TLB Artista Penny Loafer Polo Suede

TLB Mallorca Artista pushes the bar for Goodyear welted shoes in the midrange price segment. For example very tight waist, real leather heel stiffeners, close-cut heel and only first grade-leather from well-known tanneries. In this case the awesome Janus reverse calf suede from the famous British tannery Charles F. Stead, in a warm medium brown shade called polo.

The model is a newly developed penny loafer, a sensationally elegant such, made on the Goya last with a classic round toe. Single leather sole, where the neat waist makes the shoes appearance differ from most things you can find on the market in this price range. Here also with slightly tapered heels, which is exclusive for us at Skolyx.

To get the best possible fit on loafers, who don't have lacing that can be adjusted, a good tip can be to use self-adhesive leather tongue pads. Works perfect against for example heel slippage.

Read more about Artista here.

Construction:
Goodyear welted.
Very narrow waist, real leather heel stiffener that conforms to the feet in the best way. Read more about the unique features for Artista below.

Sole:
Leather sole, vegetable tanned with among other things chestnut bark in Italy.

Sizing:
Sizes are comparable to other Goodyear welted shoes like Yanko, Loake, Crockett & Jones and Carmina. Note that even if it's a loafer most people wear the same size in these as they do in lace-ups. Here you'll find an extensive size guide to all our shoes. If you are still uncertain on your size, please e-mail ktj@skolyx.se for further guidance.

Shoe care:
Use Saphir Super Invulner for protection and Saphir Suede Renovator Spray in medium brown when you need to freshen up the color. Use a suede brush to brush out dust and dirt.

Construction:
The Goodyear welted construction method is a relatively advanced way of building shoes that requires a high level of craftsmanship, produces durable shoes that easily can be resoled several times.
Learn all about the Goodyear welted shoe construction in this guide.

Below an image that gives an overview of the construction:

All shoes have leather board heel stiffeners (cheaper brands usually use harder plastic heel stiffeners) which adapt to your feet are used for all our shoes, except TLB Mallorca Artista and Midas which have real leather heel stiffeners, which can conform even better.

Leather:
All Goodyear welted shoes we offer use smooth full grain calf leather, quality embossed calf grain leather or fine calf suede from well-renowned European or American tanneries. Most of the leathers are sourced from Annonay, Du Puy, Ilcea, Zonta, Charles F. Stead or Horween.

Sole:
There are three different types of soles used for the Goodyear welted shoes we sell (under the tab Product details and on the photos you see which are used for respective model).

Leather sole - High quality, durable Super Prime soles vegetable tanned in Italy with among other things chestnut bark. Here the sole stitch is hidden inside a closed channel, a more time consuming operation that gives a cleaner look.

Thin rubber sole - A so-called city rubber sole with a slim profile just like a leather sole, with a rubber composition that offers good grip and excellent durability.

Rubber sole - In most cases these are Vibram's praised Eton studded rubber soles, which has a rubber compound that also can handle minus degrees, are comfortable yet highly durable.

Which shoe care products to use:
Before use, go over the shoes gently with a a suede brush followed by Saphir Medaille d'Or Super Invulner to protect from water and dirt. Use Saphir Medaille d'Or Suede Renovator Spray in Medium brown when the colour needs to be improved and to give some nourishment. For more thorough yet gentle cleaning we recommend Saphir Medaille d'Or Omninettoyant suede cleaner. We recommend using cedar wood shoe trees to prevent unnecessary creasing and extend the lifespan of your footwear.

Read more about how to use these products on the respective product pages, or in the shoe care guide linked below.

Basic shoe care:
- Don’t use the same pair for two consecutive days
- Brush / wipe the shoes off after use
- Use shoe trees and shoehorn
- Treat regular leather with shoe cream, treat suede and textile with waterproofing spray
Learn more on these steps in this guide.

Further shoe care info:
For more on how to clean, refresh and protect suede and nubuck, read this guide.