fit around the ankle (good for keeping the wretched ticks out in long grass), and it's a shoe I can wear into town.

Loake is one of the überbrands that have won my lifelong loyalty. I cannot envisage me buying into another shoe brands. Other lifelong brands that exclude the possibility of buying other products from the same category are Nikon (cameras) and Levis (jeans). Getting close to this status is Vistula (suits - I have bought five over the past nine years, of which four are still in service).

One thing I love about Loake is the firm's commitment to keeping old shoes going. Worn-out pairs get sent back to the factory for a new long-sole with heel; the shoes come back not new, but looking a whole lot better and good for several years' more use.

This time last year:
My brand-new used laptop
[Student SGH - a year on it's working perfectly - just the Windows 10 than annoys me!]

This time two years ago:
How much for locally grown strawberries?

This time three years ago:
Zamość - the beautiful, must-visit town of Poland's east

This time four years ago:
Voting closes in citizens' participatory budget 

This time five years ago:
Beginning of the end of PO [Civic Platform]

This time six years ago:
Where's the beef? Fillet steak in Warsaw

This time seven years ago:
W-wa Zachodnia spruced up for the football, W-wa Stadion reopened

This time nine years ago:
Literature and biology

This time 11 years ago:
Old Nysa van spotted in Grabów

This time 12 years ago:
The oats in the neighbouring field rise high