When Justin Fitzpatrick launched his Shoe Snob blog in 2010, there was a plan lurking not so far in the background: to launch a worldwide dress shoe brand.
The chance meeting with Stefano Bemer didn’t hurt. Neither did the piles of days spent mirror shining shoes, or in the Gaziano & Girling workshop. The end result: a London showroom and NYC storefront for his brand J. FitzPatrick. And a whole lot of button boots.
Back over at Justin’s blog, millions of people learned an absolute shit-ton about shoes and how they’re made, and nobody’s comment section was more ablaze.
Justin and I down to recount the whole twisting journey, plus what a dress shoe customer even looks like in 2026, Super Trunk Shows, and why it’s never been harder to start a shoe brand than right now. And, most certainly, button boots.
Here’s Justin FitzPatrick, on the Shoecast:
Check out the extensive Shoecast archives right here
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