Shoe Design Looks "Off"? Tell me why!

Are you familiar with that uncomfortable feeling in a new pair of shoes that never goes away? You try to "break them in," but the pressure on your pinky toe, the blister on your heel, or the pain in your joints just keeps coming back. #shoemaking #oxfordshoes #shoeschool I remember this feeling clearly. Before I started making my own shoes, every new pair I bought hurt me. I felt pain in the heel, pressure on the fourth toe, and aching in the joints. Back in those days, I didn't understand why. I thought it was just my feet or the leather. But now, I know the truth. And if you are a shoemaker or a designer, you need to know this too. The Big Mistake Beginners Make The problem is usually not the leather quality. It is not even your pattern-making technique. The problem is often rooted in the Design itself. Many beginners (and even some experienced makers) think they can draw a shoe design wherever they want. They look at the last, take a pencil, and draw lines that "look nice." This is the biggest mistake you can make. You cannot simply draw lines where you want them. Every line of a shoe design must respect the specific rules of construction for that shoe type. More importantly, they must respect the anatomy of the human foot. In this tutorial, I show you the strong connection between shoe design and shoe construction. I use an English Brogue Oxford as an example, but these rules apply to almost any type of footwear you want to make. I will explain why your shoes m