Julian Boots Madison

My previous Bourbon shell pair left me unsatisfied with the design, and since Bourbon one of my favorite Horween shell colors, I wanted a second go at it. I sought it on a plain toe pair with a military-inspired look, with a pronounced last. Julian Boots was driving distance from me, and I had never ordered from them before. I perused their site for potential models, and Ianded on their "Madison" model, modified with a plain toe instead of a brogue cap toe.

Julian Boots was a three-hour drive from me, so I made the trip to get sized in person. The bootmaker, Avo, was present to measure my feet. He took foot tracings and three circumferential measurements at the ball, instep, and heel. I felt that the measurements he took were very rushed, but I was reassured because the custom last included a trial pair for fitting.

This is going to be a long one, and you have been warned! I initially reached out to Julian Boots via email, inquiring about a custom pair made in Horween Bourbon Shell (cordovan pairs start at $1595). I was interested in a fully custom pattern (+$350) inspired by the Alden Munson Boot and a custom last (+$400) specially sized for each foot. They were happy to accommodate my order, and Horween was even able to fast-track some shells to them. I made my trip over to their shop, and let them know on the phone. However, they requested me to come back the next weekend because it's their policy that the customer sees the shell cordovan they use before they begin production. That was fine with me, and I rescheduled my trip for the following weekend. When I arrived the next week, the shell had not arrived in time, but they were happy to proceed. I had the pleasure of meeting Francesca, Avo, and Michael of Julian Boots, and they were all very warm and welcoming. Avo, the bootmaker, was in a hurry, and had to quickly take my measurements. I was quite uncertain about how quickly he sized me, but the custom last included a trial pair, and this put me at ease. Then, there was push-back about some of the requirements we had discussed on email, namely the shell cordovan tongue. This was an important part of my custom pattern, so they agreed to accommodate me. We conversed and laughed for a good while, and I left them with a printed out copy of the pattern and all the details we finalized. In my following email conversations with Julian Boots, there were some challenges related to the custom pattern, so we agreed to scrap the entire thing and simplify it down to their "Madison" model on their website. The only modifications remaining were a plain toe, french binding, and the coveted shell cordovan tongue. I felt more confident moving forward with one of their standard models rather than the custom pattern I had initially proposed. The first trial pair arrived, and it looked overall gorgeous. They did it in shell cordovan too, which was surprising to me. The stitching was pristine. The french binding was a bit "thick" but it wasn't a huge bother. The shell cordovan tongue turned out great. The pair was too short and fit extremely tight all around, and I sent photo diagrams of the hotspots and fit issues via email. The final pair arrived, and it wasn't up to par with the trial pair in terms of finishing. The stitching was oddly shaped where the quarter meets the vamp, and the french binding was even thicker. Most importantly though, they fit too short. At this point I regretted not requesting that they took the measurements more carefully, but it had me wondering how we can reliability communicate how much longer a pair needs to be made, based on a trial fitting. If I could do it over, I would have made the drive again to do the trial pair fitting in person. At Julian Boots's request, I sent them back to be stretched, but that didn't solve the issue. Julian Boots agreed to make a third pair, based on all the feedback on the second pair. They insisted on no shell cordovan tongue this time; they cited it the reason for the messy stitching at the quarter-meets-vamp area. I asked them not to include French binding on the final pair. I was more than happy to accommodate them to make the best possible final pair. This is my Julian Boots ordering journey that brought me to the pair I wore during my travels in Mexico City and the 2023-2024 Stitchdown Patina Thunderdome. Overall, if you are interested in getting a pair from Julian Boots, I would stick to their stock designs on their website and see if you can fit into one of their stock lasts before going the custom last route. I recommend doing the initial and trial pair fits in person. Do not overcomplicate things, and they will work diligently to put you in a pair that works. For my experience with the final pair, please visit my reviews section!