EVER WONDERED HOW A SHOE IS BORN? Undandys are proudly handcrafted in a third-generation shoe workshop in São João da Madeira, often referred to as the shoe capital of Portugal. Portuguese craftsmanship is world renowned, most of our cobblers have been working with shoes for over 40 years passed from generation to generation, with incredible passion and dedication to crafting each and every pair of shoes. At Undandy we are delighted to share this passion and expert craftsmanship with you, so you too can be initiated into the art of shoemaking.
The best stories start with a great beginning; our exceptional quality, full grain calf skin leathers are sourced in Italy and France. The majority of the leathers are overseen and sourced by Paulo, who has over thirty years of expertise in leather classification and grading. We have over 50 colours available in our leathers and fabrics, from matt to patent, canvas to suede.
As soon as you have designed and ordered your shoe, the order is processed and the different materials are gathered in our workshop, according to the specifications of the customisation. The fabrics are then hand cut using the specific Undandy shoe model and style, ready for the next stage of cutting.
MR.UNDANDY allow me to introduce myself, as one can never underestimate the importance of a first impression. I go by the name of Mr Undandy. Permit me to share my sartorial and, on occasion, philosophical wisdom…
Why Say It, When You Can Engrave It?
Although it is said that a picture is worth a thousand words, there are some things that are better written down and will last a lifetime.
Why Do Shoes Make The Man?
For someone who was defined by not being the sharpest tool in the drawer, Forest Gump often had some incredulously sage words of wisdom, “My Mama always said you can tell a lot about a person by their shoes.
Where they’re going, where they’ve been.” And I couldn’t agree more. We have said it numerous times here at Undandy, but it is without a shadow of a doubt that one’s shoes are of undeniable importance. So as all rational and intellectually stimulated men must do, we must question why it is so.
Don’t judge a book by its cover, is a saying often overused, particularly used against those who take pride in cultivating their appearance. However, the human condition is thus far limited that we can’t possibly help but judge on appearances. All of us are guilty, in all of our human interactions and not just in romance, of taking each other’s appearance into due consideration. When we meet someone for the first time, our unconscious mind unwittingly connects and constructs whatever objective data we have from previous experience, to fill in the blanks. Beliefs are formed in our subconscious mind as a direct result of repetition. From the first millions of years of human existence, this capability was an important survival instinct. Which corroborates the point that stereotypes were always created out of some basic truth, although I hasten to add, more often than not the exception proves the rule. Factors such as a person’s body language, tone of voice and yes, even style, is taken into subliminal consideration so we can make an ‘educated guess’ on what sort of person we are encountering. Horrendously primitive, it appears we can only project our first view of a person onto them, rather than allowing for the knowledge to come with deeper acquaintance.
In Leonard Miodinow’s book, ‘Subliminal: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behaviour’ he outlines that even politics there is no escape from the first impression judgement, where one would hope that appearance was never taken in account and where we elect candidates solely based on their capability or merit, ‘The idea that appearance might be so influential is remarkable in light of the billions of dollars spent each election year to advertise candidates’ records, views and personal qualities.’ Miodinow concludes that ‘what is really eye-opening is the idea similar hidden influences may exert a similar significant effect on all the other people choices we make in everyday life.’
But to bring us back to the point, why on earth are shoes deemed perhaps one of the most important signifiers in a first impression? It is often said that the eyes might be the window to the soul but shoes are the window to everything else. Particularly when seeking a companion, it seems that the fairer sex are so keenly attuned to noticing a man’s choice of footwear upon first ntroduction. Shoes can apparently pertain to one’s salary, background, political leanings, even one’s sexual preferences. Researchers at the University of Kansas found that people were able to accurately predict a person’s job, income and some basic personality traits just by looking at their shoes.
An interesting theory on why shoes appear so prominent in our shallow judgements is its association to individualism, according to Susan Scheftel, a professor of medical psychology in psychiatry at Columbia, ‘it seems what lends shoes their greatest psychological power is their ready association to separation and its corollary, ‘individuation’ the process of becoming one’s own unique person. Shoes are a developmentally fitting symbol for the capacity to stand up, walk forward and emerge as a separate individual, distinct from one’s parents. In order to develop an identity, a child first needs to imitate. So, although shoes are indeed made for walking, they may also function as extensions of our identities.’
Apart from hard cold scientific research, another important factor is context. The brogue monk straps you wear for the big meeting at the office would look totally misplaced at a wedding. Equally patent Oxfords that are the perfect accompaniment for a black-tie event would look quite faintly ridiculous when worn for a business lunch. It can also be argued that if you don’t take care of your shoes and are wearing dirty or scuffed shoes, that you are more likely to be someone who doesn’t care about their outward appearance but also perhaps might be someone who is lazy and doesn’t pay attention to details. On the other hand, someone with conspicuously shined shoes might come across as extremely competent, but a perfectionist.
Another argument on why shoes could be the biggest indicator of a personality, it that although we come in all shapes and sizes, our feet and shoes are usually regular, and are not keenly influenced by our body frames. Therefore, it stands to reason that our shoes are the most even playing field when it comes to judgment. Even if one cannot afford to wear the highest quality footwear, one can always choose a style that is in fitting with the context and situation they are wearing it to, and equally how well they take care of their footwear. And not only is it about these perhaps obvious details, but also about the nonchalance and ease with which one wears it. A man who likes to unbuckle the top strap of his monks, is to the discerning style aficionado, clued up when it comes to matters of sartorial importance.
It truly is fascinating that the even the smallest of details can be taken into consideration. Better to always remain considerate of one’s shoes in both style and maintenance, so one can always be sure to make a better first impression.
Here’s to good health, good principles and above all, good shoes.
___________________________________________________________
