What sets a designer shoe apart from a mass-produced one?

Three things show with wear. The quality of the leather and how it ages, a good hide develops a patina where corrected leather cracks. The construction, stitched rather than glued on the best pieces, which allows resoling. And the commitment to a shape, a designer commits to a line where mass production tries to please everyone. Price follows, between 100 and 600 euros depending on the shape.

Which shoe shapes are worth building a wardrobe around?

Four shapes cover almost every situation. The loafer, which moves from the office to the weekend. The flat leather sandal, which lasts summer after summer. The low-heeled ankle boot, the most versatile piece of the cold season. And the designer trainer, which has replaced the ballet flat for everyday wear. The rest is pleasure or occasion.

Which shoe designers are worth following?

Toral for loafers and ankle boots, K.Jacques for leather sandals made in Saint-Tropez since 1933, Senso for pumps and architectural heels, Isabel Marant for boots and cowboy boots, Golden Goose and Autry for trainers, Mercer Amsterdam and Blonde No.8 for a more contemporary register. Our selection brings together around twenty of them on footwear alone.

Designer shoes, the shapes and the names worth knowing

Footwear is where the difference between mass production and creation shows fastest. Not at the point of purchase, where everything looks alike in a photograph, but after a season of wear. That is when leather either develops a patina or cracks, when a shape either holds or collapses.

This season, four shapes keep coming back in our stores. Here they are, with the designers behind them and how we suggest choosing them.

1. The loafer, the most useful shape in a wardrobe

It is the shoe that solves the most situations. It moves from office dressing to weekend jeans without changing register, and it works bare-footed in summer as well as with a fine sock in winter.

Toral is our reference here, with leatherwork and finishing that show on the counter and the sole. The right question is not the colour but the flexibility of the sole, because a loafer that is too rigid never gets worn.

See our loafers.

2. The leather sandal, craftsmanship before the name

On the flat sandal, the signature matters less than the workshop. K.Jacques has been making them in Saint-Tropez since 1933, which is why a pair lasts ten summers where a mass-produced sandal lasts one season.

The detail to look at is the leather of the insole, which should take a patina and mould to the foot rather than stay smooth. A sandal that shows no marks after a summer does not have the right hide.

Discover our sandals and our flat sandals.

3. The pump and the heeled ankle boot, a question of height

Senso works this ground with architectural heels, often wider than they look, which changes everything over a full day. The spool heel and the block heel have largely replaced the stiletto, and that is good news for anyone who walks.

Our advice, choose the height according to the number of hours you will actually wear them, not according to the look in the photograph. Five centimetres worn all day beats nine centimetres taken off at six.

See our heels and our ankle boots.

4. The boot and the cowboy boot, the seasonal investment

This is the pair that costs the most and gets worn the most. Isabel Marant brought the cowboy boot into everyday dressing, and the shape has not moved for several seasons, which makes it a sensible purchase despite the price.

The point to check is the shaft, its height and its width at the calf, because that is where comfort and line are decided, far more than at the toe.

See our boots and our cowboy boots.

What really sets a designer shoe apart

Three things can be checked, and none of them depends on the name printed on the sole.

The leather. A good hide develops a patina, corrected leather cracks. The difference does not show in store, it shows after a winter.
The construction. Stitched rather than glued on the best pieces, which allows resoling and doubles the lifespan.
The commitment to a shape. A designer commits to a line, a height, a toe. Mass production tries not to displease anyone, which is why nothing there ever stands out.

Choosing your size without getting it wrong

This is the real obstacle to buying shoes online. Designers do not size alike, and the gap between an Italian and a Spanish shoe can reach half a size.

The method that works, try on a first pair from a designer in store, then order online knowing your size with them. Failing that, start from your foot length in centimetres rather than your usual size, and favour forgiving shapes, loafers and sandals with an adjustable strap.

Our store teams are there for exactly that, and it is often the best way to avoid a mistake on a piece you plan to keep.

How we choose a pair

We always start from the same question, on which occasions will you wear them and for how many hours at a stretch. The answer decides the height, the shape and the material, in that order. The designer comes afterwards, according to your taste.

It is the same reasoning that guides the building of a capsule wardrobe, starting from what you actually wear rather than from what you are supposed to own.

Our footwear section brings together more than two thousand pairs, from the loafer to the cowboy boot, signed by around twenty designers we have sometimes followed since their very first collections.