There are certain things a man aspires to own in his life: a home, maybe a vacation pied-à-terre (if you’re lucky), a nice timepiece, a bespoke suit, or a dream car or truck. But one thing you must not overlook on this quest is owning a pair of great shoes, preferably of the formal type. I could sit here and recommend quite a few different types of of shoes, but after a few weeks with a pair of Lodger’s, I can shorten that list down to one recommendation.

Lodger Shoes, passionately founded by Nathan Brown just a year ago, is quickly making a name for themselves in the high-end shoe market. With a stunning product line (no exaggeration) and a dedication to excellence, this author gets the feeling we’ll be seeing Lodger around for a while. Their product line is comprised of both contemporary English and Italian styles as well as classic English styles. Of these, every pair is hand made in England. Lodger offers all their styles in off-the-shelf sizes, but for the true Lodger experience you’ll want to go to their headquarters for a custom fitting.

The Lodger custom experience begins with, you guessed it, a measurement of your foot size. Experts measure your foot with a 3D laser scanner that feeds into their CAD program. Once measured, you choose your desired styles and leathers for an undeniably precise fit. This is especially good if you happen to have a Sasquatch left foot.

Monthly, you’ll find Lodger’s “Shoe of the Month”, where they create a unique shoe that’s only available for one month and then retired forever. This month it’s a very bold striped oxford with looks befitting of a Monte Carlo vacation. A simple perusal at the list of retired shoes will make you wish you had known about Lodger or angry that we didn’t do a review of them sooner (we feel you).

Each pair comes in a box solid enough to store them in (unboxing photos below) and with individual bamboo fabric bags for each shoe. The bags alone are quite luxurious. We got hands on their Italian Wholecuts in Oxblood; the quality was apparent in the feel of the leathers throughout the shoe. With their rich color and supple leather, they look ready to last a decade or two. Sending them back made for a sad day. They’re not cheap by any means, but if you have the funds, they’re incredible shoes. Or maybe you just want to dream sartorially ’till you have the funds some day.

Authors Note: When I unboxed the Italian Whole Cuts, my wife’s eyes dilated and she blurted out, “Those are BEAUTIFUL!” Since they say they are one of the first things women look at on a man, you can take that for what it’s worth. For my money, some day I want a pair of the English Contempary Full Brogue in Oxblood.

Cost: Off The Shelf ($410-$905) | Custom (Varies)

Photos of Lodger Shoes unboxing below.