Craft & Glory Derby Review | New England Style, Indian Craftsmanship

In this review we will thoroughly examine the Indian leather goods manufacturer Craft and Glory’s Task shoes in the Saddle Tan color. We will cover some basics, such as the shoes’ construction, sizing, and price, as well as how to style them. I’ll tell you what I like about the shoes as well as what I don’t like in order to provide the most thorough and unbiased review possible. 

My name is Jason (find me on Instagram @professorsartorial) and I’m a history professor in North Carolina. I would describe my style as “country academic”: I like to wear tweed jackets, oxford cloth button down shirts, and chinos. Derbies are a perfect match for this aesthetic (I’ll explain why below), so I am always on the lookout for a good pair of derbies to complete my outfits. 

But first, before venturing deeper into the specifics, here is a quick rundown of the pros and cons of these shoes as I see them:

Pros and Cons

Here’s a quick summary of the many things I liked and the one thing that kind of ruined these shoes for me.

Pros

• Great value compared to other welted shoes
• Premium construction: these shoes are hand welted (more on this below), a labor intensive process that produces long-lasting and durable shoes
• Aesthetically pleasing: they have a rich burgundy brown color, beautiful stitching, a round toe, and a lug sole. They can dress up to business casual or do well in a more rugged look

Cons

• Sizing can be tricky: Not only are they sized in UK and EU sizes, their sizing recommendations don’t correspond to my usual sizes in these systems. I sent them my foot measurements and they sent me a smaller size than I would usually order.
• They also are only available in regular width, no narrow or wide widths available.
• Leather choices: Only available in a chromey Indian buffalo hide — I love it, but none of your favorite name-brand leathers are here.

Who are Craft and Glory?

Craft and Glory are a leather goods manufacturer in India (specifically in Gurgaon, near Delhi). They got their start in 2017 making leather bags and after a few years of operation started making shoes and boots. The brand identity could be approximated as an Indian Filson: lots of waxed canvas, leather, and old fashioned durability.

Their core offerings are buffalo leather boots and shoes, many of which are inspired by classic workwear styles beloved by American boot enthusiasts: moc toes, engineers, monkey boots, and loggers. Their shoes lean similarly rugged, with an emphasis on derbies and boat shoes; even their loafers and oxfords are outdoorsy.

While described as Goodyear welted, all of their shoes and boots are hand welted, which requires more skill and delivers superior durability. The footwear is also made to order, but with a very short lead time of about two and a half weeks before shipping.

Derbies vs Oxfords

For those wondering what the Task shoe’s “derby” designation means, it refers to a shoe with laces that close over the upper. Derbies are usually contrasted with the more formal Oxford shoe, which has a closed lacing system: the eyelet tabs are sewn underneath the vamp of the shoe.

Derbies are more casual but the open lacing makes it easier to adjust the fit. You could come up with a sleek derby in black boxcalf that would look fine with a suit and tie, but the derby is ideal for casual to business casual looks, especially if it happens to have a toe as round as the Task shoe.

Derbies are a good substitution for loafers and as a history professor, I enjoy wearing derbies with classic Ivy looks: oxford cloth button downs, chinos, and sport jackets made of tweed or camel hair.

Craft and Glory’s Task Shoes: The Aesthetic

My first impression right out of the box was that these shoes are well made and built to last a long time. Picking them up I could see that these shoes are built like tanks: heavy, sturdy, and built to withstand all kinds of weather and conditions. It’s a boot in a shoe, a kind of footwear that a lot of guys might not know is a possibility.

The Task shoe has a plain rounded toe, leather stacked heel, and lug soles. The stitching is white and makes for a nice contrast with the Saddle Tan color (I would compare it to a British tan, kind of burgundy-brown). These shoes would work just as well with chinos and a sport coat as they would with jeans and a t-shirt, making them nice and versatile for a few different looks or occasions.

The Sole

Let’s start with one of my favorite features of these shoes: the rubber lug sole. I live in a pretty rural area in the mountains, which is subject to all kinds of weather, like heavy rain, snow, and ice. The lug sole has come in handy many times in muddy and slippery conditions. (Yes, even though these aren’t boots!)

Beyond the utility of the lug soles, I just like the way they look: they broadcast the shoe’s reliable ruggedness and spice up a business casual look just a touch.

The Leather

Then there’s the leather: full grain water buffalo leather that has been hot stuffed with waxes and oils to make a material that’s hardwearing, water resistant, and requires little care. Despite all the hot stuffing, I wouldn’t say the leather has a pull up quality that gives the color a two-tone appearance.

