Question:
Funny little thing this. When I visited the Lattanzi shop in NY last year I asked what made them so special they cost 2300-5000 USD a pair and I was told: because they are FULLY handmade, like in the 19th century. This also seems to be the public consensus.
Now I just received a brand new pair to sell and I am proud of it because new Lattanzis are a rare find at a discount. Nonetheless it strikes me as odd that they are clearly marked Goodyear welted on the sole. I understand that a Goodyear welt is called a Goodyear welt because it is made by a Goodyear machine. If Lattanzi claims that all their shoes are entirely handmade (and on their new site you indeed see lost of pictures of people sewing soles by hand) why brand the soles Goodyear welted?!
Answer:
Hmm is there really a Goodyear Machine?
Answer:
My understanding, which comes 100% from talking to many of their competitors, is that the shoes are all hand welted and that a goodyear machine is never used. The shoes I have seen from them bear this out.
If the shoe actually says "goodyear" on it, then something has changed recently.
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Courtesy of
http://www.leathersoulhawaii.com/aldenfactory
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A little bird recently told me that Lattanzi re-connected with Massimo Bizzocchi's company which generally means a move towards more commercial products and away from the artisan hand made goods.
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Oh, not you again.
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For some reason, among artisinal Italian shoemakers, the term Goodyear is used to describe a handsewn welt. There is a thread somwhere in which Rider and I wrangled over this. I thought it was insane because to me goodyear = goodyear machine, but in any event, that is what it means to the Italians.
Answer:
My experience is that Italians use "goodyear" to describe the location of the stitching that attaches the upper to the sole, not the use of a goodyear machine. It may be a misuse of the word, but there you have it. Marcel the Hungarian uses the word in this word in this way too.
Scafora describes his shoes as "Goodyear welted by hand."
Answer:
Press
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Is Scafora to be trusted?
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you can't handle the truth.
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If he had some balls he'd reveal himself as the senior poster he undoubtedly is.
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I'm Spartacus.:slayer:
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Meaning what? We should cut up his shoes?
Not being sure what you're getting at, my point is independent of Paolo's truthiness. It was about the usage of "Goodyear welted" by an Italian cordwainer. His was a clear example of using the word to denote something about the manner in which the sole and upper are attached, not about the equipment used.
Answer:
So the agreement is I don't have to feel bad if I advertise the shoes as fully hand-made?
