Handmade Leather Sandals for Men

Handmade leather sandals: what that actually means

"Handmade" is printed on almost any label these days. In our case it means something specific and verifiable: when you order a pair of men's leather sandals from Mario Doni, that pair doesn't exist yet. It gets cut, stitched, trimmed and polished by hand in our workshop in Santa Maria a Monte, near Pisa, after you place the order. There is no warehouse of finished pairs waiting for a buyer, and no machine turning out three hundred an hour.

That's why every product page carries the name of the person that sandal was built for. It isn't a marketing flourish — it's the workshop's archive, made public. Every pair you see on this page has already been on someone's foot.

Vegetable-tanned leather from Italian tanneries

We use vegetable-tanned leather and real hides from Italian tanneries, and nothing else. No synthetics, no glue standing in for a stitch, no coating hiding an inferior layer underneath.

Vegetable tanning uses plant tannins instead of chromium. It takes weeks rather than hours and costs more — in return it produces leather that breathes, doesn't hold odours, and moulds to the foot that wears it. On the first outing a leather sandal is stiffer than a rubber footbed. By the second week it has taken the exact shape of your foot and never loses it. Nobody else's foot fits it after that: it's yours in the literal sense.

Made-to-measure sandals: how it works

With Build Your Ideal Sandal you choose the model, leather colour, sole type and finishes, and the sandal is made in your size.

If you have wide or particularly narrow feet, a high instep, an orthotic to fit, or any orthopaedic requirement, write to us before ordering: in most cases we adapt the model at no extra cost. This is precisely what industrial production can't do and a workshop can. Making the sandal takes 7-10 working days on average, plus shipping.

Choosing your model

The men's collection falls into four families, all in the same quality of leather:

• Barefoot sandals — thin, flexible sole, zero drop. The foot works as if bare, protected but not constrained. Four models, from the minimal Mod. 01 to the more structured Mod. 04. The choice for anyone coming from minimalist footwear.
• Gladiator sandals, Antica Toscana line — crossed straps and ankle lacing, following the design of Roman caligae. Arezzo, Arno and Asciano, in ascending height. They hold the foot steady even on broken ground.
• Leather thong sandals — Abetone and Agliana. Toe post, heel strap, nothing superfluous. Light, on your feet in three seconds.
• Closed sandals — covered toe in Cuoio Flex, cage construction. The closed Arno is the most protective piece in the catalogue: it breathes like a sandal and protects almost like a shoe.

Getting the size right

Stand your foot on a sheet of paper against a wall and measure the length in centimetres, in the evening, when the foot has swollen slightly. Compare the figure against the size guide.

Caught between two sizes, take the larger one: leather gives about half a size in the first few weeks and never shrinks. If the size is wrong, returns are available under our returns policy.

A pair that lasts six summers

The rubber sole is replaceable. When it wears through, the sandal gets resoled — by us or by any cobbler — instead of going in the bin. The leather upper, if it's looked after, outlasts the sole by a wide margin.

Care is trivial: a damp cloth after wearing, and two or three times a season a coat of leather grease or neutral wax. The one thing to avoid is drying them by a radiator or in direct sun — the leather stiffens and eventually cracks. Getting them wet is fine, as long as they dry at room temperature.

Do the arithmetic: a €130 pair that lasts six summers costs around €22 a year. A €40 pair replaced every summer costs €40. With the difference that the first one, after the first summer, is your sandal and nobody else's.

What customers say

4.2 out of 5 across more than 340 verified reviews collected by Feedaty, which certifies them as coming from real buyers. You'll find all of them at the foot of this page — including the three-star ones.

See also

• Build your made-to-measure sandal
• Handmade men's clogs
• Handmade women's leather sandals
• Handmade leather belts
• The Mario Doni workshop
• The materials we use