If you are like me and you wear a lot of leather footwear, you use a shoe horn every day. Otherwise getting into your boots can be a giant pain. The way I see it, buying a well made shoe horn is a smart move, even if it costs you a few bucks. It is an especially good investment when you consider a well made device will probably last you a lifetime. Abbeyhorn of Carnforth, England has been making fine shoe horns using time-tested methods since 1749 and the company has become known as the gold standard of shoe horn makers. Any product that has been made in the same manner since 27 years before America was even founded can’t be too bad, now can it.

Being someone that likes to see how things are manufactured, I managed to find the above video from the Abbeyhorn factory showing how these fine shoe horns are made. In the video you can see Oxen horns be transformed into the most handsome of instruments. It is an amazing thing to watch, even if you can’t understand a word of what is being said during the process.

There are a few ways to get your hands on some of these beautiful shoe horns. Submit a catalog request and order direct from England the old fashion way, or if you are in New York City you can head over to Leffot and get them straight away. Even if you aren’t in town, I’m sure Steven at Leffot will be happy to help you over email or the phone.

[Abbeyhorn Official Link] [Abbeyhorn at Leffot]

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Recently I have been sort of enamored by the British brand Toast. To be honest I wasn’t too familiar with the company, but the more I look at it the more I like what I see. I especially enjoyed this orange anorak jacket which I am seriously considering buying. I also am fond of the variety of accessories that Toast has done for fall. The wonderful wool blankets from Canadian maker MacAusland’s Woolen Mills, the flannel “hottie” covers, the Dietz storm lanterns, the chunky knit socks and the awesome glassware (like the bedside flask that is pictured below). Granted the brand is mostly womens and I don’t know if a guy should be wandering around town with a flannel-covered hot water bottle, but I appreciate the aesthetic. That or I am just a sucker for an orange anorak. [Toast]

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If you aren’t up on the house of E. Tautz and the man behind the collection Mr. Patrick Grant, you are missing out. I first wrote about the resurrection of the label in January of 2009 and am delighted to see the line available in the U.S. for the first time at Barneys.

A few months ago Patrick held a trunk show in New York which gave me a chance to touch and feel the fall collection in person. I can attest to the amazing quality of make and material. Being one who appreciates craft (not to mention English tailoring) I enjoy the emphasis that Tautz has put on the range being sourced and sewn in Britain. Accordingly, the tailored clothing is done by the same craftsman that make the bespoke goods at Norton & Sons (Tautz’s mother label).

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Hobbies included: drinking, cigar smoking, bricklaying and painting. Sir Winston = a true gentleman.

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All stainless steel made in Sheffield, England. Labour and Wait (one of my all time favorite stores and early ACL material) sells them, or  you can get one direct from the manufacturer via their website. These knives are classic. Equal parts function and weapon. If you made a close inspection of The William Brown Project site, you would have noticed he saw them in London.

I suspect New York City police will not take kindly to their presence, but I suppose that just makes carrying one more fun. Same goes for the TSA, and no one wants to be on the full-body-cavity-search-list. [Update: British Military Knife $32 via Garrett Wade Thanks Tom]

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One of my favorite things to do is to poke around the photo site Flickr. There are so many amazing old photographs there — down the rabbit hole I go. A wonderful new addition to the community is the UK’s National Archive. They are just getting started and only have about 200+ photos uploaded so far, but there is already some really great stuff in there. I pulled out a selection of favorites for your enjoyment and posted them below. If you are seeking nostalgia and inspiration, click on over. [National Archives UK on Flickr]

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A series of color film clips fromClaude Friese-Greene’s The Open Road via the BFI National Archive. These clips are not actually real color, they are black and white films that have been colorized in a process called Bicolour. (More information about Bicolour from Wikipedia.) Real or fake, these little clips are interesting to watch, to see what life was like back in those days. I specifically like the third video of Oban, Scotland.

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If you haven’t been to the Barbour archives (don’t feel bad, I haven’t either) you might be unfamiliar with the Ursula Suit story. The Ursula suit is a coveted British WWII artifact made expressly for Lieutenant Commander George Phillips (pictured above c.1939) and the crew of the submarine HMS Ursula. Mr. Phillips was unhappy with water stopping ability of the issued Navy kit, so he took matters into his own hands and commissioned Barbour to make what would become the famous (and standard issue) Ursula Suit.

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