Edward Green Banbury: Can Any Boot be Worth This Much?
Price: $1,530
Why Buy?
The Edward Green Banbury is built in a way where price is no concern. This results in top tier design and materials.
Why Avoid?
The Edward Green Banbury is built in a way where price is no concern. The price is hard to justify at almost any income level – and this pair had some questionable construction issues.
Specs:
| Model | Banbury |
| Height | 4 inch |
| Materials | Suede Upper / Rubber Outsole |
| Size | 12 E UK / 12.5 E US |
| Weight | 716 G / 1 lb 9.25 oz |
| Construction | Goodyear Welt |
| Country of Origin | United Kington |
Contents:
History:
If you’ve never heard of Edward Green before, you’re missing out. Considered by many to be the best ready-to-wear shoes available at any price, the company is known for being a no-compromise option for those with more than a little spare cash. On many forums, if someone asks for a shoe without giving a price, people offer the Edward Green option as a bit of a joke – if price is so unimportant you don’t mention it, get Edward Green.
While Edward Green is an incredibly classic brand, the Banbury is an incredibly classic model. Other than the Chelsea boot, there might not be a single style more synonymous with the United Kingdom than the Chukka.
However, can the Edward Green Banbury possibly be worth the truly astronomical price? Let’s dive in and find out.
Looks:
Upper:
The upper on this particular pair of Edward Green Banburys is made from their “Mole Suede.” Don’t worry, while Edward Green picks some questionable names for their suede – “Mink” is another – it’s all cow. No Curella DeVille vibes here. Mole doesn’t seem to feature much in Edward Green’s advertising, but it’s a very versatile option that you should consider if you’re looking for a pair.
The texture of the suede is something to truly behold. It’s almost impossible to upload a picture where it doesn’t get crushed by image compression, but the suede is somewhere between typical suede you might find elsewhere and velvet.
As you move on the shape, the first style aspect you notice is the longer, European-style last. This can be pretty striking to someone used to American-style shoes, but is fairly typical for Chukkas on either side of the Atlantic.
Second you notice the incredibly fine stitching. The stitches per inch (spi) here are through the roof, though they are slightly less straight than you might imagine. Certainly nothing worth crying over, but it is notable that shoes that cost 10% of these do have straighter lines. I guess you can chalk it up being hand made.
While the stitching is forgivable, a larger issue is that on both of the shoes on this pair, the metal reinforcement for the eyelets had already come out on arrival. Sure, you could pay a cobbler to put them back in for a comparatively small amount of money, but it’s pretty concerning that it happened twice, before arrival, on different shoes.
Inside, the entire shoe is lined with extremely soft and supple lining. The only thing really breaking it up is the verbose Edward Green logo stamped under your heel.
Mid- and Outsole:
While seemingly plain at first glance, as you get in closer you notice a lot of really great details on the bottom half of the Edward Green Banbury.
First, the welt stitching is extremely clean, and at a stitch density I’ve never seen before. While it doesn’t matter when it comes to durability, it really gives the boot a finished look that you’ll notice. You might not even be able to quite put your finger on why the first time you see them, but you soon figure it out.
Further down, the Banburys that have the self-branded outsole feature a riser at the front of the shoe, which disappears near the middle. This gives the shoe an almost-fiddle back feel while making them look a little bit tougher at the same time. I know it’s weird, but this little detail might just be my favorite part of the shoe. The leather and Dainite outsole models lack this detail.
As mentioned above, the outsole on this pair are branded Edward Green, and have slight texture on the front and back. They are nice and slim, adding to the high-end vibe of the rest of the boot. Edward Green claims they are supposed to look like leather outsoles. I’m not entirely sure that’s true, but they look good enough in their own right.
Finishing everything off, a short heel gives a bit of height without being overpowering.
Summary:
Overall, the Edward Green Banbury offers a very high-end feel. The suede truly looks spectacular, and the little details throughout let you know you’re not holding the everyman’s chukka. Anyone with familiarity with shoes is going to be able to tell they are something special from 10 feet away.
