Initial Impressions, Padmore and Barnes, Stitched Footwear

Padmore and Barnes P404: The Original (Kinda)

Price: $195

Why Buy?

The Padmore and Barnes P404 offers the highest quality version of the Wallabee style shoe that you can buy.

Why Avoid?

The Padmore and Barnes P404 isn’t any more original than the Clark’s version, and the brand hides it.

Specs:

ModelP404
Height4″
Size12 US / 11 UK
Weight712 g / 1 lb 9.1 oz
Materials Suede / Crepe
ConstructionMoc / Blake
Country of OriginPortugal

History

In many ways, Padmore and Barnes does not get the respect that they deserve. Started way back in 1934, Padmore and Barnes make many classic designs that you think of as Clark’s today. This is perhaps most notable in the one we are looking at today. The P404, which looks eerily close to the Wallabee.

Well, there is a really good reason for that. For decades, the P404 was the Wallabee. Clarks ended up taking the design of the Sioux Grashopper, then bought Padmore and Barnes for the purpose of making these and other similar shoes.

Unfortunately, as companies tend to do, Clarks started moving more and more production to China. With production decreasing and value dropping, Padmore and Barnes was bought out by their Irish management.

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If you read their website and most posts about them, this is where the story ends. The implication is that the 500 workers are still sitting in the shadow of Kilkenny castle, hand making every pair.

However – that isn’t true.

While you can’t find it anywhere on their site, Padmore and Barnes have long since also offshored their product to Portugal. In fact, for all the grief that Padmore and Barnes gives them, Clarks made pieces in the same factory. You can check out the full review here.

While that does leave a bad taste in my mouth, Clarks recently just took several features out from the base Wallabee, and 221 lines has long been out of production. Is it possible that the Padmore and Barnes P404 is the right choice for you?

Let’s dive in and find out.

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Looks

Upper

At its core, the upper of the Padmore and Barnes P404 doesn’t really have that much going on. It’s a basic shoe and is proud of it.

The exterior of the P404 is really just 4 panels. The boot has mirrored vamp panels that run the length of the shoe and the plug. These panels are both done up in suede in this make up. Then there is the lining material around the throat, this time in leather.

Not all the models come with a leather here. Though if you do get the leather, you can expect a bit more durability.

The upper is held together with the plug being wrapped tightly around the edge of the vamp leather and sewn through on each side. Plug > Vamp > Plug. This is what gives the P404 that distinctive shape.

Speaking of the shape, the P404 a bit different than the Wallabees you might be used to. The toe tapers in more from the sides, coming to a more squared off end. The toebox itself is also much shorter in height.

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If you look closer, there is a bit of extra stitching along the toe that keeps the liner in. It’s mostly unnoticeable unless you’re 2 inches from the shoe, though. Plus a bit of stitching to represent the heel cap.

That’s it.

Overall, the stitching is done fairly well. No where nearly as good as the Clarks 221, but as well as the Paraboot Milly. And that boot costs 4 times as much as this one.

Inside, the Padmore and Barnes P404 is lined with tan leather – an improvement again from the Wallabee. Underfoot a very thin brown leather lining runs half length, and reminds you that these were “designed” in Ireland but made in Portugal.

Mid- and Outsole

Again, like the upper of the Padmore and Barnes P404, the lower half of the boot is incredibly simple. Unlike modern Clark’s products that are really a wedge of EVA wrapped in a thin crepe layer, this outsole is just three hunks of crepe rubber.

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If you look closely, you can see the seams where they added the wedge under the heel, but that’s about it.

For those of you who have never worn crepe soled shoes before, these will get black almost immediately. That’s unavoidable.

Summary

When it comes to the Padmore and Barnes P404, there were no real surprises. They claim to be the original design of the Wallabee, a shoe that’s been around for 60 years, and that is undeniably true.

I’m not sure anyone would say that the P404 style is good looking, but it’s been around so long that nearly everyone has nostalgia about it. It doesn’t matter if you’re Slick Rick or David Beckham, there is definitely a so-weird-they’re-cool vibe about them.

After owning similar shoes in a light tan, I did opt for grey this time around. While I prefer the look of the light tan, grey is just so much easier to keep clean.

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Fit & Comfort

Fit

The Padmore and Barnes P404 – and the shorter P204 for that matter – is made on what Padmore and Barnes calls their “nature form” last. While I’m not sure if anyone’s natural foot shape is this, there is no denying it is a very forgiving shape. The P404 only comes in one width, on the wider side.

That being said, some people might find it too accommodating. As the P404 only tightens fairly high up nearly your ankle instead of on your foot, there is no way to really cinch these down.

Forget doing any sort of activity other than walking slowly in these.

One more thing you should be aware of – Padmore and Barnes labels these in UK sizing. Or, in other words, one full size up compared to US sizing. Some websites use their labeled size, some use US sizing. Most won’t tell you which. Be sure to reach out and contact whoever is selling the pair you’re interested in before clicking buy if it isn’t already clear.

I took these in a size 12 US / 11 UK. This is my standard size for stitched footwear and I find they fit me ever so slightly loose. They only come in whole sizing and a size 11 US would definitely be too small.

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Comfort

In 1964 when the Padmore and Barnes P404 first came out, crepe rubber was one of the best comfort options out there. In 2024? Not so much. While I am not personally a fan of them doing it from a durability and authenticity perspective, I can see why Clarks is adding EVA to their shoes these days.

All that being said, these are not uncomfortable. The big hunk of rubber on the bottom does a good enough job protecting from impact, and the forgiving last isn’t going to be pinching you.

The only potential hiccup is where the back of the P404 might hit your heel. For some people, the top of the boot could hit them right at their achilles. This, combined with a height that is high enough to hit sensitive areas but low enough it doesn’t bend much, could make for a very uncomfortable first few weeks.

