Yes we kinda like boots over here—but that means we also get excited when makers with welted credentials push the boundaries of what you can do on a sneaker (and make it resolable). We’ve got two examples of just that from Hiro Yanagamachi and Crown Northampton, alongside a… well… dashing v-tip makeup from a certain Chicago shop, Grant Stone’s new women’s loafer, and more, in the latest Shoes ‘n’ Boots of the Week.
You’ll find more shoes and boots from more weeks in our archives here.
[Ed Note: while we never choose anything specifically because of them, some of these recommendations contain affiliate links—the price is the same for you, but Stitchdown gets a small commission if you make a purchase. It’s essential to keeping the site alive, so we really, really appreciate it.]
Division Road x Viberg 2040 Service Boot in Antique Oiled Vachetta: $925
In an world (great movie btw) of excellent rapidly collapsing toes, one of our favorite rigid toe silhouettes is Viberg’s 2040 last with a brogued cap toe—it’s just the right amount of muscle. Division Road’s latest goes 9 eyelets to keep things classy, and the Conceria 800 veg-tanned antique oiled vachetta is just about guaranteed to pick up a serious depth of color with some wear. Dainite sole on these guys. Really nice boots.
Division Road x Viberg 2030 Service Boot in Champagne-Washed Vachetta: $945
Another stunner leather from 800 is this stark undyed vachetta, which this time is definitely guaranteed to pick up everything. If we don’t see at least a couple pairs of these racing against each other in the 2024-25 Patina Thunderdome, I will be very sad. Lactae Hevea TZAR natural crepe rubber sole.
Hiro Yanagimachi LS2 Sneaker in Mid Brown Kudu: $1,650 (Pre-Order)
NYC supershop Leffot has grown their selection of sneakers from Hiro Yanagimachi, whose eponymous founder studied trained at the London College of Fashion and Lohn Lobb in the late 90’s before becoming one of the pioneers of the modern bespoke shoemaking scene in Japan. The LS2, Hiro’s second sneaker design, sits somewhere between a vintage trainer and a cutoff monkey boot, with cavity-wedge style rubber outsoles and a completely hand-welted, hand-lasted construction. As a result they can be fully rebuilt. Leffot is running preorders on a variety of Kudu models, including the Mid Brown Kudu shown here…
Hiro Yanagimachi LS2 Sneaker in Light Brown Kudu: $1,650 (Pre-Order)
…and light brown kudu on a yellow sole, among others.
Hiro Yanagamachi LS2 Sneaker Custom: $1,650 (Pre-Order)
If you want more customizability, Leffot is also accepting custom orders on the LS2 (Leffot continues to accept custom order on Hiro’s original LS1 sneaker as well), opening up a total of 13 leather options in suede, kudu, and calf, as well as four sole options: black, grey, red, and tan.
Grant Stone Clara Penny Loafer in Black Calf: $360
Grant Stone just released the third model in their women’s line, and we’ll keep it short and sweet in the roundup because you can read all about it here. Very basically though, we’ve got a new-last/new-pattern, women’s-specific penny loafer (duh) with a 270˚ flat welt, a high SPI moc toe, and a nicely rounded toe box, all atop a single, oiled leather outsole. They’re particularly stark in black calf…
Grant Stone Clara Penny Loafer in Bourbon Suede: $348
…but we’re also big fans of the bourbon suede. You can check out the rest of the release here.
Dashing Chicago x Alden Midway in Color 8 Shell Cordovan: $925
The Midway is Dashing Chicago’s latest special makeup, and it brings together a number of ingredients that would already be quite compelling in isolation: Horween color 8 shell cordovan, Alden’s high-arched and round toed 379x ‘military’ last, and thick slab of nitrile cork adding some heft to the sole. Everything is also satisfyingly tonal, with the sole, 270˚ storm welt, and laces all falling at various points on the dark brown to burgundy spectrum. A solid v-tip if we’ve ever seen one.
