Paraboot

About

Summing Up Paraboot Paraboot has built shoes in the French Alps since 1908, when Rémy-Alexis Richard founded the Richard-Pontvert workshop and launched the "Chaussures Extra" brand. The Paraboot name followed in 1927, a fusion of "Para" (the Amazonian port that shipped raw latex to Europe) and "boot". Richard's breakthrough came in 1926, on a trip to the United States, where he saw rubber boots and returned determined to bond thin rubber soles directly to leather uppers rather than rely on glue alone: a vulcanised construction that pre-dated Vibram's lugged sole by more than a decade. A century on, the family-run business still hand-sews every shoe in a single factory at Saint-Jean-de-Moirans in the Isère, refusing to trade welted, resoleable construction for disposable, cemented alternatives. For a store built on considered, long-life menswear, that's exactly the philosophy we look for. Our autumn-winter 26 delivery brings the collection back in full, so it's worth getting familiar with the range before it lands. How Does Paraboot Stack Up Norwegian welt construction (Michael): a hand-stitched, three-part seam joining the upper, welt, and midsole in a visible ridge around the shoe. It's slower to produce than a cemented sole but seals the join against standing water and can be resoled multiple times over the shoe's life, rather than replaced. Vulcanised natural rubber soles: the technique Richard developed in 1926, where raw rubber is sewn to the upper and cured under heat rather than simply glued on. The result is a sole that flexes with the foot, absorbs shock on hard pavements, and keeps its grip in the wet, a genuine technical edge over standard EVA or cemented units. Blake-stitched moccasin build (Thiers): the outsole is stitched directly through the insole and upper for a slimmer, more flexible profile than a Goodyear welt. Paired with a moccasin apron and a two-eyelet derby front, it reads smart enough for the office but sits comfortably with denim. Hand-las