We are a small family-run company of bootmakers who have been hand-crafting fine custom-made boots in our workshop here in the Vendée region of France for nearly a century. Field boots, walking boots, equestrian boots, biker boots, motoring boots from the Golden Age of the automobile, and classic military styles, from elegant 18th century Hessians to an Edwardian artillery officer's dress boot, we make them all, using only the finest leathers and traditional boot-making techniques that have been passed down for generations.
Our customers have included Olympic equestrians, French motorcycle police, rock stars, vintage car buffs, landed gentry, celebrity fashion designers who've needed just the right look for a show, and globe-totting adventurers who have worn our boots in some of the world's farthest flung corners. Many have come to know us through word of mouth, or the many vintage car, historic aviation and field sports shows we attend throughout the year, or else they visit us at our workshop. Not everybody can do this, of course. For those who do not live in Europe, or cannot make it to one of the shows at which we're exhibiting, we have set up this website.
But the Internet is a very crowded market bazaar, bustling with 'custom' boot-makers, many of whom claim great things and at bargain basement prices. What sets us apart? Well, for starters we are genuine custom bootmakers in the great old-fashioned, traditional sense. Every pair of our boots is made to order, to our clients' own measurements, beginning with our finely crafted stitched-leather soles, which we make here in our shop, individually, for each pair of boots. In this we are something of a rarity these days. Making stitched leather soles is fiddly time-consuming work. Few bootmakers do it anymore, even ones who like to call themselves 'custom bootmakers.' Instead most buy factory-made soles in bulk, in standard sizes, rather than cut them to the unique shape of their client's feet. To us that is a short-cut, one we won't take. The sole is the foundation, where true custom-fit starts. This means we're happy to cater to larger sizes too. We can make some of our styles up to a European size 54 – that's a generous U.S. men's size 19, built on a sole we make for your foot and tailored to your own measurements around ankle, calf and leg.
Then there is the leather we use. To know fine boots is to know fine leather. In this we have decades of expertise. We seek out and use only the finest leathers in our boots, sourcing our leather from Europe's oldest, best established and most responsible tanneries – the very same tanneries where the likes of John Lobb and Hermes source their leathers, and selected with the same choosy criteria. Beautiful leather is expensive. Always has been, always will be. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, or that a finer grade of leather won't make a world of difference to a pair of custom boots. Here you truly do get what you pay for.
Lastly there is the design, craftsmanship and attention to detail that only comes with decades of experience and a love of the bootmaker's art – whether it's sourcing buckles from a 150-year-old French firm to get the look just right on a century-old iconic boot style or offering different degrees of stiffness in the shaft of a dress boot. We are custom boot makers carrying on a proud tradition. And we are always ready to talk.
