A strange phenomenon has occurred and that is that people seem to be enjoying more and more the idea of a decorated shoe sole and pictures of them. When I add a sole shot to my IG feed, depending on how shiny it is and the angle of it, often it is getting more likes, comments and circulation than my pictures of beautiful shoes. Go figure. Maybe I should become ‘The Sole Snob’ and only posts pics of soles? Well, while that sounds like a good way to get good engagement in the monstrous world of online algorithms, my passion just wouldn’t be there, so I guess for now, I will just stick to be ‘The Shoe Snob’ and give my two cents on this new found interest of increasing proportion!
There are two types of people in this world. Love who love sole detail and those who couldn’t care less about it. Frankly, I appreciate it, but in reality I fall into the latter category as the practical side of me (which trumps the creative in this circumstance) realizes that after 5 seconds of wearing the shoes, all of that decor will be pretty much (save the waist).? And therefore, while I always enjoying seeing new creativity going on, I would personally never pay more, request or offer this type of sole feature on any shoes. I am quite content with a nice plain finish and nothing more. But that is just me and I am just one man.
As this phenomenon grows daily on Instagram, I feel that I might be the minority and that is okay as what is more important is that shoemakers are being creative and that creativity is what helps keep our industry alive.
So, keep it up, enjoy looking at it even if you wouldn’t personally wear it and let’s hope that the newfound creativity in sole-work, also goes to pattern design in the uppers!
I used to have the same mindset of not caring much about the sole finishing.
As my shoe game is going up, small details such as sole, how slim the waist is, and overall look of it becomes one of my must have features.
Each time I pick a new shoe up, 2nd thing after looking at the last and upper, is checking the sole.
If it has a slim waist, nice finishing, certainly it adds more value toward comparing the shoe from another.
I really like Meccariello’s approach on it, you can still enjoy his marbled patina look on the waist of the sole after wearing them many times.
I think any brand that want to succeed in these hard times, should start increasing their offerings.
For example one big name bespoke shoemaker in London, will offer their RTW line in much nicer sole than the plain and flat like current one.