For those who continue their shoe journey into finer footwear, many eventually end up with lasted shoe trees, usually for RTW shoes but perhaps later on also for MTM or bespoke shoes. An image many have is that lasted shoe trees should completely fill out the shoes so that there’s no space whatsoever, and think that something is wrong when this isn’t the case. Fear not, this is normal, here I explain why.
The key to all this is to understand how leather works, in conjunction with being pulled over and shaped on a shoe last. Usually, shoe uppers are lasted moist, which relaxes the leather’s fibres and makes it easier to stretch. It’s then pulled onto the last, basically the shape of the shoe normally made of plastic or if bespoke often of wood, either with machines or by hand with pliers. Both versions do the same thing though, to have that unshaped leather take on the shape of the last, and for this to happen one have to stretch it relatively hard. Especially in concave areas, like over the vamp, this has to be done properly (which is why high boots with an even longer concave vamp one usually block / crimp this part first, which is pre-shaping it to a concave shape). But of course you can’t stretch too hard, much depend on the leather’s tensile strength and how much stretch affects its structure, you have to have the right balance. Lasting machines have different settings for different leathers, and when lasted by hand an experienced maker can judge the right amount of pressure needed and execute this perfectly.
Gaziano & Girling shoes with shoe trees made by legendary last and shoe tree maker Hervé Brunelle. Picture: Gaziano & Girling
Then, when the leather has fully taken on the shape of the last (which don’t have to be more than a week or so, not more than that despite what some like you to believe, as I’ve written more about in this article here), the last is taken out of the shoe. Here, quite a lot will happen, due to the nature of leather. If you look at a shoe still with the last in, it will look a tad bit wider and if it has chiseled sides etc. a tad bit sharper. The leather will shrink together a tiny bit, sort of relax, and actually do loose a bit of the shape that it had on the last. This is counted for by the maker, everyone shapes the last with the final look after it is removed in mind, not how the shoe looks during production.
Among RTW shoes it’s mainly higher end brands that offers lasted shoe trees. TLB Mallorca is an exception in the midrange segment, who has lasted shoe trees for all their Artista lasts. Picture: TLB Mallorca
At this stake, it’s of course possible to insert the lasts again, to have it fully retain it’s “original” shape, but, a huge amount of work is needed, one use powder inside the shoe to reduce friction, and often leather would be moistened again for the fibres to once again relax. Imagine doing all that every time you are to insert a shoe tree, it would be a nightmare. Hence, a lasted shoe tree shouldn’t be an actual copy of the last, it always is bit smaller to make it work. Exactly how much in what way is a science in itself, that’s why the best shoe tree makers for bespoke shoes always have the actual shoes with them and work a lot on how to get the fit just right, some even with the shoes having been worn for a while and broken in. If it would have been just to copy the lasts, cut them in half and attach hinges, it would have been super easy to make lasted shoe trees.
So, since the shoe trees are supposed to be relatively easy to insert and take out (even if lasted trees often are a bit more complicated than generic ones, due to being more tight), you will end up with a small bit of excess space especially in concave areas like at the vamp just where the lacing starts. On lasted shoe trees for RTW, with all the slight differences in how various leather reacts on things, there will normally be even more so (especially since you usually only have full sizes in shoe trees so if you’re a half size you haven’t the exact right one), but this does not mean that they fit badly. They still do their job well, and do it even better than generic shoe trees, to straighten the sole and bring back the original shape of the shoe to smoothen out creases, which provides the best conditions for a good looking and long lasting pair of shoes.
Japanese “Shoe tree works” makes the trees for Main d’Or’s bespoke shoes, who have an excellent fit. Some space on top of the vamp, as expected, but just the right balance of a tight fit still no problems to get in and out. Top picture: Skomaker Dagestad
Hey it would be cool to know how actual bespoke shoe trees are made. Not the hand carving but how they decide the measures. Do they measure the last and make it smaller? I don’t think they do it that way though. If they don’t measure the feet nor the last how do they do it?
Fernando: Yeah of course they use the lasts as a base, the basic version is to just copy this shape and deduct some material, and that’s it. It’s the most common way done, where the lasts are sent to the shoe tree maker and they never have the actual shoes. For those who have the shoes with them the basics are the same, but the procedure when taking material off is more carefully done with lots of testing during the process. To summarise and generalise.
Thank you for explaining. I asked because i think G&G make you use the shoe a little bit before making the actual lasts so the shoe has morphed a little bit
Fernando: Yeah, it’s G&G and a couple of others I was referring to when mention this above.
I know that some shoe makers have a last for making the shoes, and provide a last to make the shoe tree – a separate late that is. have you come across this?
Peter: Not sure what you mean here? To copy the last and have the copy made into a shoe tree is common, if that’s what you mean. If you talk about having one pair of lasts for the shoes, one pair of lasts sent to the shoe tree maker who copy this into the shoe trees, it wouldn’t make sense to me, would both be unpractical and more expensive. Maybe for someone like Fukuda who have shoe trees made in the UK, but still.
Great read Jesper. I don’t have any bespoke shoes, but rather some mid range, high end and semi bespoke MTMs. I’ve noticed some trees excruciatingly difficult to get in and out, particularly with a couple of Italian makers. Is that a thing for the school of shoemaking in Italy or just a coincidence. Also, can you damage a shoe by using a non lasted tree?
Ahmad Hazem: Thanks! Nothing I noticed on the few MTM etc Italians I’ve had. Often many makers use the same shoe tree company, for example Springline for most of the British (and many others), in China there’s one shoe tree company that almost all high-end brands use, etc, so could be that there is one used by many Italians who tend to do the trees on the large side.
Hi Jasper,
Google to understand more about lasted shoe tree and find this informative blog post :), I have few questions would seek for your advice.
From what I understand, Last is normally bigger than shoe and shoe is bigger than the lasted shoe tree, how about the feet? I believe it should be slightly smaller than the shoe so we can wear the shoe comfortably, right? In this case, the last is not a full replicate of the feet since it is bigger?
Also will all of them (last, shoe, feet, lasted shoe tree) share similar shape or have some notable differences? Appreciate if you have some pics about this. Many thanks and wish you a good day.
Joe: That’s why shoes are tricky 🙂 To sort of summarise:
– The last is bigger than the inside of the shoe, since the leather will contract a bit when the last is removed. The last also have sharper shapes than the shoe, since the leather inevitably will loose some shape when the last is removed.
– Feet are in most cases bigger than the shoe (now we talk width, not length), almost everyone has a certain amount of “under measurement”. In general, the fleshier the foot the more it can be compressed and the less sensitive it is. Thin, bony feet have less that can be compressed and are often more sensitive, these can sometimes have very similar measurement to the lasts at least in some areas, but usually some under measurement as well. If you have a shoe that is larger than the foot, you will inevitable slide around in it. Feet have to be held in place.
– No last is a full replicate of the foot, one always add various shapes to it especially towards the toe area. Otherwise, all bespoke shoes would look identical in shape (apart from the toe box) and this is certainly not the case, one can do things differently in many regards and still achieve good fitting shoes for the same feet, there’s never just one solution to make a shoe that fits.
Thanks Jasper for the detailed reply! I have learnt a lot from this 🙂