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Have you been dreaming of a boot that doesn’t exist?
Well, you’re in luck! Ordering custom boots online is actually not as difficult as it sounds, and there’s a bootmaker out there for just about anyone looking for anything, from a heavy work boot to flashy wedding wear, or your third pair of moc toes.
Remember that custom boots take time to make and they’re not easy to return, but we’ve got some options here that’ll be at your doorstep in under two months.
So let’s dive into everything you’ll need to score the best boots from solid brands and the nuances you need to know before buying made to order personalized boots.
What are Custom Made to Order (MTO) Boots?Custom made-to-order boots differ from your average mall brands or mass-produced brands because they’re not ready-to-wear boots. Each of the companies I’m listing makes the boots once you’ve placed the order. Because they’re being made for you instead of coming off a shelf, these brands give you extra control over how the boot will be made. Whether you want pink leather for a wedding or you need ice gripping soles for winter work, you’ve got options here.
The boots I’ve chosen boots fall into three major camps:
Custom boots don’t have to break the bank or take months to get made. The brands we’re listing are high quality and can perform any job they need to, plus there’s a level of satisfaction that comes from knowing these boots are one-of-a-kind and were made with you in mind.
You’ll also get serious longevity: all the boots on this list are resoleable.
Ordering a pair of personalized boots online isn’t for everyone. First and foremost, you can’t try them on before you buy them, and you can’t easily return them. That’s kind of scary, especially when you’re spending $350 to even $1,000. You’ll want to measure your foot’s length and width with measuring tape to make extra sure you’re getting the right size.
The good thing is that these brands don’t want to deal with returns either, so they offer a lot of sizing advice, and some even let you Facetime them for a sizing consultation.
Also, you have to wait weeks or months for them to get made and shipped, so this isn’t going to hit that instant gratification like ordering most things online.
My Experience Buying Custom Leather Boots OnlineI own over 100 pairs of boots. Most aren’t made-to-order but many are, from large-ish brands like Nicks to small makers in Asia and elsewhere.
I’ve bought custom boots online at least a dozen times from fantastic companies in the United States, Guatemala, and Indonesia, as well as every company on this list. (Except Wesco. You’ll see why.)
I’ve personally visited Indonesia to see how they make boots, I’ve interviewed owners of companies, and Adelante invited me down to Guatemala to learn how to make custom boots with their expert boot makers.
So, I’ve got a bit of background here, and I’m pumped to share my favorites made to order boots.
Best Custom Boots: IdreseIdrese stands out for its quick turnaround and affordability relative to the other boots on the list, with most footwear priced under $400. They offer remarkable customization options, from exotic materials like blue leopard print and Scottish tartan to all manner of leathers, roughouts, and suedes, plus functional options like storm welts and various soles.
I custom ordered a brown, roughout Chelsea with a storm welt and Ridgeway sole, which they now sell as the ‘Shadbolt.’ Value and a wide range of styles make Idrese an excellent choice for those on a budget seeking quick, personalized footwear.
Fastest Custom Boots
Idrese’s Custom BootsDesign your own boot to an insane degree, including dressy black box calf, leopard print, herringbone twill, and more — ready made and shipped to your door in under a month.
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Known for visually striking designs, Taft is a go-to for boots with flair. I own their flagship Jack boots, but their ‘Taft X You‘ program allows you to express your own designs. Pick everything from the leather type and add unique details like dragonfly prints or personalized initials.
While having a slightly longer wait time than Idrese (5- or 6-weeks) Taft’s pricing a little more competitive, usually $350 – $375. Idrese has them beat on the range of options, but Taft has great variety as well, and some patterns (like floral printed leather) you won’t find elsewhere.
Flashiest Boots
Taft x You Custom BootsFrom eyelets to sole edge, these boots have a huge range of leathers, textures, and fabrics you can choose to make one-of-a-kind boots, from size 5 to 17.
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Adelante is run by two Americans in Guatemala, and they stand out for their ethical and sustainable approach, building their business model around the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and paying their workers over double the average local wage.
This brand caters exceptionally well to those with big and wide feet, offering sizes from 4 to 17 and widths from C to EEEEE. So they’re our favorite choice for folks who have hard to fit feet: they’ll do different sizes and can modify them for unusually high insteps, more prominent arches, that sort of thing. They’re even happy to do virtual fittings over Zoom to make sure you’re getting the right boot.
That spirit of individualization extends to various parts of the boot. There’s nothing like the selection of patterns and fabrics like the last two entries, but you can customize different panels from 7 or so leathers, and you can pick from 3 leather soles.
Best for Tough Sizing
Adelante Shoe Co.'s Handmade BootsAdelante has a strong ethical mission and great quality control as they run their own workshop. Just pick a boot and click 'custom design.'
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JK Boots offers rugged, Pacific Northwest-style work boots with a quicker turnaround time than the other work brands on this list. You can bet on receiving your boots in 4 months or less, and if you pay extra they’ll get to you in nine weeks.
They focus on work boots for loggers, firefighters, and linemen, and construction workers. If you’re keen for something closer to a lifestyle or casual boot, check out the Forefront.
Combine the short lead time with the fact they typically cost less than the other American custom work boots we mentioned, and their degree of customization — you can get different insulation options and knife pockets, which no one else on this list offers — and you’ve got a company well worth a close look.
Further Reading
JK Boots Review | A Blue Collar Worker’s Honest Opinion
Just because you’re wearing them on the job doesn’t mean you can’t have an amazing pair of welted, customizable boots! Check out how →
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JK BootsThe best American work boots for guys who thick leathers and short wait times. Use code STRIDEWISE for $20 off.
