An apron front is a seam-led design, and black is the hardest colour to show a seam in. On the Rialto the apron runs from a soft point at the toe back along both sides of the vamp to the throat, raised proud of the leather rather than laid flat, so in black it reads as a change of light rather than a change of colour. From across a room you see a plain dark shoe with a curve down the middle. Close to, the stitching and the gimped, saw-toothed facing edges come into focus.
Five eyelets, quarters stitched over the vamp, and a sole with more height under it than a dress shoe usually carries. That is why the Rialto behaves like a working shoe rather than an evening one: a black lace-up you can walk a city in, worn with flannel, a heavy chino or dark denim rather than with morning dress.
The Rialto belongs to John White's Church Street collection, and the sock lining is printed CHURCH STREET rather than carrying the usual heritage stamp. A small thing, but it is the quickest way to tell which line a pair came from once the box has gone.
Sizes are UK 7 to 12 in whole sizes only, so there is nothing in between anywhere in this run. The width is the F that John White's guide gives for most of what they make, and the shoe is designed in Northamptonshire.
We cannot show you how the Rialto's sole is held on, so we make no claim about its construction. The other colourway is the Rialto in brown.
Care: Black wax, applied thinly, then buffed. Take a small brush along the apron seam and the gimped facing edges, where polish gathers and dries pale. Shoe trees after wearing.
You can ask any question about this product.
Our specialists will answer you shortly!
An apron front is a seam-led design, and black is the hardest colour to show a seam in. On the Rialto the apron runs from a soft point at the toe back along both sides of the vamp to the throat, raised proud of the leather rather than laid flat, so in black it reads as a change of light rather than a change of colour. From across a room you see a plain dark shoe with a curve down the middle. Close to, the stitching and the gimped, saw-toothed facing edges come into focus.
Five eyelets, quarters stitched over the vamp, and a sole with more height under it than a dress shoe usually carries. That is why the Rialto behaves like a working shoe rather than an evening one: a black lace-up you can walk a city in, worn with flannel, a heavy chino or dark denim rather than with morning dress.
The Rialto belongs to John White's Church Street collection, and the sock lining is printed CHURCH STREET rather than carrying the usual heritage stamp. A small thing, but it is the quickest way to tell which line a pair came from once the box has gone.
Sizes are UK 7 to 12 in whole sizes only, so there is nothing in between anywhere in this run. The width is the F that John White's guide gives for most of what they make, and the shoe is designed in Northamptonshire.
We cannot show you how the Rialto's sole is held on, so we make no claim about its construction. The other colourway is the Rialto in brown.
Care: Black wax, applied thinly, then buffed. Take a small brush along the apron seam and the gimped facing edges, where polish gathers and dries pale. Shoe trees after wearing.
You can ask any question about this product.
Our specialists will answer you shortly!
