Crocodile Commission, Any Style Made to Measure

Have any pair in our range made in genuine crocodile. This is a commission rather than a stock product: you choose the style, we select and cut the hide, and the pair is built around your own foot measurements. This page explains how the process works, what the price covers, and how to satisfy yourself the hide is what we say it is.

What this listing is

It is the crocodile upgrade on our made to order service. Rather than a fixed model, you pick a pattern from anywhere in the catalog and we build it in crocodilian hide instead of calf.

• Any pattern we make. Oxford, derby, loafer, monk strap, chukka, Chelsea, boot. If we have the last, we can cut it in crocodile.
• Full hide or paneled. Either the whole upper in crocodile, or croc panels set against calf or suede, which reads quieter and costs less.
• Your measurements. Length, ball girth, instep girth, width D through EEE, and both feet separately since most people are not symmetrical.
• Color and finish. Solid dye, or a graduated finish, which is more labor because the tiles and the channels between them take dye at different rates.

Start the conversation through our made to order service or contact us with the style you have in mind. Nothing is cut until the brief is agreed in writing.

Why crocodile costs what it does

Three things, and only one of them is the hide itself.

The waste. A crocodile hide is not uniform. The belly carries large rectangular tiles and no bone, the flanks carry smaller irregular scales, and the hornback down the spine carries raised bony ridges. A dress shoe wants belly, which is roughly the most valuable third of the skin, and the two shoes of a pair have to be cut so their tile patterns agree. Everything outside those panels is discarded for this job.

The layout. Crocodile tiles do not flex at all. Only the narrow channels of softer skin between them do. So the panel has to be laid out before cutting so that channels fall where the shoe creases, rather than tiles. Get that wrong and a hard fold forms across the tiles within a season, and a folded crocodile tile never recovers.

The boots cost more than the shoes. A loafer or an oxford flexes in one place, at the ball of the foot. A boot flexes at the ball and again at the ankle, so the layout has to work around two flex points and more of the skin is discarded getting there.

Three ways to check crocodile is real

Most of what is sold as crocodile online is cowhide with a pattern pressed into it under heat. These checks take under a minute in hand and they work on any product, not only ours.

• Find the pore. Every genuine crocodilian scale carries a small sensory pit near one edge, where the animal sensed pressure changes in water. No embossing plate reproduces it, because it is a hole rather than a shape.
• Drag a fingernail across the tiles. Real scales are separate plates of keratin with genuine depth between them, so your nail catches at each edge. Embossed leather is one continuous pressed surface and your nail glides.
• Look for repetition. A press plate repeats on a fixed interval, so the same cluster of tiles appears again further along the panel. A real hide grades continuously from larger belly tiles to smaller flank tiles and never repeats.

There is a fourth if the piece is in front of you: on a genuine hide the flesh side shows the tile structure faintly on the back, as a shadow of the pattern. Embossed leather is uniform behind, because the pattern only exists on the surface.

The labeling test matters as much as the physical one. "Genuine crocodile leather" claims the animal. "Genuine leather, crocodile print" claims only the leather. The word order is chosen deliberately.

Crocodile, alligator and caiman

Three animals sold under names that sound interchangeable, with a large price gap between them.

Press a tile with a fingernail. Crocodile and alligator give slightly. Caiman is hard, because there is bone in it. Caiman is genuinely a crocodilian, so "genuine crocodile leather" is not technically false on a caiman product, which is exactly why the physical test matters more than the wording.

The three cuts, and which one belongs on a shoe

Belly scales carry no osteoderm, the bony deposit that makes hornback rigid, which is why belly hide flexes at the ball of the foot instead of fighting it. A hornback loafer looks spectacular and never breaks in.

CITES, and why you should ask

All crocodilian species are listed under CITES, the international convention governing trade in protected species, so legally traded skins move with permits attached.

That matters to you twice over. It is a legality question if you ever travel internationally with the shoes, and it is an authenticity question at the point of sale: a seller who cannot produce documentation for something described as genuine crocodile is worth a second question. Ours is available on request.

How the commission runs

1. Brief. Tell us the pattern, the color, whether you want full hide or panels, and the sole and heel you want. We will tell you honestly if a pattern does not suit crocodile, and some do not.
2. Measurements. Length standing heel to longest toe, ball girth, instep girth, and both feet separately. Measure late in the day, standing, since feet swell and most people have one foot larger. Compare against the men's shoe size guide first so we are working from the same reference.
3. Hide selection. We select the skin and plan the tile layout around where your chosen pattern flexes.
4. Confirmation. Everything is agreed in writing before anything is cut, because on a commission there is no returning to stock.
5. Build. Goodyear welted and hand stitched, leather lining, leather sole, stacked leather heel.

