Bespoke shoe guides
Practical guides from Sergey Grechushkin’s bespoke shoe workshop in Moscow, near Taganskaya metro station: how a last is made and why it decides the fit, how feet are measured, what a pair costs and how long it takes, and how bespoke handles wide, large, small and difficult feet.
Bespoke basics
Bespoke vs Made-to-Measure vs Ready-to-Wear Shoes
The real difference between bespoke, made-to-measure and ready-to-wear shoes is the last: built for your feet, adjusted from a standard one, or standard. What each level can and cannot solve.
The Bespoke Last: Why Shoe Comfort Depends on It
What a shoe last is, why factory lasts do not fit many people, what goes into a bespoke last, how it is made and corrected, and why it outlives any pair made on it.
How Your Feet Are Measured for Bespoke Shoes, and Why in Person
How a shoemaker measures feet for bespoke shoes: which girths are taken, why both feet are measured at rest and under load, why old shoes matter, and why home measurements are not enough.
How Many Fittings Do Bespoke Shoes Need?
Bespoke shoes usually need one or two fittings in trial shoes, sometimes three. What is checked, why one is not always enough, what is expected of you, and how many fittings a repeat pair needs.
Bespoke Shoe Lead Times: Why a Good Pair Takes Weeks
How long bespoke shoes take in a Moscow workshop: about six weeks for the last and fittings, from four weeks for the pair itself, and why the first pair takes longer than the second.
How Much Do Bespoke Shoes Cost? What Goes into the Price
Bespoke shoes in this Moscow workshop start from 100,000 roubles a pair. What drives the price: the last, the style, the leather, the construction and the foot, and why a second pair costs less.
Your First Bespoke Pair: What to Choose and What to Expect
Which style to order first, which leather and construction make sense, what the price and lead time include, how fittings work, and what a normal result looks like for a first bespoke pair.
Ordering Bespoke Shoes Remotely: When It Works and When It Does Not
Can bespoke shoes be ordered without visiting Moscow? Why a first pair needs measuring in person, how clients from abroad plan visits, and when repeat pairs are fully remote.
Styles, construction and leather
Oxford vs Derby: The Difference and Which Suits Your Feet
Oxfords and derbies differ in one seam: closed or open lacing. How that affects formality and fit, which one suits a high instep, a wide or narrow foot, and how to check the fit.
Classic Men’s Shoes: Styles and Dress Codes
What makes a men’s shoe formal: lacing, toe, colour and material. Which shoes go with black tie, white tie, a business suit and daytime occasions, and how to build a classic shoe wardrobe.
Welted, Blake-Stitched and Cemented Shoes: What Is the Difference?
How welted, Blake-stitched and cemented shoes are built, which can be resoled, which cope with rain, why welted shoes are lasted with flour paste, and how to tell the construction of a finished pair.
Types of Shoe Leather: Calf, Cordovan, Suede, Exotics and Tanning
How to choose shoe leather: vegetable and chrome tanning, why calf is the standard, what makes cordovan different, how suede and exotics behave, and what “bad leather” means in practice.
Bespoke Wedding Shoes for the Bride and Groom
How to get through a wedding day on your feet: when to order, which heel lasts twelve hours, pumps or slingbacks, matching the dress, grass and cobbles, a second pair, and what the groom should wear.
Leather Shoe Care: What to Do, What to Avoid and How Often
A shoemaker’s guide to leather shoe care: why liquid shine emulsions ruin leather, how to cream and polish, dry wet shoes, deal with road salt, use shoe trees and store pairs between seasons.
What Shoes to Wear with a Suit: Colour, Cloth, Cut and Status
Which shoes go with a navy, grey, brown or black suit, how the cloth and the cut of the trousers change the choice, and why shoes are the first detail that reveals the level of an outfit.
Men’s Bespoke Winter Boots: Handmade Boots with Fur Lining for the 2026–2027 Season
Handmade men’s winter boots made to measure in Moscow: boots that work with a suit, casual models, fur and wool linings, soles for ice, large sizes and wide feet, and when to order for winter.
Women’s Bespoke Winter Boots: Handmade Knee-High Boots and Ankle Boots Made to Your Calf
Handmade women’s winter boots and ankle boots on your own last: a shaft fitted to your calf, fur without tightness, a heel that holds on ice, bunions and small sizes. From 100,000 ₽.
