This article was originally written in 2014, then updated in 2021, and is now freshly updated for 2026. It feels like a good time to do so – I have four new shoemakers to add, but no plans to try new ones soon.
I also feel more positive about bespoke shoemaking in general. Looking back on my early shoes, the experience was patchy and the fit rarely better than ready-to-wear. The product was often beautiful, but the fit let them down.
In the past five years, I’ve had a second pair from Yohei Fukuda, which have been just as good as the first. I’ve had a good pair from Seiji McCarthy. And I’ve had an excellent experience with Canons, which is particularly useful given they’re in London and so more accessible.
Here are the 20 shoemakers I have tried, now divided into sections for those I would recommend, those with significant caveats, and the brands that are more akin to made to measure.
Please note that when these posts are updated, the historic comments are carried across from one update to the next. So some of the comments below date back to 2014. You can change the order from oldest to newest, if you want to see the most recent comments.
This are partner articles to this including the ‘Tailors I have known’, which does something similar but with 61 bespoke tailors. There is also one on shirtmakers (21) here, and one on made-to-measure.
TOP RECOMMENDATIONS
Canons
I have had one pair of bespoke oxfords from Canons so far, but they were the most comfortable bespoke shoes I’ve ever had. Elegant and well made, but roomy without being loose, I was impressed and we are now working on a loafer.
Canons are based in North London but grew out of Foster & Son when it was on Jermyn Street. The Foster & Son name is being re-used, but more on accessories and ready-made shoes that will be constructed in Northampton.
The Canons team – led by owner Simon Bolzoni – is also one of the most forward-thinking I’ve come across, both in terms of production techniques and managing the business. They give me hope for bespoke shoemaking as a whole, as well as their particular business.
Yohei Fukuda
I now have two pairs of oxfords from Yohei, with the first pair five years old, and they have been very good. The shape is sharp, even chiselled, but they are more comfortable than any ready-to-wear oxford on me (that might not seem like a big claim, but trust me it can be, at least on a first pair of bespoke).
With the first pair that Yohei made, we didn’t even have a fitting as I only met him once in Japan. The second pair involved a fitting, and the fit improved, as you would expect.
I would highly recommend Yohei, especially for this slightly sharper style of shoe.
Seiji McCarthy
Seiji is a Japanese/American living in Tokyo, and is particularly known for making bespoke shoes in an American style – classic penny loafers, longwings and so on. He made me a pair of cordovan loafers inspired by Alden full straps, and they have been great. Not quite as good a fit as Canons, perhaps, but very close and it’s usually harder to get a perfect fit in a loafer.
Seiji is a smaller operation than either of the two above, and has had some problems meeting demand in recent years. But he does offer a made-to-order programme that could work well for some people, with minimal changes to fit of the shoe but the same excellent make.
ALSO RECOMMENDED
Roberto Ugolini
Roberto made me a pair of suede boots, a process made easier by the fact that although he is based in Florence, I visit there twice a year for Pitti. (He also travels to New York, but not London.)
The fit was good, which was a relief because one or two friends had had issues. Partly I feel this might be a matter of experience – being able to tell a shoemaker how you want a shoe to fit is an underestimated part of the process, and one that may have been a reason my experiences with shoes from Stefano Bemer and Gaziano & Girling, for example, were not as good.
Masaru Okuyama
Masaru Okuyama is a Japanese shoemaker, based in Hong Kong. He made me the dark-brown oxfords shown above (a recurring style, but it is the one I wear the most). They were superbly made, and I think reflect at a broader level the excellence that Japanese shoemakers have brought to the industry – whether working in Hong Kong, Italy or England.
The fit was also good. Not the best, but then a first pair of bespoke often isn’t – something that I think should put off most readers that are unsure about committing the time and money. The last was also a little long and there was a bit too much room in the vamp, both of which I would have changed had I commissioned a second pair.
Stefano Bemer
I am rather emotional about my Stefano Bemer shoes, given I was measured and the first pair ordered from Stefano, before he passed away. I had three pairs in total: tan oxfords, tobacco-suede oxfords and hatchgrain oxfords (above).
