The Harlestone is our most popular Hand Stitch sneaker, and it now comes in the softest leather we have ever worked with. The upper sits over the same hidden structure used across the Unlined sneaker collection, an old technique we learnt from Haynes & Cann, a Northampton factory that closed its doors in 2010.
A good part of what we do here is keeping techniques like that one alive. Northampton has lost a lot over the years, and the work we put in to learn from what came before is one of the reasons we are still making shoes here at all.
The history of the Derby construction
The Derby pattern has been around for a long time. Records of similar open-laced shoes stretch back centuries, and the design hit its stride in the 19th century, when it became standard wear for gentlemen on sporting and hunting days. It is sometimes known as a Gibson, depending on where in the country you are.
The name itself is a contested point. One story credits the 12th century Earl of Derby, Robert de Ferrers. Another, told more often, points to a later Earl who had an Oxford shoe altered to fit his unusually wide feet, with the open lacing the only practical way to get the shoe on and off. The reworked version was different enough from the Oxford to earn a name of its own. Either way, the name has stuck.
Robert de Ferrers, the 12th century Earl of Derby, who some claim is the inspiration for the Derby shoe name.
A pair of Derby shoes from 1862 depicting the flexible open laced construction, that marks it out as different to the traditional close upper Oxford construction.
Derbys were often worn for sporting or hunting events and are somtimes referred to as a Gibson.
How Crown Northampton evolved the Derby
Crown Northampton premium sneakers sit between dress shoes and sports shoes. The design is minimal so that the craft can do the talking, from the finest tanneries we can find to the Northampton skills that turn the leather into a shoe. Hand stitched at the pressure points, hand bound to frame the upper. We take the time the work needs rather than the time the cost demands. We represent Northampton, and we want to do it proud.
The Derby is one of eleven base patterns from which most shoe designs descend, with the quarters sitting over the vamp and an open throat at the front. Our Harlestone Unlined brings a level of structure and longevity to the pattern that is new for unlined sneakers. The aim is the softest, most casual feel we can give you, while still holding the shape of your foot.
For wearers who want more support, we still make the standard Harlestone, lined and available in everything from soft suede to firm Horween Shell Cordovan.
How the Harlestone Unlined sneaker fits, and sizing for wider feet
The Derby has had hundreds of years to prove itself, and the design still earns its place. The open throat at the front gives the lacing real range, which means the shoe can be drawn in or eased out to suit the shape of your foot.
Lasts and patterns can be adjusted to most foot shapes on request, so we are not relying on the open throat alone. But where the open throat really earns its keep is on long flights, hot afternoons, and the kind of travel days where your feet are not the same size at the end as they were at the start. The Harlestone Unlined gives a little more, with or without socks. It is the pair we would pack.
If you already own a pair of standard Harlestones, we have adjusted the unlined patterns so they fit just as well. If we have your measurements on file, we will work to them. If not, the size in our guide is the place to start, and our in-factory customer service team is on hand if you want to talk it through. Once we have your fit, we can apply it to any style we make.
Crown Northampton Sizing Guide
Contact our in-factory customer service team
Horween Dearborn and the leather components in the Harlestone Unlined sneaker
Aniline vegetable tanned leather has a natural, raw appearance, and we like the individuality it brings to each pair. Changes in grain, growth marks, and small variations across the surface are part of what makes the leather what it is, rather than flaws to be hidden.
The surface is only half the story. Where each pattern is cut from within the skin matters just as much. Different areas of a hide carry different fibre structures, and we select carefully so that the leather in the upper and the leather supporting the structure are doing the right job in each part of the shoe.
Natural leather plays its part in the colour too. For vegetable tanned Dearborn, we offer a range of soft tones that will deepen and patina over years of wear.
Caring for your Harlestone Unlined
A Derby has more going on than a wholecut, with the quarters, the vamp, and the tongue stitched together. A horsehair brush worked into those seams, every now and again, keeps the leather looking clean and the stitching healthy. The open throat is the part that flexes most as the shoe goes on and off, so the leather around the lacing will patina before the rest of the upper does. That is part of the shoe finding its shape.
If the sneakers get wet, loosen the laces fully and let the inside breathe as the leather dries. Insert shoe trees in and once they are mostly dry, away from heat, brush down to finish.
Standard Dearborn care advice applies for the rest. A thin layer of neutral leather cream when the leather starts to look dry, applied sparingly and worked in with a soft cloth. Avoid anything heavy or wax based on Dearborn. And replace the laces when they go, which they will, in time.
Resoling is available through us, whenever the pair is ready for it.
How to wear a Derby sneaker, and where the Harlestone Unlined fits
The Harlestone began life as a dress sneaker, and one of the early examples of the category. It launched during the pandemic, when the formal shoes that once defined a working wardrobe were sitting in cupboards, and people were looking for something that could carry the same intent in a softer form. Five years on, the Harlestone is still doing that job, and the Unlined version takes it a step further.
Derbys have always sat between dress and casual, which is part of why they have lasted. With the Harlestone Unlined, you can wear them with tailored trousers and a shirt for an evening out, or with denim and a jumper for the rest of the time. Darker colours lean toward the dress side, lighter ones toward the casual.
The Harlestone Derby, equally wearable paired with tailored trousers or more casual denim. In shot is the Harlestone Derby in Horween No 8 Cordovan.
With or without socks. The unlined build is forgiving either way, and the open throat means the shoe can adjust to bare feet on a warm day or thicker socks on a cold one.
When we introduced the Hand Stitch Collection in 2021, the Harlestone led the way. Five years on, it has earned its place across thousands of wardrobes, and the unlined version is the next chapter. This is the third blog in our series on the Unlined Collection, with the Abbey Unlined to come. All four sneakers are available now, made to order in Northampton. We look forward to making yours.
Blog: Introducing the New Hand Stitch Sneaker Collection (2021)