You can see finished examples of our crocodile work in the exotic series, including the black crocodile loafers and the crocodile chukka boots.

Fit, and why it matters more on an exotic

Crocodile barely stretches. The tiles have almost no give and only the narrow channels between them flex, so there is no breaking in to rely on and the shoe will not accommodate a foot it was not cut for.

That is the strongest argument for commissioning rather than buying off a shelf. On calf, a slightly tight shoe becomes comfortable in a month. On crocodile, a slightly tight shoe stays slightly tight for a decade.

If the pattern you choose is a loafer, it also has to be snugger than a laced shoe, because only the throat line and the heel counter hold your foot, and heel slip on a slip on cannot be corrected afterwards.

Care

• No wax polish. It fills the channels between the tiles, dries pale and outlines every scale in a lighter tone. Clearing it out without damaging a tile edge is close to impossible.
• No brushing. A stiff brush catches the tile edges and lifts them.
• Do this instead: wipe with a soft damp cloth and use a conditioner made for exotic leathers two or three times a year, applied thinly and buffed off.
• Keep out of direct heat and sunlight, and use trees between wearings. On a boot, stuff or tree the shaft, since an empty exotic boot folds at the ankle and a folded tile does not recover.

What to expect

Every hide is patterned differently, so a commissioned pair is not a copy of any photograph. A crocodile commission takes longer than a stock pair because hide selection and layout happen before the shoe is started, and we will give you a firm lead time when the brief is agreed.

Questions we get asked

What is this listing?
The crocodile upgrade on our made to order service. You choose any pattern from the catalog and we build it in genuine crocodilian hide instead of calf, cut to your own foot measurements.

Which styles can be made in crocodile?
Any pattern we have a last for: oxford, derby, loafer, monk strap, chukka, Chelsea or boot. You can also have croc panels set against calf or suede rather than a full hide upper, which reads quieter and costs less.

Why is crocodile so expensive?
Mostly waste and layout rather than the hide itself. A dress shoe wants belly, roughly the most valuable third of the skin, and both shoes have to be cut so their tile patterns agree. The panel also has to be laid out so the flexible channels between tiles fall where the shoe creases, because tiles do not bend.

Why does a crocodile boot cost more than a crocodile shoe?
Because a shoe flexes in one place, at the ball, and a boot flexes at the ball and again at the ankle. The layout has to work around two flex points, so more of the skin is discarded getting there.

How can I tell genuine crocodile from embossed leather?
Find the small sensory pit near the edge of each scale, which no press plate reproduces because it is a hole rather than a shape. Drag a fingernail across the tiles, which catches on a real hide and glides on embossed leather. And look for repetition, since a plate repeats and an animal never does.

What does "genuine leather, crocodile print" mean?
Cowhide with a pattern pressed into it. Only "genuine crocodile leather" claims the animal, and the word order is chosen deliberately.

What is the difference between crocodile, alligator and caiman?
Crocodile has a sensory pit on every scale including the belly. Alligator has none on the belly. Caiman has a bony plate inside most scales, so the tiles feel hard and show calcium creases, and it costs far less. Press a tile: crocodile and alligator give slightly, caiman is hard.

Which part of the hide should a dress shoe use?
Belly. Belly tiles are large rectangles with no osteoderm, the bony deposit that makes hornback rigid, so belly hide flexes at the ball of the foot instead of fighting it. Hornback looks spectacular and never breaks in.

Do you provide CITES documentation?
Yes, on request. All crocodilian species are listed under CITES, so legally traded skins move with permits. It matters if you travel internationally with the shoes, and it is also an authenticity check.

What measurements do you need?
Length standing heel to longest toe, ball girth, instep girth, and both feet separately since most people are not symmetrical. Measure late in the day, standing, because feet swell over the day.

Does crocodile stretch or break in?
Barely. The tiles have almost no give and only the narrow channels between them flex. On calf a slightly tight shoe becomes comfortable in a month. On crocodile it stays slightly tight for a decade, which is the strongest argument for commissioning rather than buying off a shelf.

How do I care for crocodile?
Wipe with a soft damp cloth and use a conditioner made for exotic leathers two or three times a year. No wax, which fills the channels between tiles and dries pale, and no brushing, which catches and lifts the tile edges.