Stitchdown - Wear Better Shoes

Cowboy Bootmaking Legend Lisa Sorrell on Myths, Lore, and Why Craft Has Never Been More Important

Guthrie, Oklahoma-based Lisa Sorrell can trace her own bootmaking ancestry back to one of the first cowboy bootmakers ever: Gus Blucher (a man quite aptly named for a shoe). Gus presumably would've been quite proud, as for the last three decades Lisa... Read More...

With Leffot Celebrating 15 Years as NYC’s Top Shoe Shop, We Chatted With Owner Steven Taffel

Manhattan-based menswear shop Leffot has an official motto: Numquam Jactate, Latin for “never boast.” In their view, looking good and dressing well doesn’t mean you have to be ostentatious—you just have to embrace classic styles from makers that offe... Read More...

Shoes ‘n’ Boots of the Week: Nicks Boots x Parkhurst, Crockett Visits The French Riviera & More

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Loafers abound from Rancourt & Co., Leffot, and Crockett & Jones this week, and plenty of incredible boots as well. Shoes ‘n’ boots from weeks gone by can be found here. John Lofgren Combat Boots in Natural Chromexc... Read More...

Limmer’s New Hiker Shoe Is a First for the 104-Year-Old Bootmaking Icon

It’s already been a couple of years since Adam Lane-Olsen and Chris Sawyer took over as owners of Limmer Boots, the 100+ year-old micro-maker for which Lane-Olsen hand-crafts what are considered by many to be the best classic hiking boots available a... Read More...

Shoebag! Horsebutt: Over- or Underrated? Crucial Overdye Explorations. And What’s the Deal With Gaston’s Boots??

That's right it's time for another SHOEBAG episode, in which Ben and Ticho dig precariously deep into such pivotal topics as: what is an overdyed leather and how is it the same or different from teacore? What’s the deal with that eyelet at the top of... Read More...

Shoes ‘n’ Boots of the Week: Alden Wholecut Oxfords At Nepenthes, Yuketen Arrives In Chicago, and More

An eclectic mix can be found in our roundup this week—including summer-ready sandals from FEIT, bison boots from Nicks, seasonal releases from Yuketen, and much more. Our SNBOTW archives can be found here. Nicks Boots Shrunken Bison MTO: $640+ ... Read More...

Digging Deep into Japanese Sleeper Bootmaker SKOOB with Founder Koji Sasano

Japan's reputation as a society backboned by remarkable craftspeople is well earned. But the picture of a devoted artisan creating unmatched footwear by hand—whether a bespoke dress shoe master such as Hiro Yanagimachi or Yohei Fukuda, or custom boot... Read More...

grant stone traveler penny loafer coral suede

Grant Stone’s Summer-Ready Loafers Add Two New Suedes, Plus More Jungle Kangaroo

Yes we consistently and strongly recommend handsewn moccasin construction shoes for spring and summer. Beyond boat shoes, boot-shoes are a warm-weather way of life around here. But it's 2023 man, and it's time to just admit that everything this summe... Read More...

Shoes ‘n’ Boots of the Week: Yuketen Loafers X-Stitched To Infinity, The Real McCoys Boondockers, and More

As we leave the 2022-23 Stitchdown Patina Thunderdome in the rearview mirror, it’s already time for next year’s contestants to start thinking about what they’re going to be competing in. This week’s release roundup has some possible contenders to con... Read More...

Dayton Boots Seeks To Exit a Turbulent Period With a New Name: Wohlford & Company

Dayton Boots, one of Canada’s oldest boot manufacturers, whose fading prominence was amplified by an employment scandal, is getting new ownership plus a fresh name that harkens back to its founder: Wohlford & Company. Dayton Boots was started by... Read More...