Black Wholecut Oxford in High Gloss Calf

One piece of black calf around the last, joined only at the heel, then glassed to a mirror finish. No cap, no brogue, no seam across the vamp to break the shine. The shine runs from the throat to the toe in one unbroken band. Back on the quarters the black goes almost flat.

Five eyelets, black laces, leather sole with a red painted edge and a low stacked heel. The lacing is closed, with the facings stitched in under the vamp, which is what makes this an oxford. A narrow welt runs the length of the sole, its stitch row visible along the top of an edge trimmed close and finished dark.

The heel is built from stacked lifts, countable on the back edge, where one shows a paler natural streak. The red edge paint carries round to the base of the heel. A single row of stitching follows the collar edge, and the eyelets are set flat with no metal rings.

This is the pair for black tie and for the days when nothing else will do.