A personal note from Silvano Lattanzi

[The Shooman]

A family shot of my Lattanzi shoes.

Every pair looks brilliant in person, and all are comfortable. It is difficult to pick a favourite because they are all so good, but maybe the tan monk because it is stunning in person. The dark brown derby also pops with presence.Of course the half brogue monk is like a work of art in person, and the tan quarter brogue (my first pair ever) is a total stunner too.

That dark brown pair looks wrinkled, but those wrinkles look fantastic on the foot. Looks really vintage, and my foot slips into it so nicely. Funny how shoes have their own character.

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Look at that dark brown shoe at the bottom of picture. Look at the presence it has. No John Lobb or Edward Green can even begin to compare. It is a total boss shoe that commands respect.
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[The Shooman]

A close up of my new monk. Probably my favourite shoo ever. Stunning in person, and very comfortable. Never seen a shoo look so amazing.

Photo still makes it look a touch blobby, but in person it is very balanced and elegant.

 

[The Shooman]

As has been said, Silvano Lattanzi uses the best leather possible.
He uses a lot of top vintage leather (Pebody) for his uppers, and I can testify that this leather is of impeccable quality with no equal. The beauty of the leather has to be seen to be believed. See that cognac shoo in the middle (above photo), the leather on that is total wow factor. Actually all the leathers are fantastic.

The big secret - Lattanzi's sole leather
Mr Lattanzi always said tanneries in England had the best leather for uppers and a tannery in Germany had the best sole leather, but he never used Rendenbach, so l always wondered what he used. Recently l found out.

Gerberei Martin tannery - founded 1645​

No website, and not very well known due to its limited availability, but luckily shoegazing did an excellent review of this tannery.

Report - Gerberei Martin, traditional oak bark sole leather tannery - Shoegazing.com

Gerberei Martin is perhaps the oldest still existing tannery in the world, founded in 1645, and run by the same family ever since. They make the most

shoegazing.com

The article is well worth the long read, but here are some highlights of the article below.

– Thickness has gone down in the past 20-30 years, and the structure is different, since the animals eat more and grow faster. They don’t get time to grow like they should, in general, so it’s more challenging for us to access the type of hides we want to have, says Thomas.

No tanneries do it the traditional way...they all cut corners, and Rendenbach and Bakers cut more corners than the Martin Tannery

– There’s two reasons. First, what customers want has changed. If one would do it the old way, the leather would have lots of visible scars and defects, there would be big colour differences, and so on. Back then, customers didn’t care about this, durability mattered much more. Regular people worked three months to be able to afford a pair of shoes. One didn’t care about looks, it should last. But it’s totally different now, the look has to be clean, smooth and uniform – people judge quality much more with their eyes today, and in most cases a pair of shoes isn’t an investment as it was back then.

– Secondly, if done fully traditionally, it would be much more complicated. I’ve already mentioned how complicated dehairing was. If only bark would be used in the first tanning, it would mean lots of more work. To have the tanning process set in motion one have to have 40% of tanning agents, and German oak bark only holds around 11% of tanning agents. To get as much bark as would be needed would be very hard today. Also one would have to replace everything in the pits three-four times during the whole pre-tanning process just to get enough amounts of tanning agents.

Was the sole leather better when done the way they did it back then, following the association rules?
– Yes, if one look at durability. And sure, the way we do it now is a bit more lazy. But it’s the only realistic one today, and we have to do it the way we do now to sell our products. We strive for the best quality possible, but we are a business, we also have to align with what our customers want.

– I don’t know any tannery witch is tanning longer than us. The benefits of doing things this slow, is that the leather becomes extremely water resistant and durable. That’s also what we hear from customers who have tried all the big brands of quality sole leather, that no one beats our soles in terms of durability, says Thomas Martin.

Thomas tells me that they actually have one pit which has hides that’s been there for 12 years.
– Yeah, the hides there is of a thickness and size that’s not really sought after at the time, so we let it be there until it becomes popular again, Thomas says with a smile.

