Returns & exchanges
The short version: you have 14 days to change your mind, the shoes must come back as they left, and the return postage is yours. Everything below is the same promise in full.
Your 14-day right of withdrawal
Buying at a distance in the EU comes with a statutory right of withdrawal: you may cancel your purchase of stocked footwear within 14 days of the day you (or someone you named) received it, without giving a reason. Tell us in a clear statement — the model withdrawal form at the bottom of this page works, but any unambiguous message does. You then have a further 14 days to send the shoes back.
The condition they come back in
Treat the try-on as you would in a good shop: indoors, on a carpeted or clean soft surface, for as long as it takes to judge the fit — and no further. Keep the shoe trees, dust bags and the box; they are part of the pair.
EU law puts it precisely: you may handle the goods as needed to establish their nature, characteristics and functioning. Wear beyond that — creased uppers, scuffed or street-worn soles, a missing box — does not void your right to return, but it makes you liable for the resulting loss in value, and we will deduct that loss from your refund. On a hand-welted pair worn outdoors, the loss is substantial. Come back pristine and none of this paragraph applies.
Return shipping
You bear the direct cost of returning the goods and you choose the carrier. Use a tracked, insured service and keep the receipt — the parcel is your responsibility until it reaches us. The return address is published here before the first order ships.
The refund
We refund every payment we received from you — the price and the cost of the least expensive standard delivery we offer — within 14 days of your withdrawal notice, to the payment method you used. If you chose a premium delivery option, the difference above standard delivery is not refunded. We may hold the refund until the shoes are back with us or you have shown proof of sending them, whichever comes first.
Size exchanges — the first one is on us
If a stocked pair does not fit, we exchange sizes rather than argue about it — and on your first exchange of an order, we cover the shipping in both directions. The same 14-day window and the same condition standard apply; if a second exchange is needed, the postage terms above take over. Use the fit guide before ordering and the odds are with you.
Commissioned pairs
Genuinely bespoke work — a last cut to your personal measurements, or a leather sourced outside our catalogue — is exempt from the right of withdrawal under EU law (Directive 2011/83/EU, art. 16(c)). A commission configured from our catalogue of lasts, leathers and soles keeps the full right described above. The exact terms of a commission — including our photographic-approval step before anything is cut — are stated plainly on the commission page before you confirm.
Faults are a different matter
None of the above touches your legal guarantee: if a pair is defective or not as described, EU law gives you at least two years from delivery to have it repaired, replaced or — where that fails — refunded, and the costs of putting it right, including shipping, are ours, not yours. A genuine fault in a hand-welted shoe is rare and we want to see it.
How to start
If you ordered with an account, start the return from the order in your account pages. Otherwise write to us — the contact address is published here together with the company registration before the first order ships — stating your order number and, if you like, nothing more.
Model withdrawal form
(Complete and return this form only if you wish to withdraw from the contract.)
— To The European Gentleman [postal address and e-mail address published before the first order ships]:
— I/We (*) hereby give notice that I/We (*) withdraw from my/our (*) contract of sale of the following goods (*):
— Ordered on (*)/received on (*):
— Name of consumer(s):
— Address of consumer(s):
— Signature of consumer(s) (only if this form is notified on paper):
— Date:
(*) Delete as appropriate.