The fit of the first pair was quite good, but we did have issues with the in-step and the way the elongated toe-cap bent the vamp. These was looked at on the second pair, which were better. And the third demonstrated a way that bespoke can be more accessible – they were partly machine made, on my bespoke last, under the ‘Blue bespoke’ offering from Bemer.
Overall I’d say there was a tendency to make the shoes too tight, which has affected how much I wear them today, but as noted this is a communication issue as much as an execution one.
Nicholas Templeman
Nicholas Templeman is an ex-John Lobb shoemaker, and his approach is best thought of as grounded in that tradition, with a slightly wider appreciation of styles elsewhere.
He made me a pair of grained derbys with a beautiful chain stitch around the apron (above). The fit was good, and comfortable immediately. I also liked the subtle styling, with no work lacking in the waist or heel, but less extreme shape than some other makers.
The facings needed to be tweaked a couple of times, to get them to line up better when laced on my foot. In retrospect the style was also a mistake – a pretty elongated shoe in a casual material. But that’s the customer’s responsibility – the only thing the maker could do better generally is have more styles available to see before ordering.
Nick has now moved from the UK to Vancouver, Canada.
Gaziano & Girling
I had three pairs of bespoke from Tony, Dean and co – a seamless slip-on in hatchgrain leather, an oxford adelaide (pictured above) and a suede slip-on (below). The adelaides were made in the wrong colour originally, and were subsequently patinated to the dark-brown you can see here.
Those shoes are among my best-fitting bespoke. But it helped that the style is quite a standard G&G one – this was not starting from scratch on a new design. The seamless loafers were beautiful, and one of my favourite pairs from a style point of view. But the fit was trickier, and I eventually had to give those away. More on the suede slip-ons below.
As a side note, I would recommend the made-to-order service from G&G, which is often all a customer needs to get an improved fit.
OTHERS
Daniel Wegan / Catella
These suede slip-ons were made while Daniel Wegan was at Gaziano & Girling, and they are Gaziano & Girling shoes. However, Daniel made a new last for them, as well as making and fitting them throughout. So now that Daniel is set up on his own, they do provide some experience of his service as well.
The loafers were probably the most beautiful in terms of the sole and heel work I’ve had, with a thin sculpted waist and pitched heel. The shape was also very elegant. The fit wasn’t the best though, and despite a couple of tries at stretching them to fix that, I no longer wear them.
Cleverley
I had three pairs of bespoke shoes made with Cleverley – brown cap-toes, black imitation brogues and Russian-reindeer monk straps (above). The process of making them was covered in detail, over 13 posts, so there is no lack of information on them.
However, I had a few issues with the fit of the first couple of pairs, specifically around the outside joints and my little toe. This was mitigated with stretching, but they still weren’t the best fit. I only have the black ones now, and mostly because they are beautifully made. I wear the Yohei Fukudas far more, because they’re a better fit.
The advice on style could also have been better, with the monk straps, for example, not made in the more casual last shape I had requested.
Stivaleria Savoia
Savoia is a Milanese shoemaker, and an old, storied one. ‘Stivaleria’ means bootmaker, and the company was founded by the makers of boots for the Savoia, or Savoy, cavalry. They have changed ownership over the years, however, and now focus more on ready-made and clothing more generally.
The shoes that Savoia made me (above) were OK in the fit, but lacked something in the style. This wasn’t just the absence of bespoke touches like fine waists or heels; Lobb and others do that too. It was more the fact that the shoes looked like old-fashioned and perhaps even characterless. I do like rounder, wider shoes often (such as Aldens) but these weren’t to my taste from a style point of view.
Carreducker
Carreducker are the absolutely lovely Deborah and James, based in London, who make bespoke shoes but also spend a lot of time teaching shoemaking and other general leather-working classes. (They taught me here, quite how hard it is to do saddle stitching!)
They made me a pair of bespoke boots, with the specific aim of developing a bespoke system that could work remotely – measuring and fitting done at home with the help of James over video link – and be cheaper because of some elements stitched by machine.
The result was pretty good, though a little roomier than I had anticipated and the finishing not quite at the level of the other top shoemakers here.
