Doek Ecru Canvas Tennis Sneakers

The Doek Oxford is as close as you'll find to the original tennis sneakers of the 1930s and '40s. Oxford here means the closed lacing, where the eyelet tabs are stitched under the vamp, the same construction as an oxford shoe.

They remind us of the white canvas shoes drawn by Laurence Fellows in his Esquire illustrations, worn on the court by players like Bill Tilden, the first American to win Wimbledon. The canvas is left undyed, so you see the fabric as it comes off the loom.

Made in Japan. The upper is a coarse 10oz canvas woven on an old-fashioned power loom in Chikugo, in Fukuoka Prefecture. On a loom like this a shuttle carries the weft thread back and forth across the warp, and the cloth that comes off it holds more air, which is where the soft, slightly fluffy surface comes from. The footbed is cork, breathable and it moulds to the foot with wear. The sole is vulcanised, a process built around careful handwork, and the shoe carries no logos.

• Made in Japan
• 10oz cotton canvas
• Cork footbed
• Vulcanised rubber sole