Peter Feeney custom shoes, part 2: designing

[This is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of a pair of custom shoes. Click here to read part 1: measuring]

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A major reason why I like custom clothing – in addition to the hope of a perfect fit – is the anticipation. After my first meeting with Peter Feeney for a pair of custom shoes, that anticipation was purely in my imagination. There was no last, no pattern chosen. The shoe was just a vague, formless idea.

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In this meeting, that idea begins to take shape. The second consultation is typically when Peter discusses options, styles and colours and the customer goes away to dream while Peter works on the last. The third consultation is the design one, where options are finalized and Peter presents the look of the shoes drawn in pencil on the last which has been covered in masking tape. Since I already had a good idea of what I wanted, we compressed those two consultations into one.

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As they say, the last comes first, so here they are, a representation of my feet in plastic. Although to be more precise, it is a shape Peter developed with the last-maker. Together, they created the shoe shape Peter prefers: long but not pointy, round but not circular, sleek but not sharp. The last-maker then takes my width and length measurements and scales Peter’s last to best fit my dimensions. However, since the last is a predetermined shape, it doesn’t always jive perfectly with the height and particularities of a person’s foot.

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In my case, Peter checked my instep and joint measurements to determine if he needed to adjust my lasts in any way. It turns out that my right foot around the litttle toe needs to be built up slightly, which Peter will do later with leather. Otherwise, his last is a perfect match for the height of my foot.

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Once that was finalized, it was time to move on to design. Custom clothes represent an opportunity to express yourself, without having to rely on the creativity of someone else. So, people usually go bold with something that is a statement. However, I took Simon Cromptom’s excellent advice on getting bespoke shoes and didn’t get carried away.

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I’ve gone with a two-tone adelaide shoe that is all about harmonized contrast. The body will be a medium-dark brown, while the facing will be a contrasting tan brown that Peter will slightly patina. He’s also going to experiment and give the facing a bit more of a swoop where it meets the collar of the shoe. A matching strip of tan leather will run down the back of the shoe. I’ve decided on a goodyear-welted sole, and the edging will be a dark brown, with matching shoelaces. And the shoes will include a new feature Peter is experimenting with: a slightly curved tongue.

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Peter has been innovating quite a bit recently, including this etching approach. He scratches away entire regions of the leather upper to create a contrast pattern.

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No word on how it lasts in the long run, but Peter tells me should you blemish the etched region, a bit of sandpaper will restore it. Another new feature, to me at least, is this whole cut leather upper with stitching to mimic the quarters of an adelaide or oxford shoe. In my eyes, it looks both contemporary and old-timey.

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I might be more adventurous in the future. For now, you can read the next step in the shoe-making process, cutting and stitching