If this is you, I’d strongly suggest going for the Padmore and Barnes P204, the low top version.

Additionally, as with all crepe rubber outsoles, they are absolutely worthless when it gets cold and wet. Snow and ice, of course, but even water on cool days can lead you to slip and slide your way down the sidewalk.

Overall, I would happily wear these for a casual day hanging out, but they would stay in the closet for a full day of walking.


Materials & Construction

Materials

Padmore and Barnes does not list their suppliers, other than vague references to location.

The suedes they use are “Italian” suedes. This doesn’t hold a candle to the best suedes out there, but it feels perfectly reasonable. They definitely opted for a suede that is more durable than it is buttery soft. If that is a good thing or a bad thing is up to you.

Inside, the boot is lined with a soft glove leather. Right behind the heel this lining is flipped to be rough out, to provide a bit of grip on your heel. This leather feels quality, and Padmore and Barnes thought ahead to have little cut outs around the tongue so that it still folds the way you would want.

Between these two pieces of hide, the toe is completely unstructured, but the back uses a very soft heel cap. I don’t mind the soft heel cap, but it does make it hard to tell what it is. Somewhere between a double layer of felt and a very thin clastic.

The bottom of the Padmore and Barnes P404 is all crepe rubber. Crepe rubber, if you didn’t know, is made by laying very thin layers of milk from a rubber tree over and over to build up to the shape of the sole you want. As you don’t need to cut down the tree, it’s considered one of the most sustainable ways to make an outsole.

Construction

Padmore and Barnes uses a moc-style construction for their P404. This means that the upper of the shoe is wrapped around the last from the bottom up, and the stitch along the top of the toe box holds the upper together.

This upper is then sewn to a thin sheet of crepe rubber using a blake stitch – or an internal stitch – between the bottom of the shoe and the rubber. That thin piece of rubber is then heated up and attached to the rest of the outsole.

This style of construction can be more expensive as the stitching along the toe box must be done by hand.

As for benefits, moc construction has very little in the way of internals. This allows the shoe to take the shape of your foot in a way that other construction methods simply can’t. Further, as the structural stitches are hidden entirely within rubber, there are very few ways for water to enter the boot from the bottom. That being said, these are suede uppers. If you’re walking in the rain the water will get in.

On the other hand, this style of construction can be more expensive. Also, there is less material to build up, the insole of moc style construction boots are almost always (but not 100% of the time) flat. If you need arch support, this pair is not for you.


Ease of Care

If you really want to take care of the Padmore and Barnes P404, you should follow standard suede boot care.

First, though optional, this means potentially treating it with water proof spray before wearing. This might cause a bit of loss in breathability, but I’ve never found it problematic.

Next, you’ll want to pick up a suede eraser and brush. A suede eraser will allow you to get out most stains in the suede, and the brush will do a great job in brining back the nep. You can’t erase a spot indefinitely as you are removing layers from the suede, but odds are really good that unless you’re walking through oil every day, the upper will still outlast the outsole.

Finally, you might want to consider keeping shoe trees in these. Personally, I’m not going to be doing so in my pair. They are casual enough that if they start to lose shape, I’d put it in the wabi-sabi, but they will stay fresher longer with them.

You don’t need anything fancy. Just get any pair of wooden shoe trees from amazon in the right size.


How Much does the Padmore and Barnes P404 Cost?

The Padmore and Barnes P404 costs $195 in the United States. This particular pair was bought from a retailer in Canada, however you can find a similar pair available at Franklin and Poe here. If you prefer the more classic tan color, they also have that.

If you’re looking for the shorter P204, you’ll save $6 and pay $189. Check out American Trench in the United States for those in either Black or Tan.

One thing Padmore and Barnes does really well is collaborations. In fact, there are more places that sell collaboration versions than the base model versions linked above. These come and go fairly quickly, so I can’t list them on a review that is intended to be as valuable today as it is in 2 years, but expect to pay anywhere from $10-70 more depending on the cache of the brand doing the collab.

The comparable Wallabee from Clarks comes in at a slightly more affordable price of $160, with the shorter version coming in at $10 less. These also have countless collaborations, and figure on adding $10-40 on top of the base price.

Clark’s Wallabee

If you want the real original, the Sioux “Grashopper” is still made in low top form. These will run you $130, but they do not ship to the U.S. and I’ve never seen a pair in person.

I can’t say if the Sioux are good or bad, but I do appreciate that they list developing a “typical greyish patina on the underside” as a feature.

Sioux Grashopper

Nobody else really makes a pair similar in design to these, so if you want this style you’re going to be picking from one of these brands.


Are the Padmore and Barnes P404 Worth It?

Again, I have to make one thing perfectly clear. If your brand’s entire marketing effort is around saying you made the original until Clarks outsourced it, and then you outsource production, it isn’t a good look. It’s OK to say you can’t make shoes in the middle of Ireland, just don’t pretend like you are.

With that out of the way, the Padmore and Barnes P404 is still worth a look. Every few years, the Clarks Wallabee drifts further and further from what people want. Features get dropped, crepe gets removed, it goes on. The bar for being a good Wallabee isn’t all that high, yet Clark’s seems determined to try and find ways to move away from it.

Thankfully, the Padmore and Barnes P404 does what it needs to do. The suede used fits a $200 shoe. The outsole is still all crepe. The build quality is nearly flaw-free. The reality is that if you want a quality pair of shoes that looks like this, the Wallabee isn’t just the right choice. It’s the only choice.

Still, that’s just my opinion. Let me know what you think below: if you had a bit less than $200 to spend on a Wallabee like shoe – are you going for the P404 or Clarks?

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