How Marco Ferretti shoes are made
The derby is the lace-up shoe whose quarters — the two flaps carrying the eyelets — are stitched on top of the upper and stay open at the base. It is the construction that allows the widest adjustment across the instep, and that is why it takes a broad foot or a high arch without forcing anything. On the Marco Ferretti shoes on this page lace fastening returns in every model, from the low shoe to the lace-up ankle boot that covers the ankle, and the toe is always round: a shape that leaves the toes room instead of pressing them towards the centre.
The lace-up ankle boot rises to cover the ankle bone without going past it: higher than a derby, lower than a boot, and therefore the shape that holds the foot steady on uneven ground without locking the joint. The suede it is made from has been treated to be water-repellent, meaning it keeps water on the surface instead of letting it soak into the fibre; that treatment wears off and has to be renewed, it is not a permanent property of the material.
The insole is leather. Leather takes up the moisture of the day and gives it back while the shoe rests, which is why a shoe with a leather insole is alternated rather than worn two days running: twenty-four hours in dry air do more than any product. The outsole is rubber, so it grips on wet ground and does not call for the caution a leather sole demands on marble. The heel stays at around two centimetres: enough to lift the heel bone and ease the load on the forefoot, too little to change the way you walk.
Suede is the same material Italian labels call camoscio, and it asks for different care from smooth leather: brush it dry when it is completely dry, never with soap and water, and treat it with a water-repellent spray before the first wear and again at every change of season. Smooth leather lives on neutral cream and a soft cloth, applied weeks apart. Other laced shapes for men are on the men's lace-up shoes page.
