LE BOHEMIEN shoes: leather, low heels and easy closures
LE BOHEMIEN is a women's footwear label built around one clear idea of wearability: the low heel. Almost every pair on this page stays within three centimetres, and most sit between two and three. That is the height that keeps body weight spread across the whole foot instead of pushing it onto the forefoot, and it is why lace-up shoes, ballet flats, sandals and ankle boots sit together here without any of the four groups looking out of place.
The upper is leather on almost every model, apart from a few ankle boots that combine leather with stretch fabric on the shaft. The sole is rubber: it weighs little, cushions the impact with pavement and asks for none of the break-in a leather sole demands in the first weeks. Inside, the collection splits between a leather insole, which absorbs moisture and takes the shape of the foot with wear, and a padded leather footbed, softer from the very first time the shoe goes on.
The closures tell you how these shoes are meant to be used. A good part of the range slips on without lacing: it is the choice for anyone who wants to leave the house without stopping to tie a knot. The lace-ups are the only ones that let you adjust the fit over the instep, which makes them the answer for a high instep or a narrow foot. Straps appear on the sandals, where they hold the heel in place on an open shoe.
Toe shape changes the register of a shoe more than colour does. Tapered toes lengthen the line of the foot and work with slim trousers and knee-length skirts; round toes leave more room across the forefoot and suit a wider fit; open toes belong to the sandals. Recurring details include elastic bands, which add give over the instep on the slip-on models, and patent leather inserts used as a contrast on the upper.
The ankle boots are the part of the collection that comes into play when it turns cold: soft leather, elastic inserts that help you get them on, no zip to pull and the same low heel as the rest of the page. The lace-ups sit alongside every other laced model in the store on the women's lace-up shoes page.
