Have your leather dress shoes become comfortable after wearing them for a long period time and you would like to recreate that same exact fit before the leather starts to crack?

After you have broken in  your leather shoes through regular wear, they become an extremely precise negative mold of your feet. Our reverse engineering process is able to recreate the exact interior dimensions of your shoes, so that every pair of shoes you buy going forward will fit you as well as the last pair of shoes you owned. 

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If your first pair of shoes don't fit you exactly the way you want, we’ll remake them—free of charge

FULL CUSTOM CONSTRUCTION

Our shoes are custom made from scratch from a pair of bespoke shoe lasts carved using your foot dimensions and fitting preferences so you are able to experience a true custom fit as well as having an unlimited range of design options. We never make adjustments to numbered stock lasts. Every set of lasts are individually created specifically for each client. 

PRICING

Our custom shoes and boots are priced at $770 and $870 per pair respectively. These prices include the custom carving of a set of bespoke lasts that are stored at our warehouse in Italy and can be reused for future orders.

BESPOKE SHOE LASTS

A shoe last is the block of wood in the shape of a shoe on which the leather is stretched to craft the shoe. “Made-to-measure” shoemakers will use a stock shoe last and make slight modifications to try and match the shape and measurements of your feet. This is not true custom. A true custom bespoke last is made from scratch. At Bondeno, we sculpt and carve the left and right lasts from scratch using the interior dimensions of your left and right shoes. Carving a set of lasts with a beautiful toe shape that also provides the right fit is the standard of excellence our last makers in Italy have delivered for over 3 generations.

CUSTOM TOE SHAPES

When it comes to toe shapes, we offer the classic round and the classic square, or the client may commission a completely new toe shape.

CUSTOM TOE-SPRING ANGLE

Toe spring is the elevation of your shoe's toe box above the ground or supporting surface. The traditional toe spring standard for dress shoes is 10 degrees but we can customize this angle to accommodate your specific needs and preferences.

FREE LIFETIME LAST ADJUSTMENT PROGRAM

Our feet get wider and our arches begin to slowly fall as we age. We offer free adjustments to your personal lasts every time you place a new order with us so that each new pair of shoes fit you as well as the last.

RECREATE A SHOE STYLE

During the customization process for the upper of the shoe, the client may choose one of our house styles, have us replicate a design, or commission an entire new design, within the oxford, loafer, derby, monk strap, and boot categories. The final pattern selected by the client will be custom designed using the client's custom carved lasts.

LEATHERS & SKINS

For our shoes made in calf leather, we use "Sicalf", a 1.6 mm A-Grade full-grain calfskin produced by Tanneries du Puy, stablished in 1946 in the South of France, and currently owned by the Hermès Group. We chose Sicalf for its suppleness, durability, and overall quality, not to mention that it is also one of the most expensive calf hides available for sale on the open market. Sicalf and suede come standard with our starting price of $770 for shoes and $870 for boots. We also offer a range of exotic leathers upon request. Please contact us for more information.

SOLID COLORS & HAND-PAINTED PATINAS

Other than black, we offer a range of solid colors in different shades of brown, oxblood, and tan. For hand-painted patinas, other than the colors on display from our house collection, we are able to replicate any color commissioned by the client.

SOLE CONSTRUCTIONS

In terms of sole constructions, we offer a single leather Blake construction known for its thin profile, weightlessness, and flexibility. A double leather Blake Rapid construction known for its thicker profile, durability and waterproofness. A full Vibram rubber Blake Rapid construction known for its flexibility and water resistance, and a Goodyear welted leather sole, known for its cork filled foot-bed that molds to your feet overtime and is also the most waterproof leather sole with a double stitched out-sole.

HEEL HEIGHT

A standard heel for a pair of classic dress shoes is around 1 inch in height, depending on the size of the shoe, but you are given the option to commission taller or shorter heel according to your personal preferences.

INTERIOR HEEL CUSHIONING

We use a high density memory foam heel piece that never goes flat and provides the most comfortable cushioning of all heel pieces we have come across over the years. This feature comes standard in all of our shoes.

CARVING OF THE LAST

Our master last makers in Italy will carve a set of lasts using the exact dimensions of the interior of the client’s most comfortable pair of shoes or boots through our reverse engineering process. Carving a set of lasts when using the client’s measurements is 50% art & 50% science because getting the client's measurements just right is only the beginning. A beautiful pair of shoes is determined by the shape of the lasts, complimenting the client's unique foot shape, body height and weight.

PLANNING

The design of our shoes are sometimes born of the wishes and specific needs of the client. The design is enhanced with personalization, which starts with the planning and shaping phases.

CUTTING

The cutting of the leather that creates the vamp is done exclusively by hand, to ensure that only the best leather is chosen for a specific model.

CONNECTING

Each pair of our vamps is crafted from beginning to end by a single artisan. This guarantees a precise and accurate semi-finished product, perfect in the smallest details, whether it is visible or not.

ASSEMBLING

The shoe takes shape in this stage. This is done mostly by hand, with pliers, hammer and nails, just like the handmade tradition demands. The machinery helps the artisans somewhat. It can’t however be a substitute for the taste and the expertise of artisans with decades of experience.

PREPARATION, STITCHING, & FLATTENING OF THE SOLE

Before and after the stitching of the sole, many tasks are necessary to bring to completion the creation of a reliable and comfortable shoe. They are very specific tasks, crucial in making the product unmistakably unique.

POLISHING

All our shoes are polished on the lasts by using only the best creams: no sprays or polishes cover the beauty of the leather used. The final result is a clean shoe that shines naturally. It does not matter how long it takes to achieve this goal.

THE "HANDMADE" STANDARD

Our handmade shoes crafted in our small family workshop in Italy carry traits that are not found in shoes made in factory assembly lines. When Picasso draws a perfect circle by hand we know it could never be as perfect as one drawn using a compass, but just like some people will still prefer the one by Picasso, to this day many prefer handmade shoes because they provide the quality and elegance that machines cannot replicate. Our shoes are hand-welted, hand-lasted and hand-soled.

HAND-PAINTED

When it comes to colors, we offer a choice between our solid colors, or our traditional hand-painted patinas. Our patina colors are applied by hand, so the colors on each pair of shoes will vary slightly each time. Hand-painted colors gradually change over time and develop into beautiful patinas, whereas solid colors on calf leathers dyed at the tannery will keep the same color overtime.