Underwood Oxford Shoe

Oxford shoes are a real staple of many a man’s wardrobe and the Underwood is a fine example. It is part of the Carréducker Bespoke Manufactured range and we made them to show that this service also covers classic leather soled dress shoes as well as more casual styles.

We hand last and hand welt them in our London workshop and then we send them to our workshop in Somerset where we machine stitch a leather sole. In this case we cemented a 2mm layer of rubber to the sole to give them a little more grip in wet conditions but that is an optional extra that the customer can choose or just keep the pure leather sole.

We used a replica of the famous Russian calf which was found in a shipwreck off the south coast of England. It was a shipment of reindeer hides from the Baltic and when it sank, the seawater proved to be the perfect medium for their preservation. When the skins were brought to the surface, they were in perfect condition and used by London firms for bespoke shoes. The leather has a distinctive smoky smell due to the use of birch oil which was used in the tanning process and is distinguished by the natural cross hatch grain of the reindeer skin. It wis much prized by bespoke connoisseurs across the world. This version was made by Horween of Chicago and is a strong, hard wearing upper leather with the right amount of suppleness for comfort in oxford shoes.

UPPERS: Russian calf with cross hatch grain by Horween; straight cap, counter; no punching; double rows of stitching on the seams

LINING: veg tanned calf by Taneries du Puy; reverse counter

MAKING: hand lasted; hand welted; machine stitched sole and heel; 1/4″ leather sole; sticker sole; welted seat