– Our main customers are cobblers and wholesalers of shoe repair products, plus the orthopaedics industry, Thomas says.
– We sell some to shoe manufacturers, and some to bespoke shoemakers. But to be frank, we don’t want too many customers that are too big, and we don’t want too many bespoke makers.
Okay, that’s interesting. Why not big customers?
– Cause if one would have to close or decides to stop working with us for some reason, it would be a big hit and we would have a lot to cover. If a bit smaller, and they go bust, it’s of course sad and not something we wish, but business-wise it doesn’t hurt us that much. Plus if we were to have many large customers we wouldn’t be able to supply them without starting to take shortcuts to speed up the processes, and we don’t want that.

I don’t bother asking about Instagram or other social media. After all, this is a company where they still have a fax number on their business cards. What Thomas and Manfred Martin do is to visit their customers personally, like one did in the old days. 400-450 customers – two times a year.

– Most tanneries who do so-called oak bark tanning or similar one with chestnut do it quicker than us, in around six months in general. They prep the leathers more in the pre-tanning so they are open to absorb tanning agents quicker, and they have the hides in the long-term pits for only six months or so, which means that they would have to use some extracts here as well, otherwise with only bark it can’t really be done in less than a year. For those who test our soles and compare them to these, one notice the difference, says Thomas.

 

[Mattrick]

I have worked out the mystery. Lattanzi actually sells a lower level machine made shoe these days. These are cheaper with machine stitched soles and pre-made heels. They are nothing compared to the proper Lattanzi handmades.


Lattanzi machine made shoes. Notice the machine stitched soles and machine made heels.
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I'd noticed those Lattanzi shoes and thought they looked different, and inferior, to what I'm used to seeing. I saw further photos recently and they're blake stitched - it says so on the soles. I didn't think Lattanzi would manufacture such a shoe and it feels like a watering down of the brand. I expect that they're made in a different factory.

 

[The Shooman]

I'd noticed those Lattanzi shoes and thought they looked different, and inferior, to what I'm used to seeing. I saw further photos recently and they're blake stitched - it says so on the soles. I didn't think Lattanzi would manufacture such a shoe and it feels like a watering down of the brand. I expect that they're made in a different factory.

Yes, Lattanzi is definitely watering down his brand. A number of his shoes are not handmade anymore, and some are more cheaply made than others. That blue pair you quoted are the lowest standard of all, they could be blake-rapid or goodyear welted, and they do look like they are made in a different factory like you said.

Lattanzi also seems to have a lower line made in his workshop that is machine constructed. One of the pair l got is classic Lattanzi, but made with blake-rapid. The blake appears to be machine made (not hand constructed), so obviously the outsole would be machine stitched (hard to see).

Here is a closer look at some of Lattanzi's machine made shoes that are probably made in another factory.

Kiton made by Lattanzi with hand stitched soles:

Lattanzi sewing on the soles with a machine in his own workshop:

Lattanzi has the ability to do outstanding work, but l find that he doesn't really care much about integrity in his older age. Gone are many of the handmade shoes, and in are the machine constructed shoes.

I checked out this shoe a while back. Looks to be made in the Lattanzi style, but insole appears to be goodyear welted (had a bloke send me a pic). It looks like Lattanzi has put out a bunch of pairs with thick soles that are gyw, one of which l own that has one sole gyw and the other blake-rapid. I am really careful now.

You see, Lattanzi let a pair of out of his shop with one shoe likely being goodyear and the other shoe being blake-rapid. I don't think he cares, he is all about the money imo.

I bought two pairs of beautiful shoes from Lattanzi. Both pairs came apart only after a about 6 wears...soles come apart (evidence posted later). Lattanzi promised he would fix them free of charge, but after posting them to him he decided to charge a fortune to fix them. Imo he made a lot of excuses and told a lot of lies blaming everyone else for his shoes failing, and changing his story a couple of times. Too add insult to injury, he then restitched a pair with messy lopsided stitching and put them in a big box and posted them with them rattling around inside. Dealing with the company also gave off bad vibes. Never have had such a bad customer experience in my life. A nightmare to deal with. Imo he doesn't have integrity and lives for money. I understand he owns the best of everything, and he affords these things by charging excessive prices and being a hard nosed businessman.

