Stefano Bemer, Brown Victorian Button Boots

[Acquire from Stefano Bemer]

A boot you fasten with a hook, as your great-grandfather did.

Hand-welted in Florence · Museum calf and suede · Button closure

Why it's here

Before laces took over, a gentleman's boot closed with a row of small buttons, done up with a steel hook kept on the dressing table. The pattern is hard to cut and slow to make, so it all but vanished. Stefano Bemer's workshop in Florence is among the very few that still make it properly. We include it because some forms deserve to survive, and because almost no one else can sell you one.

The object

The lower part is deep brown museum calf, hand-finished so the colour is gently mottled. The upper shaft is suede in a matching tone, closed by a curved line of buttons. It is built on a slim, chiselled last, welted by hand, and soled in the workshop's burgundy leather. A button hook and wooden trees come with it.

Living with it

Wear it with narrow trousers that break just above the buttons, so they show when you sit. Fastening takes a minute and becomes a pleasant part of the morning. Expect strangers who notice shoes to stop you.

Origin: Handmade in Florence, Italy
Upper: Museum calf, suede shaft
Construction: Hand-welted (Classica), S last
Includes: Button hook, wooden shoe trees

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