Did you know a lot of shoes with "Made in Italy" is not always 100% made in Italy? During my footwear making trip I learned this and it was confirmed when I travelled myself to our factories in China.
A portion of the shoe will be made in Italy for example the upper, the rest of the shoe will be sourced and put together in another country for example China. However, because there is a portion of the shoe that was made in Italy you are allowed to put "Made in Italy" on the shoe because technically yes a portion of the shoe was made in Italy. How crazy right!!
So to us, the term "Made in Italy" has very little meaning when it comes to footwear. In this blog post, we'll reveal a couple of "Footwear Industry Secrets" so that you can make the right decision when searching for your wide fit shoes.
First and foremost, it's important to understand that "Made in Italy" is a label that can be applied to any shoe that has been partially or entirely manufactured in Italy. It's one of the most coveted labels in the footwear industry, and as a result, many brands will go to great lengths to ensure that their shoes can carry this label.
However, "Made in Italy" doesn't necessarily mean the shoe is of high quality. In fact, many brands go to Italy purely for the wide spread perception that anything made in Italy is of high quality but use low quality shoe components. Just like any other country, there is good and there is bad. As a result, you should never rely solely on shoes being made in Italy as a determining factor in buying shoes. Look at other factors such as materials and construction when determining the quality of a shoe.
When it comes to wide fit shoes, there are two main types: Shoes that are actually wide enough for your feet, and shoes that are simply masquerading as wide fit shoes. The latter type is often referred to as "false width shoes" and is unfortunately all too common in the retail market.
These shoes may have a wider toe box or be labeled as "wide fit," but they're often just regular-width shoes with some extra fabric added to the upper. This type of shoe causes so many problems with your feet - corns, bunions and plantar fasciitis to name a few.
The next time you're shopping for wide fit shoes, keep these secrets of the footwear industry in mind.
1. Not all shoes with "Made in Italy" are actually made in Italy or of high quality.
2. Check to make sure shoes labelled "wide fit" are not just narrow or regular width shoes with extra fabric added to the upper but are actual wide shoes like Staavias shoes.
Happy shoe shopping!
