Bologna Construction: What is it? Bologna or Goodyear?
When it comes to dress shoes in general, the stitching technique plays a major role. It is responsible for the shape, the comfort and the durability of the shoe.
In the post below I will tell you about the bologna construction. This particular stitching technique is used by many high-quality shoe brands such as Santoni, Testoni, Gravati and Magnanni. Chances are, you’re coming from the magnanni shoes review post. Anyway, let’s tackle it without any further ado.
What is Bologna Construction?
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Called equally “tubular construction” or “bag construction”, the bolognese constructed shoe has its upper folded back on itself and sewn into a sort of tube before it is put onto the last. Basically, when you wear a Bologna constructed shoe, you have your feet wrapped in soft leather all the way around. Which means you won’t be directly in contact with the sole, only with a thin leather insole. It feels quite heavenly down there actually.
Bologna stitching is very similar-looking to Blake, at the only difference that in the bolognese the stitching is closer to the edges so your feet won’t feel it.
What are the Pros and Cons of Bologna welt?
When done correctly, the resulting shoe is slim and flexible. Usually in heavy stichting such as Goodyear always expect a sacrifice in design due to the gemming. Well, in Bologna welt the design is conserved and the shoe is really sharp looking.
Also, this kind of welt provides unequaled comfort and flexibility to the shoe. The perfect words to describe the feeling of wearing a such welted shoe is 'like wearing a leather glove for your feet'. Soft, warm and incredibly comfortable.
What are the cons of bologna construction?
You cannot have your cake and eat it too. Bologna welt is amazing when it comes to comfort and design conservation. It is less so when it comes to durability. The stitches placement makes it vulnerable to water invasion. At the same time I don’t advocate walking your dress shoes -no matter in what method they are stitched- through water.
However, according to my personal experience, when taken care of properly, a bolognese constructed shoe can match a goodyear one in longevity. So it depends mainly on how often you wear it, in what circumstances and more importantly how you TREAT IT.
Can a bologna stitched shoe be resoled?
I’ve never got any of my bologna stitched shoes to be resoled but as far as I know they can easily be reconstructed. If you have more feedback on this question feel free to share it in the comments section below.
Bologna Vs Goodyear: which one is better?
For durability go for Goodyear. For comfort and design go for Bologna.
