How Officine Venete shoes are made
Every Officine Venete shoe available on this page has a rubber sole and a low heel, between 1.5 and 4 centimetres. That is the combination that defines a walking shoe: rubber grips where a smooth bottom slides, and a heel under 4 centimetres does not push the load onto the forefoot. The upper is leather on every model, in a smooth finish or in suede, two renderings of the same material that behave differently in wear.
A heel between 1.5 and 4 centimetres changes posture very little and the way the shoe wears a great deal. At the bottom of that range the fit is almost flat and the walk stays natural; towards 4 centimetres the heel lifts just enough to lengthen the leg without the weight ending up under the toes. Every model in stock stays inside that range, which is why these are shoes you can keep on all day.
On several models a leather welt runs visibly around the edge of the bottom. It is the strip that joins upper to sole and, besides drawing the outline of the shoe, it is what makes resoling possible without taking the upper apart. The insole changes too: full-grain leather on some pairs, padded leather or a removable footbed on others. A removable footbed is the one that leaves room for your own orthotic, and it is worth checking before ordering.
The shapes on this page answer different needs: the loafer, a closed shoe with no lacing that stays on by fit alone; the open sandal with a strap; the mule, which leaves the heel free; the slip-on with tassels. A loafer needs care over sizing, because with neither laces nor buckles the fit does all the work: half a size too big and the heel lifts out at every step.
