Cordoal — men's dress shoes

Last shape,
sole construction,and the width youactually need.

Three numbers before any adjective. Every pair on this site states the width across the ball in millimetres, how the sole is attached, and whether it can be resoled — because those three decide how long you keep it.

Products: 40Products
Lasts: 3Lasts
Resoleable: 15Resoleable

Shop the range Find your width

Cut it open

All construction detail

Cross-sections of three shoe lasts at the ball of the foot, showing a standard, a wide and a round-toe last side by side

The shape the shoe is built around

Every shoe is built over a wooden form. We cut on three: Standard at 98 mm across the ball at EU 42, Round toe at 101 mm with more room over the instep, and Wide at 105 mm. Same length, different volume.

Affects

Width is not the same as size. A wider last at the same length fits differently.

Size converter

Measure the foot, not the shoe

Stand on a sheet of paper against a wall, mark the longest toe, measure from the wall to the mark. Do it late in the day, on both feet, and use the longer one. How to measure

Foot length(cm, required)

Width across the ball(cm, optional)

Enter a length to see the equivalent European, British and American sizes.

Sizing varies between lasts even within our own range. The length in cm is the only number that means the same thing everywhere.

Oxford Cap Toe on the Standard last. Goodyear welted, 98 mm across the ball at EU 42.

Why we photograph the edge

The interesting partis at the bottom.

Anyone can photograph a toe cap. The line where the upper meets the welt, and the stitching that runs along it, is the part that tells you whether the shoe can be taken apart and put back together in five years.

So every product page carries the sole from underneath, the label sewn inside, and the numbers that go with them.

How it is built This pair

Three endings

How the sole is attacheddecides how it ends.

Everything else about a dress shoe can be judged by looking at it. This cannot — and it is the part that determines whether you replace the pair in two years or keep it for fifteen.

Cemented

Cannot be resoled

The upper is turned under the insole board and bonded to the outsole with adhesive. No stitching anywhere in the sole. Light, flexible from new, and finished when the outsole wears through.

Blake

Resoleable, but only with a Blake machine

A single row of stitching passes from inside the shoe through insole, upper and outsole. No welt, so the sole sits close to the upper and the shoe flexes early. Resoling is possible but needs equipment many workshops do not have.

Goodyear welted

Resoleable repeatedly

An inseam holds the upper and a welt strip to a rib on the insole; a second seam attaches that welt to the outsole. The outseam never passes through the upper, so the outsole can be cut away and replaced without touching the shoe above it.

No stitching at all. Adhesive between the upper and the outsole, and no way back once it wears through.

Resoling, stated by name

Fifteen of forty.Not “our shoes”.

Half this trade advertises resoling as a house virtue while selling cemented soles alongside welted ones. A cemented sole cannot be replaced at any price, by anyone. So we count.

See the list by name The Resole Voucher

15Resoleable repeatedly: Goodyear welted. The outseam never enters the upper, so the outsole comes off without harming the shoe.
14Not a service we offer: Blake stitched. A workshop with the right machine can do it; we will not sell a voucher implying we do.
4Cannot be resoled: Cemented. When the outsole wears through, the shoe is finished. Said on every one of those pages.

Two identical shoes seen from underneath: one worn through at the ball, one with a new sole and fresh welt stitching — The same pattern, worn through and resoled. The upper was never disturbed.

A place to start

Eight of the forty

All forty products

What happens afterthe first week

New leather is stiff, and it stays stiff until it has been walked in. That period is short and it is normal, and knowing what to expect is most of what stops a good pair being returned in its first fortnight.

Break-in

Two to four wears before a smooth calf upper softens. Longer on a double sole, shorter on suede. The creasing that appears across the vamp is the leather learning where your foot bends.

Diagram of a cedar shoe tree being inserted into a shoe, shown in section

Trees

Insert them while the shoes are still warm. Cedar takes up the moisture and the tree holds the toe box against the crease that has just formed. Ten minutes matters more than the brand of tree.

Diagram of a circular care sequence: cream tin, brush, shoe tree, water droplet with cloth

Polish

Cream every eight to ten wears, wax every third application. Suede gets a brush and nothing else — cream on a nap flattens it permanently.

Care and sets Materials and construction

Buying from us

3-year legal guarantee: On new goods under Portuguese law, with conformity presumed for the first 2 years.Read the guarantee
14 days to withdraw: No reason needed. Try them on carpet indoors, and the statutory form is on the page.Right of withdrawal
Material declaration on every page: Upper, lining and insock, outsole — each in one of the four legal categories, before you order.How we read them
Complaints book: Every Portuguese trader must provide it. Complaints filed there are answered within 15 business days.Livro de Reclamações Eletrónico

Cordoal sells in USD only, on a one-time purchase basis — no subscription, no membership tier, no stored value. Free standard shipping over $199.

Last shape,
sole construction,and the width youactually need.

The shape the shoe is built around

Measure the foot, not the shoe

The interesting partis at the bottom.