Fit, sizes and difficult feet
Shoe Width Explained: What It Means and How to Find Yours
Size is length, width is girth, and they are not proportional. How widths are marked in US, UK, Japanese and Mondopoint systems, and how to tell width is your problem.
Men’s Shoes for Wide Feet: How Bespoke Solves Width
Why going up a size does not fix wide feet, why laces cannot adjust the ball girth, which styles work, and what a bespoke last does differently for a wide male foot.
Large-Size Men’s Shoes Made to Measure: EU 45–50
Why ready-made men’s shoes in EU 45–50 look heavy, feel empty or pinch, why scaled lasts fail at the end of the range, and how a bespoke last solves a large size.
Small-Size Women’s Shoes Made to Measure: EU 33–35
Why women in EU 33–35 end up choosing between children’s shoes and leftovers, why a scaled-down last fails, how heels behave on a short foot, and how a bespoke pair looks grown-up.
Bespoke Shoes for Bunions: What Shoes Can and Cannot Do
Why ready-made shoes press on a bunion, why a bigger size does not help, what a bespoke last and pattern change, whether heels are possible, and when to see a doctor first.
Bespoke Shoes Built Around Orthotic Insoles
Why shoes feel tight once an orthotic insole goes in, why a bigger size does not fix it, which styles take an orthotic, and how a bespoke last builds its volume in from the start.
The Largest and Smallest Shoe Sizes: Records and Real Life
The largest shoe size on record, EU 69 and EU 75 explained, where shop size ranges stop, and what to do when your size is not made at all.
Foot conditions and orthopedic needs
Women’s Shoes for Hallux Valgus: Pumps, Boots and How High a Heel Can Go
Which women’s shoes suit hallux valgus and flat, overpronating feet: pumps, boots, heel height, orthotics, and what a bespoke last changes. Treatment stays with your doctor.
Shoes for Flat Feet and Overpronation: Arch Support, Heel Counter and Room for Orthotics
What bespoke shoes change for a flat, valgus foot: arch support, a firm heel counter, a stable midsole, room for orthotics or an ankle brace, and why flexible and rigid flat feet need different pairs.
Shoes for Plantar Fasciitis and Heel Spurs: Cushioning, Arch Support and Heel Lift
Why a heel spur is often not the cause of heel pain, what shoes change for plantar fasciitis: heel cushioning, arch support, a modest heel, a stiff midsole and room for insoles.
Shoes for Ingrown Toenails: Toe Box, Height Over the Toes and Shoes After Surgery
Which shoes help with an ingrown toenail: why a tight, low toe box presses on the nail edge, how much room goes above the big toe, what to wear after nail surgery and when to see a doctor.
Shoes for Sesamoiditis: Pain Under the Big Toe
What shoes help with sesamoiditis: offloading the first metatarsal head with an insole and the last, which heel and sole are acceptable, and how this pain differs from a bunion and Morton’s neuroma.
Shoes After a Metatarsal Stress Fracture: Stiff Soles, Rocker and the Way Back to Normal Shoes
What shoes to wear after a metatarsal stress (march) fracture: when to return to ordinary shoes, why a stiff sole and a rocker help, and how to take load off the forefoot.
Shoes for Ankle Instability and Frequent Ankle Rolling
What shoes help if your ankle keeps rolling: shaft height, a firm heel counter, heel and sole width, lateral support. What the research shows and when to see a doctor first.
Shoes After a Stroke and for an AFO Brace: Volume, One-Handed Fastening, Two Different Feet
Shoes after a stroke with foot drop or an ankle-foot orthosis: how to build room for the brace into the last, choose a fastening you can close with one hand and make one pair for two different feet.
Care, repair and gifts
Luxury Shoe Maintenance: Service Your Shoes Like a Fine Car
A service plan for fine shoes explained through a car: sole as tyres, top piece as brake pads, welt as chassis, polish as oil. A maintenance schedule from a Moscow bespoke workshop.
Luxury Shoe Repair in Moscow: Which Brands We Take and What We Do
Repairs for John Lobb, Edward Green, Santoni, Berluti, Christian Louboutin, Manolo Blahnik, Hermès, Tod’s and other brands: heel and sole replacement of any complexity at a bespoke workshop in Moscow.
A Bespoke Shoe Gift Certificate: A Gift for Someone Who Has Everything
A luxury gift for a man, a woman or a business partner: a certificate for a pair of bespoke shoes or for any amount. The e-certificate arrives instantly, the gift-boxed one within 14 days.