A Big Day
It’s a big day for Norman Vilalta. In addition to new colorways of three of our classic shoes, for the first time we are introducing a new hand finishing technique that will be offered as a customization for our leather soled shoes.
Our first shoe is our Mario Oxford in a handmade bourbon patina. Mario is our classic Cap Toe Oxford defined by 5 eyelets and swan stitch detailing along the facings, a thinly carved waist, asymmetric pattern, an elongated vamp with elegant proportions, and classic brogue accents along the cap.
For the very first time we are also offering Mario with a handmade beveled waist, a finishing technique that can only be achieved by highly skilled artisans with a steady hand and keen eye for detail.
In most ready-to-wear shoes, the highly sought after beveled waist is made by machine. This results in a waist with a rounded edge on both the top and bottom of the welt, leaving a triangular shape where the waist transitions at the heel and at the metatarsals. This is due to the limitations of the machine since it’s not able to create the small details that the hand can achieve
In Bespoke Shoemaking, the top of the welt stays flat with a sharper, more angled vertical edge and the bottom of the welt curves and disappears under the sole. At the metatarsals, the transition is seamless, and at the forepart of the heel, the half-moon shape of the waist abruptly meets the vertical and square reinforcement of the heel, which results in a distinct shape and design contrast that serious shoe aficionados appreciate.
By making the beveled waist by hand, we are able to apply the same Bespoke style detailing to our Goodyear-welted shoes, such as this Mario Oxford in bourbon. In addition, since one of the defining features of our Goodyear-welted shoes is a thinly carved waist, we are able to achieve a beveled waist that hugs tighter to the upper than most other brands can achieve.
Our second shoe is our popular Derby Simple in Country Calf Leather in Bister, a color named after the ink that is derived from burnt wood and historically used in paintings. We chose this solid color for those who appreciate the proportions of our classic derby but want a more toned down color.
Our Derby Simple features grain calf leather, 4 eyelet lacing and swan stitch detailing on the facings, our asymmetric pattern with no center back seam, and a comfortable but durable Vibram Commando Sole.
The style and monotone color allow the Derby Simple to work comfortably with a wide variety of clothing, without being too distracting. Pair them with a grey or navy suit or dress them down with more casual khakis or dark denim.
Our final shoe is our James Loafer in a handmade Orion Patina, our handsome black and blue patina. James is defined by a sharp chiseled toe, elongated vamp, an asymmetric pattern, and our hand painted leather sole.
The sawtooth details of gimping accent the apron, penny keeper, tongue, and the counter and our padded and the embroidered insole is a unique design detail that's both beautiful and adds additional comfort.
The handsome Orion handmade patina is perfect for those who need a shoe with a slightly reserved color compared to our more aggressive patinas but not completely “soso” as they say in Spanish (which is slang for flavorless). The shoes look nearly black in low light, but the beautiful dark blue shines through with natural sunlight.
All shoes are bench made, Goodyear-welted in Spain and hand finished by our team of skilled artisans in our Barcelona atelier. This includes the use of glass, sandpaper, iron tools, heat, inks, dyes, and waxes to achieve a bespoke level finishing that the Norman Vilalta brand has become known for.
Our Mario Oxford in Bourbon, Derby Simple in Bister, our James Loafer in our Orion Patina are now available in a small batch online and in our boutique in Barcelona, Spain. Purchases made in November receive complimentary lasted shoe trees with the code HANDWORK during checkout. Please be sure to add the shoe trees to your cart before checkout.
If you have any questions regarding fit, we are now offering complimentary worldwide shipping of our fitting shoes with deposit.
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