Is Lattanzi's shoes worth the money? They can be, he can do something special no-one else can do IMO...he makes a shoe look so natural and beautiful that none of those French makers, English makers and Italian etc can compare. He makes a work of art shoe that an everyday man can wear in any circumstance without it being too fussy or boring.

Lattanzi is a love/hate thing for me. I love his shoes the most, but l am also paranoid that other shoes will start falling part. I never want to deal with him again. My enjoyment of Lattanzi shoes is greatly diminished when l wear them. Makes me appreciate Vass so much more, they make a good honest shoe.

 

[Mattrick]

This is the same range as the blue shoe. This is where I saw with surprise that the shoes are blake. I wonder how much he charges for them. I'm willing to bet they are extremely overpriced.

 

[The Shooman]

After having owned Lattanzi shoes for 3 - 4 years now, l now understand the shoes a lot better. The leather is like nothing l have ever seen, it ages really well and gains a great patina and depth, but sadly none of my photos pick it up. The leather has a tight grain and the pores are not as deep as other leathers, so the leather has this beautiful silky smooth appearance, and it makes the shoes and the leather look like high art. The leather gets a stunning shine with just a polish with creams, and it creates a far superior shine to using loads of wax, ie, the shine gets depth with minimal application. Edward Green or Hermes owned John Lobb Paris don't even begin to compare, Lattanzi uses a rare leather you don't see on other shoes.

Another thing that makes the shoes special is how they break in after numerous wears. They break in better than any goodyear welted shoes could ever, and l think they break in better than Vass or anything else l own. People say Lattanzi are the most comfortable shoes they own, it is probably because Lattanzi knows how to make the greatest of great shoes. I much prefer Lattanzi over my excellent fitting Cleverley bespoke, Lattanzi just makes a better shoe in every way IMO.

The other magic is the old vintage look they all have. It is impossible to find the words to explain it, but no-one does what Lattanzi does imo. For eg, I often put that tan monkstrap next to my desk early in the mornings and the special welt colour and treatment makes the sole and welt look like antiqued wood (a real special Lattanzi feature of the highest art), and the upper is also like antiqued wood. In person that shoe is jaw dropping and looks infinitely better than in the photos.

Here is the closest l can get to capture the Lattanzi magic. Look at the welts, it is almost like they are made of wood. Also look at the shape of the shoes, few do art and lasts like that. Edward Green and G&G doesn't even get close.

The Lattanzi family shot (one norvegese pair got lost in the mail, so only 7 pair here)
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Here is another angle. Look at how elegant the front of those uppers are...impossible on goodyear welted shoes, ie, no high walled shoe, therefore built close to the ground, only possible with hand welted shoes. Super elegance and high artistry at its very best. Look at those shades of brown, very classic Lattanzi. In the sun they can look like that, but with heaps more natural antiquing and depth.

Goodyear welted shoes look like high walled blobs in comparison, but these are sleek with a presence that isn't too fussy like so many Japanese and fancy last shoes these days. Lattanzi does everything absolutely perfect, ie, the colours, the lasts, the balance, the special Lattanzi x factor. Don't know anyone else who can do that. Bemer? Nah. English makers? Nah. French Makers? Nah.
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Here is another angle of my Lattanzi collection. Sometimes in light they can look like this.
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Sometimes they also look like this. Every pair is jaw dropping in real life. All have a deep patina that would blow your sox off. You should see that cognac pair second from the end, WOW, it is developing a patina that would blow your brain to the moon if you saw it. The wingtip is incredible too.
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I wear Lattanzi nearly everyday. It is very hard to wear anything else anymore. I force myself to wear Vass from time to time, and occasionally l even try really hard to force myself to wear Edward Green and BIG Johnny Lobb, but it is a huge compromise. Lattanzi are my boys and l don't want to wear anything else.

 

[The Shooman]

My updated Silvano Lattanzi collection.

The shoes l wear mainly these days are Lattanzi (75% of time), Vass (20% of time), and John Lobb/Edward Green/Moreschi (5% of time). Sometimes i'll drag out old favorutes like a pair of Trickers, but it is mainly handmade shoes l reach for because the footwear experience is on another level.