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The strength of Nicks custom boots is less about a range of bizarre materials you can choose or having different leathers for different panels and more about how damn tough they are, how many styles of work boots you can customize, and the fact they’re USA made.
Nicks offers a very wide range of work boots for everyone from firefighters to linemen to city guys who just like the feeling of extra tough casual boots. (That’d be the Robert or Urban Logger, FYI.) When we say they’re customizable, we mean you can pick from about two dozen kinds of leathers, several shaft heights, toe structure, speed hooks, edge color, toe cap, sole type, and a couple of other elements.
Because they’re made with a ton of leather, the old-fashioned way, and in the United States, prices will be over $600, and the wait can take as long as 8 months. (Order in late spring, that’s their slower period.)
Heavy Duty Work Boots
Nicks Handmade BootsWhether you're a literal firefighter or just want extra durable casual boots, Nicks makes a range of seriously tough boots right here in the US.
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Wesco, another American work boot brand, is known for its meticulous craftsmanship, but the wait time is significant: up to eighteen months, and once you’re done customizing, the price will likely be closing in on a thousand bucks.
But you have more options for customizing than Nicks: more soles (like one made for gripping ice), different leathers for different panels, choosing your own thread color, and quite a lot more.
Pricing easily exceeds $800, making Wesco more suitable for those who prioritize exceptional build quality and are willing to wait. They sell over 17 different shoes and boots — mostly serious work boots but also a couple of more “lifestyle” boots like the Hendrik and Johannes.
The Customizable Boot
Wesco HendrikWesco offers full customization on the Hendrik model. From your choice of upper, sole, eyelets, and much more, the Hendrik will feel truly yours.
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Heading across the pond we’re looking at one of Europe’s premier luxury shoemakers, Carmina, located on the island of Mallorca, Spain.
Carmina has established itself as a go-to brand for dress boots since its founding in 1866, and they’re still managed by the family’s fifth generation. I was lucky enough to visit them a while back and toured their factory to learn about their secret lasting method to make wholecut Chelsea boots.
Carmina’s custom boots stand out for their extensive and luxurious customization options, including very sought-after leathers like cordovan from Chicago’s Horween and reptile, but their bread and butter is calfskin, offering a huge range that includes box calf, vegano, museum, funchal,and vitello. There’s a wide range of colors available too: 16 cordovans and 28 suede, for example. (There’s even a leopard print goatskin they call “Pony.”)
Overall, their boot designs fall into the “European style” camp and thus lean sleek and dressy, but perhaps the most impressive feature is you can choose from thirty different lasts. This is more than any on this list.
Suffice it to say, you’ll find something that works for your foot, including triple E lasts for wide-footed guys. Carmina’s Chelsea boots, particularly their whole-cut Chelsea boots, are their best known, and they sell them at a great price when you take into account the attention to detail for the build and finish and the quality of materials you get.
Best Custom Dress Boot
Carmina Shoemaker - Custom BootsWith unparalleled craftsmanship, a diverse selection of premium leathers, and meticulous attention to detail, Carmina truly elevates their boots with sophisticated elegance and timeless style.
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Indonesia is where boot guys get their custom boots. As we said in the introduction, some guys want something lightweight and fashionable, some guys need heavy-duty work boots, and then there’s a third category of guys who want boots made incredibly skillfully.
It’s hard to summarize high-end bootmaking in a short space; suffice it to say there are unusually expensive and laborious leathers and construction methods that are rare because, well, they’re pricy, and most people aren’t boot hobbyists who see their value.
A good example is the Cordmaster boot from Sagara Bootmaker in Bandung, Indonesia.
The leather is very thick, vegetable-tanned, undyed, and horsebutt — every one of those qualities is rare because the average dude is happy with brown cow leather.
Instead of a typical Goodyear welt (done by machine), these are Norwegian hand welt, meaning not only are they sewn by hand (taking hundreds of times longer than a quick Goodyear welt), they’re made Norwegian style, which is an extra skillful and water resistant and old fashioned way to make boots. It’s really cool and worth the time and expense, given how much longer everything takes to make than standard boots, even standard custom boots.
We run through a bunch of them in this guide to Indonesian boot brands. Still, some of the most respected are Sagara (extra well-known for cordovan and monkey boots), Briselblack (Chelseas and laceless styles), Onderhoud (service boots and boondocks, but hard to buy), Winson (dressier footwear), Fortuna, and Junkyard.
They’ll take a good few months, maybe six, to make boots that would cost four figures if made stateside. If you want a shorter wait, newer and hungrier brands like Jakkrabits and Fortis can probably get you your boots in under two months. Prices are usually between $400 to $800, with those newer brands charging less and moving faster because they haven’t yet built the reputation or clientele.
Once your boots actually arrive, you’ll see what we mean about how special the feeling is of wearing unique boots made to your specs. From Idrese‘s quick and affordable options to the Pacific Northwest’s rugged offerings, we have zero doubt there’s a brand on this list that will make what you’re looking for.
Yes, you can get custom-made shoes and sneakers online; Idrese and Taft can craft a wide range of shoes and sneakers for men and women. Wesco and Nicks have fewer options.
Wesco has a custom fitting card you can print out and send them measurements of your feet. Adalante has virtual fittings. Nicks has a DIY sizing guide online. Neither Taft nor Idrese have printable sizing charts, but both have great customer support.
None of these companies keep thier custom boots in stock, they create these boots when you order them. The wait time is generally 1 to 18 months.
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