Unfortunately, receiving a pair with a problem on both sides is not a great look for the Northampton-based Edward Green. Having it happen once is a fluke, or even twice on the same boot could indicate a particularly soft pair of leather. However, having it happen on different pairs points to a larger issue and raises durability concerns that should not be raised at this price point.
Fit & Comfort:
Fit:
Right off the bat, the sizing on the Edward Green Banbury is far from standard. Of course, being a shoe from the UK they use UK sizing, but it kind of goes downhill from there. At least for those of us in the US.
First, while you typically want to go down a full size from US sizing for the UK, with these you’ll only want to go down a half. Thankfully, Edward Green actually includes this in their labeling – it features both a 12 and a 12.5 written on the side, one for the UK size and one for the US.
Second, Edward Green’s standard 202 last is labeled an E – which is supposed to be wide in both the US and the UK – but fits like a D. In other words, their standard last fits like a standard last, but is labeled a wide last. They do offer the Banbury in wider or narrow sizes if you ask and go through their made to order program, but you can’t find them in stock.
To summarize, according to the brand, if you’re in the US, go down a half size and up a width. If you’re in the UK, go up half a size and up a width.
Got it? Good.
As for the last itself, the toe is long but has a fairly aggressive taper. If you’re the type of person who likes a bit of toe space, you may want to size up a half size. This is what I did. The fit isn’t ideal, but is still very comfortable.
For reference, I wear a size 12D in Alden’s Trubalance, a size 11.5E in most Viberg 2030 lasted boots, and a 12.5 in Adidas Stan Smiths. For a full list of sizing on all shoes reviewed, click here.
Comfort:
If you’re thinking of a typical boot in your head, these are not it. Structure and support are not the name of the game for the Edward Green Banbury – though they don’t need to be.
Instead, underfoot these feel like a very well-designed dress shoe. That means less compression and a lower heel, but softer and more flexible. The softness and flexibility are accented even further by the leather upper. They do make an unlined version, but the suede is so soft I don’t think you’d ever need to get it for anything but breathability.
I expect these will get better with age. Even just trying them on you can feel the shoe being to conform to your foot. I hate to continue using the word, but they do feel special.
Materials & Construction:
Materials:
The Edward Green Banbury materials are, as you can expect, all top tier.
Starting with the upper, you need to talk about the Suede.
Most suede is what’s known as split suede. That means they take the hide and split it down the middle, the lower half becomes suede, and the upper half is top grain. Split suede offers affordable prices, but is less durable and generally doesn’t offer the same nap. The Banbury uses unsplit suede, which is effectively a roughout leather – a much more durable form of textured leather. This more than doubles the cost, but provides a much better product.
The leather lining is a soft cowhide, and feels like it’s going to be extremely durable.
Underneath your foot, a leather insole with leather heel pad combines with a cork filler to ensure the shoe will conform to your foot. In between the two, a wooden shank helps provide a bit of support. Personally, as someone who regularly goes through metal detectors, wooden shanks are a big plus for me. Though it is worth noting they are much more likely to break than steel if you put pressure on them from the bottom.
Underneath your foot a typical rubber outsole is what touches the ground. Edward Green opted for a softer rubber compound, so it might not be the most durable rubber in the world. If you’re looking for something longer lasting, they do offer the Banbury with a Dainite sole.
Inside, the Edward Green Banbury uses resin toe puffs plus vamp stiffeners. Vamp stiffeners are extremely rare, and are designed to help keep the vamp from getting creases that are too deep.
Construction:
Edward Green uses a fairly standard Goodyear welt construction on the Banbury. If you’re looking for a more in-depth guide on Goodyear welted shoes, click here. However, if you just want the short version, a Goodyear welted shoe essentially means a piece of leather (known as a welt) is stitched to the upper of a shoe. That welt is then stitched to the outsole.