Now for some nice photos of my collection. Like with Vass, the comfort is exceptional. The leather is better than Vass,the finishing and making is also better. The artistry is on another level. Everything is perfect and the lasts are incredible.

The family shots
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That double brogue below in hatchgrain is beyond incredible. You should see how good they look on the foot in person, complete wow factor. Great natural antiquing, and very comfortable too.

That quirky monk below is good too. Photos can't catch it, but it has a full on Berluti-esque antique which can be fun, and the design is quirky for when l want to let it all hang out.


A shot of the most handsome family members
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That monk is an incredible shoe to wear. My favourite is the middle pair, the leather and artistry of the shoe is something you don't see in shoes. Both the first two pairs are incredible artistry. These pairs are well balanced and not too fancy like so many shoes these days from Chinese, Japanese and Italian makers, ie, these pairs are just right. The comparison of between the first two pairs and the 3rd pair is like night an day - the cordwainers who made the first two pairs were world class, artists of the highest level.
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My favourite 4 shoos of the entire collection of shoos collected over decades. Yes l have a great bespoke shoe made by an incredible Japanese maker, but Lattanzi is till the King imo.
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The leather on the dark brown quarter broguie is the lowest quality of all the Lattanzi here.
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None of my Vass have the natural antiquing that my Lattanzi have. It's all about the quality of the leather.

 

[The Shooman]

Silvano Lattanzi masterpiece

An unusual construction by Silvano Lattanzi, nothing like it on earth. Wish l owned them, have always wanted a pair like this.

The crazy thing is.....all these construction aspects may not even be decorative, they may even be functional. That braided stitch to the slipsole may well be functional, that braided stitch through the triple sole may well be functional, and maybe even the brass screw construction. No other shoemakers would do it like that (they do decorative stitching), but with Lattanzi anything is possible, that is what he is famous for. He does things no-one else dares to do.

- norvegese TINY stitching of upper to slipsole (no-one else does that)
- braided stitching on upper
- braided stitching on sole (highly unusual)
- brass screwed on soles
- a wholecut derby (highly unusual).

 

[Great White Snark]

All construction details aside, the end result looks like a pair of old shoes my dad used to wear for doing the garden. Fucking hideous and a blobby last that looks like an orthopedic shoe.

 

[Lobbster]

Some of the ugliest shoes I've ever seen, a true Shittano Craptanzi. You should thank those postal workers who ditched your package somewhere over the ocean.

 

[Lobbster]

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[The Shooman]

All construction details aside, the end result looks like a pair of old shoes my dad used to wear for doing the garden. Fucking hideous and a blobby last that looks like an orthopedic shoe.

Snarky: for me this type of shoe would be all about the experience, ie, how does it feel to wear a shoe constructed like this. I'd like to spend a few years wearing these shoes to find out. A major part of wearing shoes is how it feels, ie, `the ride'. Wearing a special Lattanzi masterpiece would also be something to cherish.

You see, Lattanzi nails certain styles perfectly. He makes stunning pieces and he makes absolute hideous old stinkers. People have all types of taste, and if people have bad taste he will nail the character perfectly. That is the thing...Lattanzi NAILS the styles perfectly.

Examples of old stinkers nailed perfectly by Lattanzi:

Some people love this ugly blocky style to go with their non elegant clothing, so Lattanzi will do it perfectly.


Some people want the combat boot style, so Lattanzi does it. Think about cashed up goths with overcoats.


Some people want the old grampa nursing home shoes that used to be made of vinyl in the 70's, so Lattanzi does those too, but all handmade and of the finest leather.


Some people don't want their feet to hurt (they have unusual feet), so Lattanzi makes shoes for them too. Look at the heel area at the back of these stinkers.


Many of Lattanzi's shoes make me want to vomit, but you have gotta admit, they all have character.

Paolo Lattanzi is following in his dad's footsteps by making old stinkers too, and he is charging top dollar for them too. They might be ugly, but they sure have character. Boots to take off at the end of the day and leave them by the back door. I bet Lattanzi makes great Father Christmas boots too....l could just imagine....big hideous bulbous toes, but with ample character, and MEMORABLE!