Goodyear Welt Brogues
Many of our styles are available in both women's and men's sizing. To compare both sizing options, enter the product name in the search bar.
Couldn't load pickup availability
Our notes
Our Goodyear Welt Brogues are a classic semi-brogue Oxford in our Italian bio-based vegan leather (62–66% plant-origin materials). The uppers have a cap toe, a punched medallion and brogue detailing along the seams, built around a handcrafted classic last shape, and take a polish well to bring back the shine. Hidden metal eyelets sit behind the vegan leather for a clean lacing line, with long, extra-strong laces (100% recycled polyester) tipped in 100% zamak (a durable zinc alloy).
They're made with Goodyear welt construction, the most respected method in shoemaking — up to eight weeks, 75 parts and over 200 operations for a single pair. When the hard-wearing rubber outsoles (made with 10% recycled rubber) wear down, a good cobbler can stitch on a new sole at the welt, so the shoes last far longer than a normal pair.
Inside, Portuguese vegan suede (100% PU) lines the shoes — soft and breathable against the foot — and a memory foam insole over a traditional cork bed moulds to your foot with wear, getting more comfortable over time.
- Upper
- Italian bio-based vegan leather (62–66% plant-origin materials)
- Lining
- Portuguese vegan suede (100% PU) – soft and comfortable against the foot, with a breathable suede texture that helps keep feet fresh
- Insole
- Memory foam insole over a traditional cork bed – poured into the shoe and moulded to your foot over time, so they get more comfortable the more you wear them
- Outsole
- Hard-wearing rubber outsole made with 10% recycled rubber – a standard profile that most cobblers can resole easily when it eventually wears
- Laces
- Long, extra-strong laces (100% recycled polyester), with metal lace tips (100% zamak — a durable zinc alloy)
- Shank
- TPU shank for stability and support through the arch – metal-free, so they can be worn through metal detectors
- Hardware
- Hidden metal eyelets that sit behind the vegan leather for a clean finish, with metal lace tips — both 100% zamak (a durable zinc alloy)
- Construction
- Goodyear welt construction – the most respected method in shoemaking. The upper, lining and a leather welt are stitched together, then the sole is stitched to the welt, building the shoe up in many more stages than a standard glued shoe. It can be resoled again and again by any cobbler, so it lasts for years, and the welted, sealed build holds up better in wet weather
- Water Resistance
- Water-resistant for everyday wear – keeps you dry in rain, puddles, wet streets, and most winter conditions. Just avoid heavy saturation or full submersion.
- Width
- D width fitting – a slightly wider fit with more volume than standard
- Fit
- Order your usual size. Half size? Wider width fittings size up, narrower width fittings size down.
- Heel Height
- 3.0 cm
- Toe Height
- 1.5 cm
- Toe Shape
- Round toe
- Instep
- Flat insole through the arch
- Break-in Time
- You should find these comfy straight out of the box.
- Type
- Shoes
- Closure
- Lace-up
- Gender
- Men's
- Made In
- Portugal
- Weight
- 2.02 kg per pair
Share
The non-Goodyear shoes from WVS such as the City Derbys seem to have much more flexible vegan leather uppers and also to have thinner, lighter soles, so if you find these uncomfortable, I recommend those instead. I’m not really sure why they’re different in this way — maybe there is a tradeoff with durability. The city brogues are also a bit wider.
Unfortunately I found that these Goodyear welt brogues give me blisters (on my heels and smallest toes). I considered whether this was because they were too small, but I have also tried a size up on the London Brogue Goodyear welt shoes and they were too big, so unless the sizing is in fact inconsistent, I don’t think that was the cause. I get the impression that this vegan leather is unlikely to really break in much (I couldn’t see guidance on this on the WVS website), so I having worn these outside I guess I’ll have to sell them.
If you’re in London then you can try them on at The Third Estate shop and see for yourself.
Hi Hugh,
I'm so sorry you found these shoes didn't work for you - that's really disappointing, especially with the blistering.
You're absolutely right that the Goodyear Welt shoes have a thicker, heavier outsole and construction - that's the nature of Goodyear welting, which prioritizes durability and longevity. The uppers do soften with wear and usually mould to your feet after a few wears, but I completely understand that if they're causing blisters from the start, that's not acceptable.
While we usually find our footwear is comfortable out of the box, break-in time can vary between different foot shapes and models. Some people find Goodyear welts need a bit more time to soften, while others (like you've experienced with our City Derbys) find our non-Goodyear styles more immediately comfortable with their more flexible uppers and lighter soles.
We always stand by our products - if you're not happy at any point, just let us know and we will always refund, replace, exchange, or try to repair any purchase you make with us, no matter when. You can reach me directly at wg@wills-vegan-shoes.com or just reply to the email you received.
Let me know what you'd like to do to proceed - I'm here to help if you have any questions or need anything.
Will
Nice shoes and great customer service. Worn numerous times and they still rub my feet, which is unfortunate as they are very expensive.
I bought these shoes for my wedding and they're really pretty. I had to break them in before, and wore them a few time since then. They are pretty heavy and my feet are a bit sore after walking around in them all day, but I'm more used to light sneakers. I wouldn't use them as daily shoes, but for the occasional formal outing they're perfect.
The material is very convincing. You would think they are made of real leather. I only had to change the shoelaces, that I thought didn't exactly match the look.
Goodyear Welt Brogues