Botoni

Picked up these Botonis at Wilkes Bashford last week as I was on the hunt for quality dress shoe.  These shoes are incredibly gorgeous - a true testament to Italian craftsmanship.  Botoni's master shoemakers ("calzalaios") in Montegranaro painstakingly craft something like 6 to 8 pairs of shoes a day. Each shoe requires over 300 individual tasks and hundreds of hand stitches.  They are then hand colored using a multi-layered finishing process that creates the beautiful antiqued and burnished finishes. The richness of the finish make these shoes look more like artwork than footwear. 

Usually quite expensive but thanks to WB's summer sale, I got this pair at an Allen Edmonds-like price. My suits seem to look much nicer now. Really enjoyed the royal treatment the staff provides at Wilkes Bashford as well.