The Anatomy Of The Butts And Shoulders Footwear
The Butts and Shoulders footwear is produced with the authentic Goodyear Welted construction. A Goodyear welt is a strip of leather (this is used by the brand, but it can also be rubber or plastic) that runs along the perimeter of a shoe outsole.
The Goodyear Welt machinery construction dates back to 1869 when the process was invented by Charles Goodyear Jr., the son of Charles Goodyear. It has been noted by historians that Goodyear was a frequent visitor to the shoe factory of William J. Dudley, founder of Johnston & Murphy, where early work on sole stitching equipment was performed.
The traditional hand-welted method is even older and goes back to c. 1500.
The Anatomy Visual
To show the anatomy of the Butts and Shoulders Goodyear Welted construction, a pair of Heritage boots was slid in two. You can see all the elements very clearly on the visual here below. This gives you more insight on how the boots are constructed, and above all, the ‘richness’, and uniqueness of the inside of the hand made in Portugal produced leather boots.
The Process Of Goodyear Welted
With the Goodyear Welted construction, the upper part of the shoe is shaped over the last and fastened on by sewing a leather, linen or synthetic strip (also known as the welt to the inner and upper sole. As well as using a welt, stitching holds the material firmly together.
The welt forms a cavity which is then filled with a cork material. The cork will mold to your own feet while walking and shapes perfectly, so in the end, a pair will fit like a glove.
The final part of the shoe is the sole, which is attached to the welt by some combination of stitching and a high strength adhesive like contact cement or hide glue. The good thing about the Goodyear Welted construction is that it allows you to re-sole your worn footwear. So, this extends the lifetime of your boots and makes that you can wear them year in, year out.
The Butts And Shoulders Goodyear Welted Collection
The footwear collection of Butts and Shoulders contains three different models, all made with the Goodyear Welted construction. The first model ever released was the Natural boots. The follow-up was the Heritage boots, and the third model the Worker boot. As the Natural boots have a leather sole mixed with rubber parts, the two other styles have a self-produced rubber black sole.
All the boots are produced using natural vegetable tanned leather, so leather tanned without using any chemicals. This leather type is the DNA of the Dutch brand. With time, this leather type will change into a more cognac color. So, each boot will turn into a beautiful style. All slightly different with marks and tears from the wearer. And above all, a boot that last a lifetime.
The good news is that within just a few weeks a fourth model will be added to the collection, the Monkey boot. More info about this very soon, but keep up to date about the release, and the pre-order of this style here.
The Natural boots.
Watch the making-of these boots here below in the short documentary.
The Heritage boots.
The Worker boots.
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