I have been seeing a lot of Norwegian stitching lately, on several different brands but no one has shown it more than Altan Bottier, of Paris. With their skills in patina and specialization of making elegant wholecut oxfords, they have made a collection of Norwegian wholecuts in various colors and styles (dress vs ‘sport’). I never personally like the Norwegian stitch but like psychology would predict in successful marketing the more that you see something, over and over, the more that this something becomes intriguing when it might have previously not been. And that is starting to occur for me with this new Norwegian phenomenon, bringing back something that was seen a lot in the 90’s in various Italian makers but hardly anywhere else.
The very idea of the Norwegian stitch though means that one needs not to be afraid of contrast as it is nearly always done in a natural stitch without color, as essentially that is how this thread mainly comes. One can dye it if they please but then it almost takes away the allure of the idea of what the Norwegian stitch is.
So the question is will this become a trend? I am seeing it more and more now. And wonder if this is a blip in the face of 2020 or something that will extend into 2021 and with more shoemakers taking part? I guess time will tell.
What do you think of this style? Leave your thoughts in the comments
And a great weekend to all!
-Justin
I think they look good – but perhaps they are better suited as a fall/winter shoe to be worn with less formal clothes.
That makes sense to me as well
They intrigue me. I�ve picked up a Meermin and Paolo Scafora in different varieties of this stitch. I also have some reverse welted versions by Heinrich Dinkelacker (in three colors), Paraboot and Bruno Magli. These are wholecuts, split toes, and wingtip derbies. I also have a pair of Cobbler Union GYW longwings that have the �prestitch� in the split reverse welt (which I�m told is just for design). It�s a fascinating trend and I personally think it�s a good way to change up the formality as our norms grow more casual with such a large portion of the world working from homes. The up charge for this seems to vary considerably.