Brick + Mortar x Alden “Carlos” Wing Tip Blucher in Dark Brown Calfskin: $690
Meanwhile, just 2,063 miles west on I-94, Seattle’s Brick + Mortar are taking Alden things in a dressier direction. The combination of the soft square Plaza last and the short wingtip sort of give you the impression that you sent your gunboats off to military school and they came back saying “yes ma’am” and standing up straight. Similarly, single waterlock soles and a 360˚ flat welt are a serious but seamless choice, as is the dark edge dye. Serious for a wingtip that is—Carlos can probably get out way more than your black wholecut oxfords.
Yuketen 2 Pcs Ox with Camp Sole in Brown Chromexcel: $559 (Made to Order)
Yuketen may not shy away from whimsy (if leopard-print hair-on-cowhide Guide Boots qualify), but they are very thorough about how their footwear is put together. Case in point: the deceptively simple 2 P(ei)c(e)s Ox(ford) with a camp sole still has Yuketen’s six layer rubber-leather-steel-leather-foam-leather midsole construction—with an arch cookie—that’s standard on their entire lineup, and the two piece moccasin upper is hand-sewn in Maine. The Chromexcel model is available in black and the brown shown here…
Yuketen 2 Pcs Ox with Camp Sole in Brown Flesh Out: $548 (Made to Order)
…but there’s also a flesh-out model available in Khaki and the Brown shown above. Oh yeah, and the camp soles are custom manufactured for Yuketen too, in a mixture of nitrile rubber and rice straw.
Crown Northampton Abbey Unlined Oxford in Horween Dearborn: $453 (Made to Order)
To put it dramatically, Crown Northampton’s Hand Stitch line is a light pushing back against the cemented-EVA darkness spreading over the land. And it just gained a new model: the Abbey, which also resurrects a very cool bootmaking technique.
The new “is it a dress oxford or is it a deck sneaker??” unlined sneaker partially splits some pattern pieces—including on the toe, heel, and tongue—to slip in leather stiffeners and hide stitching without using a lining, leaving the uppers flexible and breathable. There’s a great rundown of what that means and looks like here. It’s currently being offered made-to-order in Horween’s Dearborn leather, a soft and flexible tumbled veg-tan that’s insanely comfortable (especially sockless), with Lactae Hevea cup soles, cork filler, and leather midsoles topped with a layer of foam that can be omitted at the customer’s request.
Addict Boots Chelsea in Black Horsehide: $587
Ben visited Tokyo-based Addict when he was shooting video in the bootopolis last week (stay tuned for said videos on our YouTube channel!), and left even more impressed with the brand Satoshi Ishijima has created than he expected. Addict has long focused heavily on their vintage British motorcyle racing-inspired leather jackets, but they also maintain an impressive lineup of boots, which added three new Chelsea models to its ranks this week. The pattern is relatively short shafted, with squared off goring and a sprung toe that’s emphasized by a substantial logger heel and a chunky doubled midsole under the ball and forefoot, which mirrors the v-Bar outsole in thinning out under the arch. A 360˚ flat welt, along with the sole stack, is edge dyed to match the upper: black on the black horsehide…
Addict Boots Chelsea in Black Steer Suede: $522
…and black steer suede models…
Addict Boots Chelsea in Brown Steer Suede: $522
…and dark brown steer suede pair.
Truman Moc Toe in British Tan Grizzly: $460
Truman just released a run of their moc toe boots in British Tan Grizzly, a tough and unpretentious leather that fits the model well. The makeup uses a 270˚ flat welt atop a Eugene rubber outsole, with five eyelets and three speed-hooks, all in antiqued brass.
Moulded Shoe x Alden Tanker in Snuff Suede: $725
NYC’s simply wonderful, trapped-in-time Moulded Shoe tends to run makeups on the Modified last, the most anatomical last Alden offers. But they also run a fair number of on the 379x, which is no orthopedic slouch (the wider, round toe and narrow heel are a little Munson-esque) while looking a little bit more trim. The new #39211HC makeup is built out on the 379x in snuff suede with a split toe Tanker pattern, 360˚ antiqued storm welt, and commando sole/heel.