Stitchdown Shoecast

Women’s Shoe Icon Stuart Weitzman on Nudists, Aretha Franklin & The First Shoe He Ever Sold

No conversation about the all-time great women's shoe designers is complete without a very long segue into Stuart Weitzman. Born into a shoemaking family who ma... Read More...

How to Become a Bootmaker, With Oldspeed MFG’s Dave Corey and New River Boot’s Dave Mills

We don’t often do shoecast episodes with multiple guests—but when both guests are up and coming bootmakers, both guests honed their skills and found a lovely an... Read More...

Houston Boot Company—Custom Cowboy Boots in Virginia City Nevada—Jake Houston Interview

Custom Cowboy Bootmaker Jake Houston on Preserving Knowledge, León Mexico, and Zebra Races

About a half hour from Reno, there’s a place called Virginia City, Nevada, where everything feels like it’s 1859 and the US’s largest silver deposit was just discovered. The bars say "saloon," and look the part. The cemetery is definitely haunted. An... Read More...

Seiji McCarthy Interview—Exceptional Bespoke Shoemaker in Tokyo

Seiji McCarthy is Hand-Making Some of the World’s Greatest American Shoes—In Japan

Growing up outside Philadelphia, half-Japanese, half-American Seiji McCarthy never once dreamed about making shoes—that spark didn’t ignite until his 30s. So... Read More...

Is Turriff Functional Footwear Making the Best-Quality Barefoot Shoe on the Market?

Barefoot shoes! They make it so it feels like you’re walking barefoot! But while… wearing shoes! And boy are they getting popular. The basic theory of barefoot... Read More...

How Tariffs Are Already Impacting the Footwear Industry, with FDRA CEO Matt Priest

Matt Priest, President and CEO of the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America, came on the Shoecast the morning after 104% tariffs on Chinese goods into the US hit in a rapidly-moving-target trade war with the United States and just about ever... Read More...

All the Footwear Derek Guy Loves—and a Few He Really Doesn’t—From Bespoke to Workboots

OMG it’s Derek Guy. Derek’s an OG forum junkie turned menswear writer for Put This On, mass publications like The New York Times, and his own always-excellen... Read More...

What Opie Way’s Justin James Lost in Hurricane Helene—and What He Found

In 2019, Justin James started Opie Way, a recraftable sneaker brand made right in Asheville North Carolina, USA, using incredibly high quality materials—somethi... Read More...

Skateboarding Legend Jamie Thomas Is Here To Cook Your Shoes in a 300° Oven

Even if you’ve never been on a skateboard before, chances are you’ve worn and loved skate shoes at some point in your life, even if you didn’t realize it—maybe Vans, or Nike SB Dunks, the kind of brands and styles that broke through skateboarding’s o... Read More...

How to Make Your Leather Footwear Last Literally (Possibly) Forever, With Pure Polish’s Andy Vaughn

The idea that well-made, resoable footwear can last almost literally forever is one of its core allures—but it’s a promise that simply won’t come true if it’s n... Read More...