July 16, 2019
A pretty cool project recently went underway between a bespoke shoemaker and a wooden inlayer in the heart of Florence, Italy. For a presentation at the latest Pitti Uomo, they created three samples of shoes, one being a normal, leather brogue, another being made the same but in special cuts of wood (the middle, brown one) and one is in white paper (looks like paper mache). The shoemaker is called Orma Shoemaker (Wataru Shimamoto), trained […]
June 5, 2019
For those of you that haven’t heard of him, there is a new bespoke shoemaker in town (of course, when I say new, I don’t mean literally) that is of French origin but set up with operations in Dubai. And his name is Morgan Papin. I don’t recall how I came across him. For sure on Instagram. But what got me was the shoe above. We all know that I am a huge sucker for […]
April 25, 2019
Plain and simple. If you bought them from a department store they are not handmade. If you bought them from a large shoemaker that produces more than 20,000 a year, they are not Handmade. If they cost less than $1500 they are definitely not Handmade. And of course there are exceptions like Vass, but I am talking to the majority of you that don’t own Vass, bought your ‘Italian’ shoes from a shop where the […]
December 27, 2018
There is a new outfit in town and when I say ‘town’ I mean Milan, Italy. You might see the boot above very reminiscent of Riccardo Bestetti’s gladiator pattern and well that is because Calzoleria Oscura is comprised of the makers that used to work for Riccardo himself before his passing. Deciding to move on, the new company went out and started their own venture taking with them what they learned from the late, great […]
July 3, 2018
We now live in a world with few words, thanks to the latest social media. So in honor of that, I will leave you with a bunch of pictures and little text. I hope that you all enjoy! Justin, ‘The Shoe Snob’
May 30, 2018
I have been following Enrile (Antonio Enrile) for a few years now and have been impressed with his progression as a bespoke shoemaker, hailing out of Seville, Spain. His designs were always intriguing but at first, I was not crazy about the last shapes, all too often being very bulbous. But nonetheless, there was potential for greatness through the perseverance of trade and cool designs. Today, Enrile has shown me his best piece of work […]
May 1, 2018
While having no real proof of this next statement, I can confidently say that now more than ever is a time for aspiring shoemakers. And I believe that global communication i.e. the internet has been the key factor to making this phenomenon grow so vast in the last 10 years. You wouldn’t believe how many people have written me saying that they want to get into bespoke shoemaking and look to me for advice on […]
March 20, 2018
For those of you a fan of the Austro-Hungarian style of shoemaking you will be pleased to know that one shop in South Korea, named Shoes Fever, has started carrying Maftei Ready to Wear shoes. In a world of cell phones and laptops and free worldwide shipping (for companies that can afford to offer that), one no longer has to take a trip to Vienna to acquire a pair of shoes from the famous Austrian/Romanian […]
February 19, 2018
The webshop The Sabot offer a wide variety of shoes that are very unique to their shop. Their own Private Label range made by Antonio Meccariello are Goodyear welted, have closed channeled soles and a slim bevelled waist, and overall very high attention to detail of the finish for a pair of shoes starting at about £434/€495 (4,800 SEK). They also have Antonio Meccariello’s own range, the Argentum Dux, made to a higher standard with a Goodyear technique […]
February 2, 2018
It’s always great to see creativity at work and to see what people are coming up with, in this ever-changing world of shoes. One of the latest and greatest to arrive to the industry is Norman Vilalta’s new completely handmade shoe collection, the ‘1202 Heritage.’ Fusing his bespoke shoemaking background with a semi Ready Made product for you to buy at the drop of a dime is Norman’s latest idea to give people the best of […]
