The Construction

My first order from the Artista line was a pair of cap toe oxfords in an Adelaide design. They’re made in a brown vegano leather from D’Annonay tannery. 

The shoes have vegetable tanned leather insoles and calf lining, and I got them in the Goya last. The Goya last come in a F width as a standard, and, even though F width obviously being fairly wide, I was surprised, or rather overwhelmed, that they fit so perfectly. 

The outsole is a single leather sole with closed channel stitching. 

The shoes are of course made with a Goodyear welt. Last but not least, as is mentioned in the previous article about TLB; the leather heel stiffeners. 

As for details, this wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the bevelled waist and how close cut the heel is. Both giving it a tapered and refined look.

I am aware that not everyone is necessarily in favor of neither of these, but for me it’s honestly two of the most significant details from the aesthetic perspective as to why I revere TLB so much. 

Some thoughts on instep

As for the instep, my first impression was really good. The instep I would say is on the lower side of a medium instep. 

With this medium instep the Goya last has a somewhat abrupt angle (for lack of better term) just beneath the throat. Later on I ordered the same pair in black boxcalf, which will become relevant for this review as you’ll see. 

I never really had any issues with the brown leather pair I ordered. In fact none of the other brown leather pairs from TLB for that matter. But with all my black oxfords the case has been completely different. The first couple of wears they were a perfect fit, but after a while with more wears, I noticed that the creases on the vamp started to form a somewhat sharp angle that was quite painful, although only on my right foot, which is the one with the higher arch.

At first I was worried that I now own a bunch of pairs of oxfords that I won’t be able to wear, but I was determined to find a solution. I recon the best theory as to why, acknowledging the possibility it could all be pure coincidence, is that the boxcalf tends to be a lot stiffer, especially the black dye. It might be that the vegano leather is a little more forgiving in the way they crease over time, and as such softens more evenly as opposed to boxcalf. To be fair, this says a lot more about how little it takes for shoes not to fit, than it does about the quality of TLB. At this point I just want to reiterate how amazing I think the construction and fit is and that I would recommend these shoes any day. The aforementioned case is limited to black boxcalf and my right foot and as luck would have it, I did find a solution.

In the end what saved me, or rather, my black shoes, was changing the shoe trees. Sounds like a simple and obvious solution, but there is a little more finesse to it; a little too big and you’ll end up struggling at the other end of the spectrum, with your shoes being uncomfortably big in the aforementioned areas. I found the Briga Loafer Shoe Trees to be perfect. They are very close to the Goya last, honestly I think they are just half a centimeter taller, adding just that right amount of hight and extension to the instep. I’m very satisfied I could make this change without ruining the shape or putting any more pressure on the wrong areas. After doing this with all my black TLB Artista oxfords, voilà, the problem was solved. 

By the way, I understand if that segment was somewhat tedious, but I figured it was worth going into detail in case anyone happen to have the same or similar issues and also give a little insight into how the shoes shapes over time.

The Leather

In the previous segment I mentioned leather in terms of how it affects comfort for me personally. All in all, I am now satisfied with the solution I found, and as such, with regards to quality both the vegano leather and the boxcalf leather is really good. The shoes in question for this article came in a vegano brown Calf from the Annonay tannery. The leather lives up to the reputation of the tannery and the leather has really matured nicely over the past year or so. I think the vegano more than any of the other leathers, really creases beautifully over time. It has started to develop somewhat of a patina, but I’m looking forward to see how it will look even more years down the line. 

A suggestion with regards to polish. I’ve used Saphir Médaille d’Or dark brown and burgundy on my brown shoes. Although unfortunately not as noticeable with pictures taken inside, nor on this particular pair as I tend to keep these quite simple, only adding a little to the front of the toe. 

But generally it’s a mix that picks up nicely when you’re outside and creates a nice but subtle contrast to the brown of the upper.

The Sole

The outsole on this pair is the standard leather sole, which now is quite worn, as would be expected. But I find it to be a sturdy and long lasting sole. I did add a metal toe chip, as the toe was starting to wear down compared to the rest of the sole. But it is not a secret this has to do with how I walk as opposed to the leather quality. 

For comparison I have another pair that I order custom from TLB, with JR soles and I wouldn’t say there is much difference in the wear and tear between the two, even though the JR sole supposedly being the better of the two. 

Conclusion and last thoughts

As most of my Artista shoes are on the same last and almost all being oxfords, I probably won’t go into detail with regards to them in the future, with exception to the loafers for which there will be a review of soon. There will however be a post on the custom option and some pictures available in the gallery. 

All in all I have nothing but great things to say about the TLB Artista line. As more and more articles and reviews have come out the last year or two, it seems that not only people in the mid range budget, but also aficionados whom usually would opt for shoes from a much higher price range, all give praise to the quality and elegance TLB has to offer.

Feel free to comment and if you own a pair of TLB yourself, share your experience.

Until next time.