Monge shoes are not only created from leather. As well as the best of this material, crafted by the expertise of our artisans on the island of Mallorca, there are fabrics ideal for making the highest quality footwear, such as manufacturing boots with the original Harris Tweed, shipped in from legendary Scottish islands. Would you like to know a little more about this mythical cloth?
Its name on its own arouses our curiosity. The case is that Harris, though it may seem the name of an English lord, actually refers to the southern part of one of the Eastern Outer Hebrides Isles in Scotland, known as Lewis and Harris. It is to here we must travel to find the original hand-woven tweed fabric. We all know the British Isles have long exported elegance all over the world, and the other nations were only to keen to incorporate this style.
Woven in wool and with a coarse (though today it can be soft) aspect, tweed is a cloth of the highest quality, warm and resistant. To be entitled to bear the Harris label of quality it must have been woven in one of these specific areas: Lewis, Harris, Uist or Barra, and from wool from sheep from one of these places. This is the guarantee that the product is the luxurious wool originally called in Gaelic Clo Mhor, “the grand fabric”. The particularity of Harris Tweed is its singular weave, in the form of a thorn, achieved by joining and twisting various different collared threads of wool together. This creates a most varied cloth, suitable for many things and, what is more, fun looking.
Its origins stretch far back. In years gone by it was used for coats to protect the islanders from the cold and rain, the merciless weather of these Highland Isles. But if anyone should be thanked for its use today it Lady Catherine Herbert, who saw the true potential of this high quality fabric. In the middle of the nineteenth century she started to promote what is now a modern fabric as the ideal material for hunting and the practice of outdoor sports, as was becoming the habit among her circle of friends. Soon it caught on as the favourite of the English and Scottish nobles and aristocracy, even attracting the favour of Queen Victoria’s circle. And up to the present day its fame has strengthened. It is impossible not to take advantage of such a dignified fabric to create the highest quality garments, accessories and shoes.
Always fans of artisans’ craftsmanship, at Monge we could not resist the temptation to create top notch quality, resistant and warm winter boots, drawing on the prestige of Harris. The best of the Majorcan and Scottish craftsmen, and their work, have been merged together in the Chuck boots. They have personality: sturdy shiny black leather boots, the upper part in exquisite Harris Tweed wool. Now while winter is its most severe, it is the time to stand up: make a determined step in boots not daunted by the cold.
Picture courtesy of A Hume Country Clothing, http://www.ahume.co.uk/Tweed-Jackets/c-1-226/)