Goodyear welting offers extremely easy resoleability and, since the upper itself doesn’t get worn out with a resole, it can be done many times. When the welt wears out it can be replaced a few times, giving you another set of resoles each replacement. Most consider Goodyear welting the best type of shoe construction.
If you want a more in-depth guide on Edward Green specifically, LordPoint Shoemaking takes apart a pair here.
Ease of Care:
Caring for the Edward Green Banbury might be easier than you think. While suede has a reputation for being delicate, the unsplit suede used on this pair is anything but. While you probably don’t want to wear them in snow, salt, or through the rainforest, they should be able to take a day in the office no problem.
You will want to take care of the suede using a suede kit just to make sure the nap stays up. Otherwise, regular maintenance is just keeping shoe trees in when not in use. Speaking of shoe trees, Edward Green insists that you should only use Edward Green’s shoe trees – which are priced at $145 dollars. While there is an argument to be made that lasted shoe trees keep a shoe’s shape better, the trees Edward Green offers are not lasted. In the grand scheme of Edward Green pricing $145 is downright reasonable, but these shoe trees are unlikely to do the job any better than the Woodlore option.
One area where sticking with Edward Green’s pricing isn’t reasonable is a resole. Where most shoe companies charge between $130 and $200 to resole a shoe on the original last, Edward Green charges a staggering $440. Plus shipping.
Thankfully, due to the Goodyear welting, you can find plenty of boutiques that will do extremely good work with custom flourishes for half that.
Pricing & Value:
Pricing:
Are you ready for it? The Edward Green Banbury currently costs $1,530.
In case you’re wondering, for $1,530 (or less) you could buy… a month of rent in every state except Hawaii. Two months of rent in 7 states. A used Honda. Two round trip tickets from the US + hotel to see the Edward Green factory. Or the MSRP of the most expensive shoes reviewed on this site plus the most expensive boots reviewed on this site. In other words, they are not cheap.
If you’re patient, though, you can find sales. These can sometimes a substantial discount. Edward Green themselves offers their “private sale” once a year, which is open to the public, where they are 30% off. Mr Porter will also include Edward Green in their yearly sales, with discounts sometimes reaching as high as 60% off, though sizing gets limited pretty quickly.
Another option to consider is some currency arbitrage. Edward Green sets their prices in the local currency, and you can sometimes find deals that way. At time of writing, Banburys sold in stores that use the Euro are around 20% less than stores using the Pound or Dollar.
Value:
As much as I like the Edward Green Banbury, I have to say they are really an example of diminishing returns. Are they better than an Alden Chukka (or, if you really want a UK-made shoe, a Cheaney Chukka)? Absolutely. Are they three times as good? That is a pretty hard argument to make.
Of course, the law of diminishing returns isn’t limited to footwear. In almost everything, making something 20% better doubles the price. If you want these details, you don’t really have any other choice. For the folks who can afford Edward Greens, finding a great value probably isn’t as important as having the best.
If you want something like this, you’re going to need to pony up the bills. Just know that Edward Green and value don’t really go together.
Wrap Up:
When the box for these Edward Green Banburys finally arrived, I was more excited about a pair than I’ve been in a long, long time. That teal-green box – suspiciously close to tiffany blue – is designed to elicit an emotional reaction. Taking them out, they are truly a sight to behold.
For the most part, they live up to the hype. They don’t provide “value” in the typical sense, but I don’t think Edward Green ever intended to.
That being said, I can’t help but be let down by the two loose eyelets. I understand paying high dollar for high quality. I also understand forgiving flaws to save a buck. It’s harder to understand paying top dollar while forgiving flaws.
It is worth noting that when I contacted the seller about the issues, they immediately offered a return at their expense. Knowing that, I’ll give this pair the benefit of the doubt that it was a Monday morning pair.
Their replacement is already on the way, actually an entirely different Edward Green model. Keep an eye out for another teal-box review soon.
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