DESCRIPTION:

• Handmade Swing Era dress shoes in the style of a spectator wingtip from the 1946 Sears and Roebuck 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 #: 441-BRS

 SIZING TIPS:

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

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: 
Test dancers with wider than normal feet were shocked when these fit some of them even though they don't look wide. "Oh I'm never gonna fit in th-- wait, what? It's my size!" A size 9.5 EE tester fit into a size 10. That said: these are NOT wide width shoes but, because they are roomy, they will fit some men with wider than normal feet. We wish we could be more specific but just want to say that even though they look a touch narrow they are not. Call us if you need help with sizing.

BALMORAL STYLE:

These are traditional wingtips constructed in the Balmoral style. This means they are stitched across the ball of the foot and cannot be loosened or tightened the way a “Blucher” styled shoe can. Because of this they are not a good choice for anyone with extremely wide or narrow feet. Our Captoes have Blucher construction and are better suited for a wider variety of foot widths. Check out Swing Shoes 101 for more about this.

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.