I recently finished up a pair of 16th C. shoes for a good friend of mine. What I had in mind here was a pair that was appropriate to the century, but would also give an acceptable look for an earlier century as well.

A very large portion of shoes from both medieval times and the Renaissance had some kind of treatment on the opening of the shoe, be it some kind of simple reinforcing stitching or a separate binding or strip applied to the opening. As you might imagine, stitching of that kind takes time to be elegant and look decent, so I figured I would give it a shot. This is also a front lace closure, and the lace can be tied either on the top of the throat opening (like modern shoelaces), or placed through the holes as shown and tied on the medial (outside) of the foot. Tying on the outside tends to give it a bit more flair, at least in my opinion. =)

The binding is first caught with fine whip stitches to the opening of the upper, and then folded down and stitched again. You will also notice a heel stiffener in the back.

In this pair, I’ve moved away from using sole-bend leather (very thick, dense, and compressed leather) in favor of good quality saddle skirting, and I’m much more pleased with the results. The skirting takes dye much better, and when burnished, gives a bit of a polish to the cut edge of the outsole.