More Than Made in USA | Oak Street Bootmakers

As a young man, I spent my afternoons, weekends, and summers working as a cobbler’s assistant at my father’s shoe repair. Most days, it was the same thing: bluchers and loafers, brown and black. But now and then, we'd see something special. I remember seeing a pair of scotchgrain wingtip oxfords from the early 1970s. They seemed, at first, drastically overbuilt: soles that must have weighed 4 pounds, steel cleats in each heel and toe, a Storm Welt with decorative wheeling, deerskin lining, and uppers which, over 20 years and so many polishes, had developed the sort of finish I would one day know by name. But there was something more to them than all that—something more substantive, something more real.

Oak Street Bootmakers was founded to ensure that this kind of craftsmanship not only survives, but is available to as many people as possible. When we began work on our first collection, we had no idea just how many challenges we’d face in manufacturing here at home: a shortage of qualified workers, limited access to machinery, and a supply chain with more than a few missing links. Ten years later, we remain more committed to domestic manufacturing than ever before—not despite these challenges, but because of them. For us, 'Made in USA' is not the end, but the means by which we bring America's most classic shoes and boots to life, combining traditional American shoemaking with the most durable, versatile, and beautiful materials available from renowned suppliers worldwide.

—George Vlagos, Founder

The Bigger Concern

American shoemaking is in critical condition. Today, over 98% of footwear sold in the United States is made overseas. While the economic impacts of offshoring are frequently and thoroughly discussed, far less attention is devoted to considering how the loss of a traditional skill, such as shoemaking, can alter our cultural and technological trajectory.

No survey of the History of American Menswear would be complete without a rather lengthy lecture on loafers. However, the loafer was not conceived by a clever lad from a fancy fashion school, but resulted from the gradual evolution of Maine's moccasin tradition, wherein an already simple design was refined, honed, and polished over 300 years.

While we may never know the precise degree to which General MacArthur's "island hopping" campaign depended on water-resistant boots, we do know that without a domestic shoemaking supply chain that included Horween Leather Co., and its vast experience manufacturing water-resistant leather, the rapid development of a boot for amphibious assaults would have been significantly more challenging.

Preserving American shoemaking, with all the traditional skills and ancillary industries necessary to support it, is far more than a jobs program or a means of satisfying gentlemen and their pangs for finery. Instead, shoemaking is both a lantern that can help illuminate our past and a propellant that can help fuel our future.

A Higher Standard

Our "More than Made in USA" standard not only indicates domestic manufacturing, but adherence to traditional shoemaking techniques, use of premium materials from trusted domestic and preeminent international suppliers, accessories and packaging sourced from the domestic supply chain, and quality assured by our Factory Guarantee.

Manufacturing Practices	“Made in USA”	Made in USA
Compliant with FTC "Made in USA" guidelines, sometimes qualified with the use of imported materials	✓	✓
Maintains traditional shoemaking techniques and recraftable construction	×	✓
Complex components, such as soles, are constructed to suit the purpose of a given style	×	✓
Acquires materials from trusted domestic or Preeminent International Suppliers¹	×	✓
Quality of materials and construction assured by Factory Guarantee	×	✓
Accessories and packaging made domestically, further strengthening supply chain	×	✓
Not only a few styles, but an entire collection that maintains a traditional standard of quality	×	✓
¹Preeminent International Suppliers: Widely-trusted, well-respected, and/or historically-significant overseas manufacturers of shoemaking materials and components

Hides with Bona Fides

All our footwear is crafted using leather sourced from the world’s leading tanneries. Each of our featured tanneries produces leather with proprietary, time-honored tanning processes and has been in operation for at least 40 years.

Horween Leather Co.

Chicago – USA

C.F. Stead Sheepscar

Leeds – England

Maryam S.R.L.

Toscana – Italy

Seidel Tanning Corp.

Milwaukee – USA

A British-made Dainite Rubber-Studded Sole

Not Afraid to Bare Our Sole

All our leather soles and stacked-leather heels are made right alongside our footwear. Our branded rubber Camp Soles and Boat Soles are made in a Vibram® factory. When it comes to specialty rubber soles, we Vibram's American-made soles and heels, as well as British-made studded soles and heels by Dainite®. Limited editions are usually paired with one of a variety of rubber soles from Vibram’s factory in Italy.

The Parts You Never See But Always Notice

We take great care in selecting all our materials—including those most will never see. For example, we source our welts from the Barbour Welting Company in Massachusetts, the foremost innovator in welts since 1892. You’ll never see the Barbour logo in your boots but you’ll appreciate their craftsmanship every time your feet stay dry in the rain.

An Oak Street Bootmakers Trench Boot with Barbour Welt exposed before sole is attached — Massachusetts' Barbour Welting Company has been in continuous operation since 1892.

A Chain of Many Links

Our domestic supply-chain includes far more than tanneries and welt makers. Every day, we trade with die makers, lace distributors, metalsmiths, brushmakers, purveyors of waxed thread—a pantheon of people whose livelihoods depend on the support of companies like us and customers like you. These are highly-specialized small businesses and, in many cases, they are the sole-remaining domestic resource capable of providing their goods or services.

Keeping The Network Online

It's taken over a decade to connect our network of vendors and suppliers—and we're still working on it. In many ways, American shoemaking remains a cottage industry, where some craftspeople still work out of their garage or basement. You won't find them with a search engine. To find the guy you need, you have to ask the guy who knows him. We are dedicated to keeping all these folks in business, not just for us, but for all those who seek to preserve the great tradition of American craftsmanship.

A proud bootmaker at an Oak Street Bootmakers Factory

A young bootmaker attaches a heel to a Trench Boot

A skilled bootmaker operating a Goodyear Welt machine

The Next Chapter

Unfortunately, nothing on Skillshare teaches the safe and effective operation of a 1945 Landis #12 E Sole Stitcher. That may change one day but until then, the best way to learn is at the side of someone who's been using one for a decade or two. There aren't many people who have the know-how to make a good pair of boots, which is precisely why it's so important to support those who do—and those who want to learn. The story of American shoemaking is one of ingenuity, ambition, and more recently, perseverance. Help us make sure this latest chapter won't be the last.

Made in U.S.A.

The Bigger Concern

A Higher Standard

It’s slow.
It’s expensive.
And we wouldn’t have it any other way.