INVEST

The GJ Cleverley Riviera

The problem with most luxury casual shoes is that — much like a magnum of Clos du Mesnil, a tin of Almas, a pre-revolutionary Cuban, or the company of a Monaco-based courtesan — the pleasure is fleeting. You may have outlaid a stupendous sum, but before you know it the bottle’s run dry, the caviar’s consumed, the cigar’s turned to ash, and the fragrant Anastasia has disappeared into the night. Likewise, expensive casual footwear will often wear out within months of purchase.

George Cleverley’s supple yet remarkably robust, entirely British-made ‘Riviera’ slip-on, meanwhile, is anything but a short-lived luxury. “We wanted it to be the grown-up’s casual shoe, the connoisseur’s casual shoe,” says Cleverley’s Chief Executive, George Glasgow, Jr. It was vital, according to Glasgow, that even while making a poolside-friendly rubbersoled loafer, Cleverley would maintain the quality — and qualities — the house is renowned for: “We went and worked on what we felt remained within our brand DNA, and created something