SEMI-BESPOKE / MADE TO MEASURE
Saint Crispin’s
We’re now into semi-bespoke. Saint Crispin’s do offer a bespoke service, but it’s not one used that much. They are better known for a handmade shoe made on an adjusted last – so without multiple fittings – and being cheaper as a result.
I have had two pairs of shoes and two pairs of boots made, with the first being the wing-tips shown above. The make of the shoes has been fantastic, and I couldn’t recommend that more highly, given the price. However, there have been issues with the fit, with the two boots working out a lot better than the two pairs of shoes. The latter have both needed to be relasted, but still weren’t as good.
However if the fit can work for you, it’s the first thing I’d recommend to a reader looking to upgrade on RTW, but not sure about bespoke.
Petru & Claymoor
I put Petru & Claymoor here in the list, because they also make in Romania, like Saint Crispin’s, and are similar in style as well. The shoes above were made for me during lockdown, and so measured and fitted remotely. They do offer full bespoke, but I include the shoes in more of a semi-bespoke section for that reason.
The shoes were very well made, although rather stiff. They also fitted well, which was impressive given the remote process. But that lack of direct communication probably affected the style, as they were made particularly wide in the joints, creating a wide shoe that I didn’t like so much the style of.
Rivolta
Rivolta are based in Milan. Their inclusion here should be heavily qualified by the fact that I had boots made by them 16 years ago, and I’m told their process has changed since then.
They used an electronic foot-scanning machine to make a last for me, which was then made into (beautifully crafted) suede boots. Unfortunately the scanning process didn’t work perfectly, and they didn’t fit. They were subsequently remade, and much improved, but still didn’t work out in the long term.
Interestingly, there was a bit of a vogue for these machines back then, with old brand Lodger using one too. And this resurfaces all the time – it never seems to help much, but clearly the makers continue to pitch it.
Santoni
I’m not a particular fan of the Santoni style of shoe. But I was interested in trying out the service when it was offered – as part of work for a mainstream magazine years ago – because it’s always interesting to see how bigger brands handle a bespoke type of service.
The shoes were nice, but I think more like an extension of the ready-to-wear, so semi-bespoke or made to measure. So although a new last was made, the fit around the arch and heel was not that precise. And that goes for the make too: the welt and sole were hand-sewn, but the look is still very much of a RTW Santoni shoe.
Tim Little
The Tim Little brand (at Grenson) used to offer a little-discussed bespoke service, with Tim doing the consultation in his shop and the measuring and pattern-making being done by Tony Botterill. The key attraction was the price, which back in 2014 when I had my boots made, was £1950 for the first pair and £900 thereafter (once the last was done).
Tim was upfront from the beginning that the shoes would have none of the delicacies of top bespoke – the shaped waists, pitched heels and so on. But they would be hand-sewn on a bespoke last. And that delivered, in that the fit was good (after an initial fitting where I couldn’t get the boots on!).
However, the materials are still at a Grenson level, and I feel like this is a bit of a mismatch. I wouldn’t use the service again, preferring decent-fitting higher-quality RTW, or an adjusted last from the likes of Saint Crispin’s, if I wanted something cheaper.
INCOMPLETE / HISTORIC
Foster & Son (old business)
I had a pair of dark-brown oxfords made with Foster & Son years ago (above), but given the shop is now closed and the team very different at Canons, who took over the business, it’s no longer that relevant. The fit of them was OK, but there were issues with the finish, where the heavily patination began to quickly flake off.
Norman Vilalta
Norman is one of my favourite people in the world – a wonderful person and a great craftsman. We started a project to make a bespoke pair of boots years ago (below), and did get to the fitting stage, in waste leather, but couldn’t agree on a style. Perhaps because I had in mind something more traditionally English, and not so much what Norman normally makes.
Calzoleria Carlino
I tried making a bespoke pair of shoes with Calzoleria Carlino, the Italian maker based in Sassuolo, Modena, in a process that was done remotely during Covid. Riccardo was very attentive and the fit shoes that were delivered were pretty good for remote, with discomfort only across the folds of the toes. However, that issue with the fit and the style not being quite what I wanted meant that I didn’t wear them.
