Leather Shoes
It's amazing to think that it only took a few thousand years for shoes to evolve from rugged straw sandals to polished Christian Louboutin heels. But even though we may take shoes for granted nowadays, with such a large variety available at stores and online, a lot of work still goes into crafting them. The standard material for quality shoes is still leather, mainly because nothing else is as easy to mold, shape and maintain. With that in mind, we've decided to suss out a few of the craftsmen who are keeping the art alive.
Bespoke Shoes
Even though most moderately priced shoes are made in factories these days, there are still a few shoemakers doing it the old fashioned way. Preeminent among these is George Cleverley, the legendary British bespoke shoemaker that set the standard for luxury footwear. The Bond Street shop also uses its high quality leathers to craft briefcases, belts and other accessories, but it's their shoes that have earned them their formidable reputation. When you have a pair of shoes custom made, your feet are measured via an intricate, time consuming procedure, and a permanent last is made that can be used as a reference for future pairs of shoes. This means that the first pair costs a great deal more than subsequent pairs (an initial bespoke order at George Cleverley runs 2,100 pounds), but if you're considering custom made shoes, money is probably not too much of an issue.
Libraries of shoe lasts are the trademark of a good bespoke shoemaker, and the legendary ones keep famous feet on file for posterity, making their archives something of a museum. Perhaps the most famous collection belonged to Salvatore Ferragamo. According to the Telegraph, "There is something very intimate about feet: the wooden lasts from which the shoes were made show exactly the size and shape of the stars' feet. Mary Pickford had little feet, though not quite so tiny as those of Anita Loos; Ingrid Bergman's feet were rather flat." Ferragamo, whose famous clients included Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth and various European royals, made a science out of shoemaking, studying anatomy to create the perfect footwear. He also kept copies of every shoe he made, which came in handy when a museum dedicated to his creations opened in Florence in 2006.
Shoe Repair
With proper care, a well crafted pair of leather shoes can last a lifetime. A good bespoke shoemaker will provide comprehensive repair services to maintain the shoes they so carefully made, but for your average pair of expensive leather shoes, you'll have to seek out your own repair shop. In New York City, shops like B. Nelson Shoe Corp and Cesar's Shoe Repair are keeping the art of shoe repair alive with their dedication to skillful craftsmanship and attention to detail. A proper resoling, for instance, involves nearly reconstructing the entire shoe from top to bottom, which means that a repairman has to be as skilled as the original designer. Although repairs may run upward of $100, in the end it can save you thousands on new shoes. Repair shops like the ones mentioned are also excellent resources for ladies with expensive handbags that they would rather not toss due to a simple broken strap or torn seam. For that matter, a pair of Manolo Blahniks needs a bit of resuscitation every now and again.
So the next time you're considering spending 30 bucks on generic footwear you doubt will last into the next season, consider the value of investing in a really good pair of leather shoes. You may never set (a well-clad) foot in a Payless again.