Please note this page is a work in progress…i

On our shoe lasts for sale page, shoe lasts can be sorted by type. For instance, you can filter for just low-cut boot lasts, or just orthopedic shoe lasts. This should help you quickly narrow down your search for the perfect shoe last. But if you are trying to find a shoe last for making a specific style of footwear, you might appreciate a bit more help. So, on this page, we’ll be gradually adding different footwear styles along with suggestions on which of our shoe lasts would work best for them. Remember, these are just suggestions. If you have any requests for more footwear styles, please tell in the comments at the end of the page or contact us directly.

Dress Shoes

Dress shoes are best made with shoe lasts that have a refined and elegant toe character with a closer fit at the heel and waist area.  For ladies dress shoe last, a heel height of no less than 1″ (25 mm) is expected. We strive to follow this approach in all of our dress shoe lasts. Some recommendations are below.
Men’s: Ottawa Men’s Shoe Last Rome Men’s Shoe Last Vienna Men’s Shoe Last
Women’s: Manila Women’s High Heel Shoe Last

Court Shoe or Pump:

Court shoes and pumps require shoe lasts with higher heel and a snug fit at the heel and mid foot area. When we design this shoe lasts, a special attention is paid to the angle of the heel to ball joint drop, the arch length, the ball joint angle and the toe spring in relation to the heel height. For this type of footwear, we recommend our Manila High Heel Women’s Shoe Last. We are working to add a selection shoe lasts more suitable to this type of style.

Derby or Blucher

This type of footwear could practically be made using most of our lasts except those designed for sandal and boots. This style is fitting friendly  and more accommodative as the eye stay or the facing area could flop open.

Oxford

Oxford shoe design  in general  is more a formal type of footwear and alike derby, fitting is not as accommodative.  Entry point is restrictive and very little room for sizing error around the instep and waist area of the  foot. Most of our regular lasts are designed in consideration of ball girth to Instep ratio to the true size and width. We recommend the following lasts.

Men’s: Ottawa Men’s Shoe Last  Rome Men’s Shoe Last Vienna Men’s Shoe Last

Women’s: Alexandria Women’s Shoe Last  Athens Women’s Shoe Last  Cairo Women’s Shoe Last  Manila Women’s High Heel Shoe Last  Paris Women’s Shoe Last

Slip-On or Loafer

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Boots

Boots clearly require shoes lasts with higher ankles. In addition to this, boot lasts also tend to be more generous in fitting.  All of our boot lasts follow this approach. Below are some more specific boot last recommendations for specific styles of boots.

Chukka or Desert Boots

Chukka or desert boots could be made on most of our shoe lasts with some design line adjustment at the back which tend to have a more straight shape. This apply for both women’s and men’s boots. However, to get the best result, we recommend the following lasts.

Women’s: Bombay Women’s Shoe Last

Men’s: Frankfurt Men’s Orthopedic Shoe Last  Whistler Men’s Boot Last  Wimbledon Men’s Shoe Last

Combat or Work Boots

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Hiking Boots

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Pull on or Zipper Boots

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Athletic Shoes

Athletic shoes tend to be more accommodating that other types of footwear. This is necessary given the accelerations the foot experiences during sporting activities. Heel heights also tend to be lower given biomechanics are more important than appearance. All or our athletic shoe lasts can be used to make athletic shoe lasts following this approach. Below are some more specific recommendations.

Sneaker or Trainer Shoes

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High Top Shoes

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Sandals

Sandals are unique among footwear in that much of the upper is essentially missing. This means foot beds need to be wider such that the foot does not slide off. We strive to provide sandal shoe lasts that are optimized for this characteristic. Below are some more specific recommendations for various types of sandals.

Flip Flops

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Slide Sandals

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Gladiator Sandals

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Sport Sandals

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Orthopedic Shoes

Orthopedic shoes are intended to adrress one more more foot pathology. In general though, these shoes are more comfort oriented than any other style of footwear. As such, toe boxes tend to be wide and accomodating. All of our orthopedic shoe lasts follow this approach. Below are some shoe last recommendations for specific types of orthopedic footwear.

Flat Foot or Pronated Shoes

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Charcot Shoes

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Banana Shoes

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Bunion Shoes

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Wide Toe or Diabetic Shoes

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