The wholecut can be considered the king of all formal footwear styles. Every time you combine leather pieces to create a shoe there will be a stitch and every stitch adds bulk to the profile and silhouette of the shoe. That is why the county brogue with lots of different panels, tends to be worn more casually than the simple toe-cap Oxford. But at the top of the tree, with no stitched panels at all, is the wholecut.

Chaucer II is meticulously crafted from one superb piece of leather. This is then carefully pulled over the sleekest of lasts to give that elegant look that is so hard to achieve without the highest levels of skill. The sole is handpainted in our signature blue and features an enclosed stitch channel, another complex piece of handcraft, to make it look as luxurious as it can. Finally we hand polish every pair with Saphir polish to give it a high-shine. Chaucer II is a tour-de-force of the shoemaker's art and we are very pleased to be bringing this to you as part of our exclusive Handgrade collection.

Please note that all closed-channel or in-channel stitching will eventually become visible with wear as the leather is worn away. This is not a fault and we cannot accept returns for sole wear related issues once they have been worn.

These shoes are hand-patinated individually in the Carlos Santos factory so there can be a small variation of colour from the shoes you receive to the picture on the website. We always strive to get consistency but in a hand-finished product this is not always possible and is a sign of quality.

Please note that we would only advise using a gentle wax-based cream or polish to protect carefully hand-finished shoes such as these. Harsh products such as renovating creams, high solvent based products and rain protectors may strip the carefully applied finish. If this happens we will not be able to refund the shoes although we may be able to get them re-finished at the factory for you at your cost.