Stitchdown - Wear Better Shoes

Meet Østmo’s Lars Jensen, Perhaps the World’s Most Interesting Bootmaker: The Stitchdown Conversation

Friendly but strong encouragement: subscribe to Stitchdown’s free newsletter to ensure you never miss a single story. You won’t regret it! Lars Jensen makes boots—whatever boots he wants, when he wants, exactly how he wants to. And then he sells tho... Read More...

Viberg Service Boots and Derbies and Oxfords

Plenty More on What Viberg Has Coming Up: A Chat With Guy Ferguson

Last week I published a preview of what Canadian boot maestro Viberg has planned for 2020—full of plenty information on release schedules, new models, and fun new leathers. I also recently spoke at length with Viberg's brand director Guy Ferguson.... Read More...

Viberg Boots and Shoes Releasing in 2020

A Look at Where Viberg is Taking Things in 2020

Last week I got an extended preview of Viberg's plans for 2020—meaning the year after this year, not an exciting new last they're developing. I spent a ton of time working my way through the upcoming collections, speaking with Viberg's brand direc... Read More...

Socks-Chup, Smartwool, Darn Tough, Wigwam, Pendleton

Which Socks Are The Best Socks? I’m Going to Tell You, Right Now.

I've always considered socks to be deeply important. When I was a kid, my favorite shopping trip with my mother was to the perfectly named Sock Exchange, which saw socks and underwear climb probably 30 feet high in a massive footprint of a space. Eh,... Read More...

7.7

Beckett Simonon Durant Oxford Review: A Sharp-Looking Shoe at an Excellent Price

Beckett Simonon is a brand I was interested in long before I started Stitchdown. Its shoe designs are largely quite handsome, their price (while it's climbed over the years) is a very appealing $199 ($219 for boots, $149 for GATs and other sneakers),... Read More...

The 20 Viberg Instagrams You Absolutely Must Follow

Viberg boots have a fascinating duality to them. They're born of a legitimately rugged past—Viberg was originally a logging boot company when it was founded in 1931—and to this day even the Canadian brand's more casual boots and shoes are built with ... Read More...

How Meermin Makes Quality Shoes at Bafflingly Affordable Prices: The Stitchdown Conversation With Pepe Albaladejo

Meermin is a beautiful conundrum of a shoemaker. The Mallorca-based company crafts shoes for under $200 that far outstrip that price bracket, and certainly what anyone else seems able to pull off. While other companies cover up the fact that they ... Read More...

8.3

White’s Boots Bounty Hunter Review—A Handsomely Rugged Monster of a Boot

Friendly but strong encouragement: subscribe to Stitchdown’s free newsletter to ensure you never miss a single story As a kid in the 80s, I was hopelessly engrossed in the original Star Wars trilogy. It all began when my Dad showed me Return Of The ... Read More...

Please, PLEASE Include Overhead Shots of Shoes If You’re Selling Them Online: A Rant

So there you are, shopping for shoes online, as even the most ardent "Go to the shop! Support local business!! TRY ON THE SHOES!!!" advocates do in 2019. Something catches your eye. You click into that shoe's page, to get a closer look. You revel ... Read More...

How Cobbler Union Makes High-End Dress Shoes Under $400: The Stitchdown Conversation

Finding extremely high quality dress shoes under $400 is a challenge. In just five years' time, Cobbler Union has established itself as a somewhat quiet but very real player in that space. After serving as CEO of his childhood friend Norman Vilalt... Read More...