The questions people actually ask

From 3 to 270 days, and every product page states the figure for that piece. Ready to ship: 3 to 7 days. Made to order on a standard last: 15 to 30 days. Bespoke: 45 to 90 days. On exotic skins it reaches 120 days, and work with pearls or hard stones does not go below six months. An ordinary pump takes at least 48 hours of actual work, spread over several days: that is what makes the time.

On a video call. You measure, following the shoemaker's instructions step by step. You need an A4 sheet, a pencil and a tailor's tape. You send us the length and the width of both feet and a few photographs. This is how we serve customers outside the province and abroad. If you are nearby, we come to you: five minutes.

Yes. Any model can be reproduced: a photograph from a magazine or a catalogue, a drawing, an old pair you are attached to. It is remade in the leather and the colour you choose. We do not reproduce anybody else's trademarks, logos or distinctive signs.

On demanding work, yes. The upper goes onto the last and is checked on the real foot before the sole is stitched. If you are far away, the fitting is handled with photographs and a video call.

It comes back to the bench and is corrected. On bespoke work a fitting problem is not a return, it is an adjustment: the last is yours, the pair is taken apart and rebuilt. Write to us within a few days of receiving it, with a photograph of the foot in the shoe.

Yes, and it is an important part of the work. Bespoke footbeds in leather and variable density EVA, raises included, and the shoe built around the footbed rather than adjusted afterwards. Bring the prescription, or the footbed you wear today: that is where we start.

Yes. Brides often ask for a shoe in the same fabric as the dress: it can be done, as long as the sample reaches us in time. We work silk satin, satin, lace, velvet, hand embroidery, Swarovski and pearls. Get in touch when you choose the dress, not the month before: the date does not move, the work does.

Because the price is almost all work and leather. A pump takes at least 48 hours of hand work; a pair in alligator takes several animals, because only the noblest part of each skin is used and the rest does not go into the shoe. Add the last built for you, the kidskin lining and the double layer Italian sole leather, stitched and not glued: that is why the shoe gets resoled instead of thrown away.

On bespoke work you pay 30% at order confirmation and the balance before shipping. The deposit covers the leather, bought and cut for you, which cannot be used for another customer. On ready to ship pieces there is no deposit.

Yes, VAT at 22% is included unless stated otherwise. Outside the European Union, duties and taxes in the destination country are payable by the recipient.

Because it has to be agreed on the request: it depends on the number of skins needed, on how they are selected and on the degree of personalisation. On those items you will find a button to ask for the price. We answer within one working day, in writing.

Yes. Sizes outside the standard range are possible on every line, and the price follows the model and the leather, not the number. The same goes for very asymmetric feet, wide or narrow fittings, a high instep and hallux valgus: these are the cases made to measure exists for.

It is a starting point, not an answer. The number changes from brand to brand and says nothing about width, which is the measurement that decides whether a shoe is comfortable or merely bearable. Measure the length and the width of both feet and send us the four figures.

C.I.T.E.S. is the international convention governing trade in protected species. Every exotic skin we work has its registration number, and the paperwork travels with the finished shoe. If the piece crosses a border, you will need it: keep it. The alligators are first choice and come from Tasmania, Australia, the United States and South America.

Because a single pair takes several animals: only the noblest part of each skin is used. The same holds for python, where a pair takes skins from several animals, tanned in Italy to the best method in use. The time is not waiting: it is selection, cutting and work.

Almost, and the difference is in the material, not in the photograph. Natural fibres vary in tone, especially where the colour is shaded by hand. It is not a fault. If the colour is critical, ask us for a sample before you order.

Yes: the European Union, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Norway, the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Hong Kong. If your country does not appear at checkout, write to us. On exotic leathers, check your country's import rules: some require authorisations beyond the C.I.T.E.S. paperwork.

No, and it is not our choice: the right of withdrawal does not apply to goods made to measure or clearly personalised, as set out in article 59 of the Italian Consumer Code. A shoe built on your last cannot be put back on sale. On items that are not personalised you have 14 days from delivery. And if the fit is not right, the pair comes back to the bench and is corrected.

The two-year legal guarantee of conformity, for defects present at delivery. It does not cover normal wear, which in footwear includes the wearing down of the leather sole and the heel taps, and the natural change of colour. Those are all things that get redone: resoling is a service, not a guarantee claim.

Yes, and more than once. The sole is stitched, not glued: it comes off and a new one is stitched on, while the upper and the last stay yours. The right moment is when the outer layer of sole leather is down to a couple of millimetres, or when the stitch line starts to show. Do not wait for a hole: a holed sole wets the insole, and then it is no longer a resoling job.

Yes, as long as the construction allows it. Heels, heel taps, insoles, linings worn at the counter, open seams, zips. Bring them or send them: we look, we tell you what can be done and what it costs, then you decide.

Three habits. Never two days running, shoe trees in as soon as you take them off, and if they have been rained on, let them dry away from radiators and hairdryers. The rest, brushing and neutral cream every two or three weeks.