Nida Lu Handmade Men’s Emir Loafer – Onyx Handcrafted

These shoes become very comfortable over time, as the natural leather forms to your foot. When you first try on your Nida Lu shoes, your toes should settle in the shoe touching the front end. Some pressure is normal as long as your toes are not bending. The natural leather adjusts itself and soon your shoes will fit like a glove. If your toes are curling down or in pain, you’ll need the next size up. The width should be so that it is a firm, yet comfortable grip with some pressure, as the leather will also stretch a bit with wear.

Nida Lu’s husband and wife team creates modern handmade shoes in Turkey that are an adaptation of a 700-year-old Turkish-Yemini shoe design. Each pair of shoes are handmade by a family of generational shoemakers and cobblers in Gaziantep, Turkey. These shoes are a heritage product which means they’re supporting the preservation of a heritage craft. Many of the shoemakers that Nida Lu Handmade employees are refugees. Providing employment opportunities and paying living wages to marginalized communities is at the heart of Nida Lu’s business. Nida Lu uses five different kinds of leather that are tanned natural based dyes across their shoe line. Once dyed the leather is softened — making it pliable — then sewn together with a cotton thread that has been soaked in beeswax. Each pair is easily resole-able and designed to last a lifetime.