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The fact that leather shoes stretch is something that most people learn when they are children. In what way and how much they stretch, however, is another matter, and not something for which there is a fixed formula. There are lots of different aspects that affect how much or how little a shoe stretches, here I go through some of them.
To judge leather quality is a science of its own, and many times people confuse leather quality with specific properties of various types of leather. Here’s an ambition to pin out what the differences are between the two terms, to help give you and idea of when you have shoes with lesser quality leather and when you have shoes that just has a property that you mistake for bad quality.
For the first, and perhaps the last time, I’m hereby presenting the highly prestigious Shoegazing Bespoke Awards, where me, myself and I have decided which bespoke shoemakers I think deserves to be awarded in four different categories: Creativity, Finishing, Patterns and Highest Minimum Level.
Today it’s increasingly common with sanding down leather, mainly to remove cracks, but sometimes also only to smoothen out creases or to remove dye before doing patina. However, when removing the top layer of the grain surface, the leather becomes more sensitive, which one need to be aware of. Here’s pictures and a film to prove the case, and a bunch of leather knowledge as a bonus.
Shell cordovan is a loved material by many, with its special characteristics and durability. However, there’s a few downsides of cordovan that some might not know about, which can be good to be aware of if you are an aspiring cordovan shoe buyer.
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It is easy to think that all shoe models made on one and the same last will always fit the same. It doesn’t necessarily have to be true, since the model’s pattern can affect how the shoes fit on the foot.
Every manufacturer of quality shoes has their versions of the classic models – plain cap toe oxford, semi brogues, adelaides, and so on – but also when someone launches a slightly different design you will soon see more or less copies of these from other manufacturers. Here is the explanation for why it is this way.
One difficulty that the growing online retailing of shoes poses for both stores and customers is the rendering of the colour of the shoes. The shade of leather, if not black, can vary greatly depending on light and situation, and can also differ between hides and batches.
Just as the way people look varies around the world, people’s feet also are different depending on where you come from. Here a large review of feet shapes around the world.
40 dark brown full brogue oxfords, made by shoemakers from all over the world. Here’s a substantial review of all the competition shoes that entered the World Championships in Shoemaking 2019. Info, comments, pictures of the shoes and in some cases also the manufacturing process.
