I am not going to lie and say that I am a sole fanatic but there is something special about a well-crafted sole. I love to look at them and appreciate the skill that went into it, as someone who has done them before, knows just how difficult it is to make the ‘perfect.’ Well Eiji Murata, aka Main D’or, makes them perfectly. The best that I have seen and that is no joke. They are flawless in every sense of the word. And let’s not forget his making ability in general as his shoes are always a work of art all around. Flawless in every detail, as a true handmade bespoke shoe should be. This is what you are paying for when you spend upwards of $4000 or more for a pair of ‘handmade, bespoke’ shoes.
The downside to seeing things like this and thus expecting it to always be like this is that it puts an unrealistic expectation on certain customers that expect flawless soles all of the time. But the real reason that I am not a sole fanatic is because all it really is is just a facade and people forget that. The sole is meant to get dirty, to be worn, to get ruffed up and ultimately to get ruined. So when people pull out a brand new shoe and see a small blemish on the sole of their Allen Edmonds or anything less than $1000 it always makes me laugh as they are going to do 20 times worse on the first wear!
That is most certainly true! I am not a very materialistic person, but the first time I put on a shoe with such a marvelous sole and walked around in it, thus creating marks and scuffs, my eyes almost got a little wet. Now, after owning them for years,they have become just like regular shoes.
The beauty of the ephemeral things… Nice soles there!