Shoes and a belt go together like macaroni and cheese. So it wasn’t much of a stretch when a pair of local fashion brands decided to team up on a shoe-and-belt collaboration.
Midtown custom shoemaker Benjamins Shoes and El Dorado Hills-based belt maker SlideBelts recently began offering a pair of bespoke shoes and a matching belt for $480. Both are made of dark-brown waxed leather from Horween, a 113-year-old Chicago tannery that specializes in high-quality hides.
The belt has a ratchet closure mechanism rather than holes, and the buckle comes in three finish options: brass, graphite and gunmetal. The shoe is a low-top runner style, and the purchaser can order metal aglets—those are the little thingies that cover the lace tips—to complement the buckle. Both are made by hand to order, with delivery in eight to 10 weeks.
The limited-edition release of 25 shoe-and-belt sets is offered on the two companies’ websites. Orders have come from around the country and the United Arab Emirates. Once the sets sell out, the firms may collaborate again, says shoemaker Benjamin Schwartz, possibly using matching fabric rather than leather.
