Lorenzo Masiero: nappa ankle boots and boots
Nappa is a leather tanned to stay soft: it lacks the stiffness of a structured full-grain and gives to the foot over the first weeks instead of imposing a shape on it. It is the material almost all of this Lorenzo Masiero page is built from, and the reason these models can be worn from day one without the break-in a firmer leather demands. In return it asks for gentler care: a dry cloth, a neutral cream, and never a direct heat source to dry it.
An ankle boot covers the ankle and stops below the calf; the shortest versions stop just above it, with a straighter shaft. Together they are the largest group in stock here: a zip closure on most models, a heel that stays low or medium, a leather insole. They sit alongside every other pair in the store on the women's ankle boots page.
Boots rise above the calf and change how the rest of the outfit is built: they call for a knee-length skirt or dress, or trousers tucked into the shaft. Part of this page has an elasticated shaft, which is what makes them wearable on a fuller calf without resorting to a full-length zip. The rest of the store's boots are on the women's boots page.
The sandals and the platform models cover the opposite end of the year. A platform is the thickness under the forefoot: it lifts the toe along with the heel, so it cuts the real drop between heel and forefoot and makes a high heel far more wearable than the number on the spec sheet suggests. It is why a ten-centimetre sandal on a platform walks better than a seven-centimetre one without.
The sole alternates two constructions. The leather-and-rubber bottom puts leather where stiffness is needed and rubber where grip is, and on some models that rubber is a Vibram sole. The all-rubber bottom is lighter and quieter, and behaves better in the wet. Inside, the leather insole absorbs moisture and takes the print of the foot within weeks: it is why a pair worn often fits better than a new one. Neither construction wants a radiator: let both dry at room temperature.
