• Handmade Swing Era dress shoes in the style of men's captoes from the 1932 Chicago Mail Order Catalog.
  
• These are made specifically for dancing on dance floors - DO NOT wear them outside.
• Features the Aris Allen Raw Sole: a flexible leather sole and heel made especially to provide you with the action you want on the dance floor. Ask any dance instructor: the “fastness” of the sole forces you to “find your center” immediately.
• This is a very roomy style. See sizing recommendations below.
• The uppers are a gorgeous, pliable leather. Many of our test dancers said they were roomy enough to add inserts over the soft foam footbed.
• Heel height is approximately 1".
• Item #: 446-BK

SPECS:

These are great dance shoes because of the slideable hard leather sole and heel, and the comfort you need in a shoe that's going to be on the hardwood all night.

SIZING TIPS:
(Our returns show we are right about 90% of the time)

We find that these run true to size if you are medium or slightly wide width. So order your usual men's dress shoe size. Not your athletic shoe size. Call us if you need help figuring out your size.

Narrow width: 
Test dancers with narrow feet had to put inserts in them to get a good fit. If you are in between sizes the smaller of the two might be best for you.

Medium width:
Test dancers said that they fit true to size and were roomy. Add a thin insert if it's the perfect length but a bit too roomy.

Wide width: 
Some of our test dancers with wide feet were shocked when these fit beautifully even though they don't look wide. "Oh I'm never gonna fit in th-- wait, what? It's my size!" Not kidding. A size 9.5 EE tester fit into a size 10. BUT - these are not extra wide, just taller than normal inside which makes them extra-roomy for most. Do not hope these will fit very wide feet.

About “Blucher” construction:
This captoe is made in the Blucher style, meaning that unlike most dress shoes they are constructed to open and close across the foot with laces (rather than being stitched down at the base of the laces) to allow you to adjust the fit to your liking. This means they easily fit a variety of widths, from slightly narrow to average to slightly wide.

ABOUT THE ARIS ALLEN RAW SOLE:

• The Aris Allen Raw Sole is made from flexible hard leather that gets a little “faster” over time by repeatedly absorbing the natural humidity in the air (especially at a dance) and drying. The bottom of the sole and heel is made from sanded hard leather and performs a lot like Chrome Leather (suede) which allows you to spin and slide, and still control the floor. If you find the sole has picked up dirt from the floor and is slowing down, just shuffle your feet on the sidewalk once or twice to refresh it.
• The raw leather surface is designed for the intermediate / advanced dancer - but they're also great as a second pair for beginners... the “fastness” of the sole forces you to “find your center” immediately.
• This style was created to give you a shoe that is similar to what was being worn when swing dancing was invented. If you want to look authentic on the dance floor you need to be wearing the same thing that dancers were wearing in the 20s, 30s, and 40s.

ABOUT THE CONSTRUCTION OF THESE SHOES:

They are absolutely 100% handmade. The cutting of the leather is done by hand - not stamped out, the glue is put on with a brush, not a machine, and the sewing, while done with a sewing machine, is done one at a time. You can even see the occasional pencil mark! This means that the shoe on your foot is the product of a craftsman who sees the shoe from start to finish. This also explains why you will find the occasional imperfection. They are made one at a time.