It’s also aniline dyed, which means the dye penetrates the leather without leaving a surface film. In other words, it leaves the natural grain and imperfections visible in the leather. Again, not ideal for a dress shoe, but it’s great on this model. 

Why buffalo leather? The brand’s owner Rohit told me that it’s harder wearing than cowhide. It’s also worth noting that this is an Indian brand that sells in a country where a significant percentage of customers would avoid leather made from cows.

Whatever the reason, I have no complaints about the leather. The tannery is a mystery, but Rohit told me it has a Gold rating from the Leather Working Group — a certification worth looking for in Indian leather.

How Are Craft and Glory Shoes Made?

Craft and Glory advertises their boots and shoes as “Goodyear welted,” a way of attaching the upper, insole, and outsole of the shoe together using a strip of leather (usually it’s leather) called a welt. Goodyear welting is the most popular way to make a shoe resoleable and long-lasting.

Interestingly, when Stridewise editor Nick visited their workshop in India, he learned they’re actually hand welted. The Goodyear welt machine was invented in the 1860s to replace hand welting, which is a much more laborious process. Fortunately, hand welting is generally considered more durable.

This is an instance of a product actually being more skillfully made and high quality than it’s advertised! I assume it’s marketed as Goodyear welted because it’s a more recognizable term and because the final product is indistinguishable to the average person. But know this: the Task shoes are even better than advertised.

The Price

At $173 these shoes are a steal. Other hand welted shoes from Europe and the United States will run many hundreds of dollars more than these, largely due to the fact that labor in India is much cheaper than in Europe and North America.

At the time of writing, it’s unclear if new tariffs will make a significant difference to this price for Americans.

Sizing Craft and Glory

• They use UK sizing
• I’m usually 10.5 in UK sizing, they recommended a 9UK
• I got used to it, but would have preferred 9.5 UK

The sizing for Craft and Glory can be a bit tricky. I sent them my foot measurements, and they sent me a UK size 9/Euro size 43. This is quite a bit smaller than I would normally wear, as I’m usually a US 12 in sneakers, 11.5 in boots, a UK 10 and Euro 44. 

At first, they felt pretty tight, especially in the toe box. Nevertheless, as I wore them in this became less of an issue, as the shoes were pretty easy to break in. Once I got used to a tighter toe box than I was accustomed to, the shoes fit pretty well — but I do always have to wear them with thinner socks.

My advice is to measure your feet and check their size charts. Craft and Glory also has very responsive customer service, so it doesn’t hurt to ask if you are unsure of your sizing. If you do end up with shoes that don’t quite fit right, Craft and Glory will exchange your shoes but not offer a refund. This is something to be aware of, as it may take some time to ship your shoes back to India to have them exchanged for a different size.

Also note that Craft and Glory’s shoes only come in regular width (“D” width) and not wide or narrow. If you have wider feet you may want to size up a little to make up the difference. 

What I Didn’t Like About Craft & Glory’s Derbies

I’ve said a lot of good things about these shoes so far, and there are many things I genuinely like about them, but there was one problem that I found difficult to overcome — until I went ahead and reached out to the brand, who offered me a solution that I couldn’t find in months of trying to fix it.

The problem was that the shoes squeaked very loudly. At first I thought that all the shoes needed was some breaking in and the squeak would go away, but I wore them regularly for six months and the squeak remained. Everyone, and I mean everyone, could hear me coming.

I was worried I’d need to get them resoled to fix something deep in the construction (like Stridewise writer Troy had to do with his White’s boots) but when I actually asked their customer service for help, they told me:

A squeak is usually due to rubbing of vegetable tanned insole with vegetable tanned sock liner. It’s the sound of two layers of leather rubbing against each other. This can be fixed by the customer: if you either sand the bottom side of the sock liner with sandpaper or simply oil it, the squeak goes away.

Fortunately, the insole isn’t glued on, so I was able to immediately put his theory to the test: I took out the insole, applied some mink oil, and the squeak was gone. I could have saved myself months of embarrassment if I’d just asked them for some advice! Take this as evidence of their great customer service. (And they made sure to note that this only happens to one shoe out of every “two thousand pairs crafted.”)

Conclusion

Craft and Glory’s Task shoes are a unique derby style shoe that would look good in a variety of outfits ranging from business casual to workwear inspired casual. The rubber lug sole gives them an interesting rugged character. The leather is buffalo hide tanned in India that was easy to break in and has a lot of character.

The main problems are that sizing is tricky and returns are tough.

But they’re made with such extraordinarily skillful techniques that would cost hundreds of dollars more if they were made in the USA, EU, or UK. I definitely think they’re worth the price, even if you can’t get your favorite calfskin suede.