leather shoes are expensive due to the high degree of their quality.
But if you are looking for cheap men’s or women’s leather shoes, there are still some leather shoes with a low degree of quality but can be satisfactory to some extent and are more affordable.
When shopping for a pair of leather shoes, you should never scrimp on quality.
It’s a proverb that you’ve probably encountered before, but you may not have ever stopped to consider its origin or significance.
This morning, we are going to discuss and provide a response to that subject.
Every style of leather shoe for men, from traditional lace-up dress shoes to laid-back pairs of driving shoes, is crafted using a specific set of skills.
This is true regardless of the type of shoe. The question that we are attempting to answer here is why some can cost well over a thousand dollars, and others can be sold for somewhere around sixty dollars.
What’s the difference between a leather shoe and any other shoe made of leather? Not exactly.
Gabi Levi, founder of the driving shoe brand Eve & Kane, and Kaz of Kazuna, the only label delivering custom-made Japanese leather shoes and boots to the Australian market, are assisting us on this trip into understanding the leather shoe game.
-Before you spend your hard-earned money on any leather-made shoe, it is essential to gain an understanding of the characteristics that define a high-quality product in this category.
When searching for the ideal pair of leather shoes, these are the characteristics that, according to Gabi Levi and Kaz, you should always be on the lookout for.
-The ability of leather and suede to bend and stretch; the flexibility of the leather determines how pleasant it is to wear on the feet.
The disadvantage of this is that it does not endure as long as constructs made of thicker leather, which can also be made available at a lower cost.
-Give the inside of the shoe a whiff and see if it smells like glue. If it does, you can be sure that it was manufactured on the cheap by using glue bonding rather than stitching.
-Take a whiff of the leather: a shoe made of genuine leather of high quality should have the aroma of genuine leather of high quality (i.e. non-synthetic smell)
-The soles of leather shoes are essential components.
-Kaz notes that high-end luxury shoes frequently include “hidden channels,” which are areas on the bottom of the shoe where the stitching can’t be seen.
It gives the shoe a classier appearance, which may increase the overall price of the leather dress shoe.
-The grading of leather is essential. Leather of higher quality should be more durable and retain its shape for a longer period, particularly in deconstructed shoes such as loafers.
-Try on a pair of leather shoes and pay attention to how the inside sole feels; it should be fairly firm.
The answer to this question will indicate how comfy the shoe is as well as its overall quality.
-Expensive shoes will have a sole made of a higher quality material that is constructed to endure up to three times longer than the typical lifespan of a sole.
How to Recognize a Shoe That Is Not Made From High-Quality Leather:
Levi notes that while purchasing leather driver shoes or loafers, it is always vital to evaluate how flimsy the end product is. This is especially the case for older models.
If the shoe is excessively flexible and soft, it will most likely be more comfortable; nevertheless, it will not last as long and it will not maintain its shape.
You can also verify things visually, such as the following:
– The degree of the stitching’s tightness.
-Maintaining a consistent stitching distance between rows.
-A measurement of the depth of the stitch (one lower than the other or loose).
When Compared to Machine Stitching, Hand Stitching Is Considered to Be Superior:
As there is currently no machine that is capable of doing the entire process on its own, from start to end, handcrafting is required for all leather shoe production.
To put it another way, if a pair of leather shoes advertise that they were “Handmade in Italy” or “Handmade in any other expensive country,” you may assume that this is more of a marketing ploy than an accurate representation of the product’s quality.
Both Kaz and Levi are in agreement discussing the point of manufacturing, the comparison that should always be made is between a hand-sewn leather shoe and a machine-stitched leather shoe.
This is because hand stitching is more precise than machine stitching.
This technique is known as the Goodyear Welted Method:
Kaz of Kazuna argues that the Japanese method of producing leather dress shoes follows a process that is more similar to the English one.
“The only variation is in the kinds of leathers used, as well as the components that go inside and the quality of the cork,” she said.
There is no change to the procedure.”
The previously described Goodyear Welted method is the one that he is referring to when he talks about the process of producing leather shoes.
It requires more than 200 steps to finish, which adds to the increased cost of the final product; nevertheless, the shoe is built in such a way that it can be mended and resoled an infinite number of times, which is a significant advantage.
“Glued shoes are affordable, but you can’t replace them if they get damaged.
Additionally, the frequency with which you want to wear it is a factor to consider.
“You’re very much trapped with something that you can’t wear for a very long time,” says Kaz.
“You can’t wear it for a very long time.”
“Once you find a pair of shoes that fits you well, you’ll want to hang on to them for as long as possible and fix any damage to the heel or the sole.
This approach is known as the Goodyear Welt technique.
When it comes to the Blake stitching that is typically seen in high-priced Italian shoes, it is possible to repair the stitching, but only up to two or three times at the absolute most.
After that point, it will no longer be possible to repair it.
A method of construction that lasts for about half a lifetime is known as the Goodyear Welt.
Why do the majority of shoemakers in Italy utilize the Blake stitching method? Lightness.
The fact that there is neither a shank nor a cork in the finished result, as Schaerf pointed out earlier, contributes to the shoe’s overall lower weight in comparison to those constructed using the Welt method.
To put it another way, it is intended more for the purposes of fashion than for day-to-day use.
It Is Important To Maintain Your Shoes, Regardless Of How Much You Spend On Them:
Doesn’t it make sense that more money would translate into lower maintenance costs? Wrong.
When it comes to ease of maintenance, a more expensive leather shoe does not offer any advantages over a less expensive one.
If you want your leather shoes to last for a long time, you need to treat each pair with the same amount of attention and care.
After normal use has taken its toll, the question of whether or not the item can be repaired or if it should be discarded entirely becomes relevant to the cost of maintaining it.
When compared to the expense of purchasing an entirely new pair of shoes each time your current pair wears out, repairing a costly leather shoe will result in a cheaper overall cost to you. Therefore, that wraps up the mathematical portion.
People like Levi and Kaz have been able to find a lot of success with their businesses in recent years because of this reason.
The leather driving shoes and loafers that Levi sells are made in China and Portugal, and they are designed to compete with high-priced Italian brands such as Tods.
Levi’s primary focus is on making luxury more accessible to a wider audience.
He asserts that the quality of his shoes, which are created in the United States, is higher than that of Italian-made shoes, which cost less than half as much.
While all is going on, Kaz is working hard to provide his customers with shoes made of high-quality leather that is crafted in England but at prices that are significantly lower than those in England.
He is the first to confess that paying $1,000 for a pair of leather shoes is not a reasonable option for the average person, and that is the reason he is doing what he is doing – introducing Goodyear Welted shoes that are made in Japan at a price that is half that of their English equivalents.
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