The CNES handwelted collection is continually improving. Having worked with CNES for several years now and getting to see these changes firsthand, I can say that it is quite impressive how far they have come since their first pairs as a brand. The latest upgraded features of the hand welted shoes truly set them apart from many of their competitors. Let’s take a look at them below.
See the original CNES Handwelted shoes for a frame of reference in comparison 👉 Click Here 👈
Lightweightness
The new CNES handwelted shoes are among the lightest-weight shoes on the market. They are very flexible and do not have any sort of heaviness, as hand welted shoes often do. It would appear they have taken some materials out of the inner workings of the shoe to give them this lighter feel. Some might prefer the heavyweight nature of a ‘hand welted/handmade’ shoe, but I always preferred that middle ground where the shoes feel robust but do not feel like a brick on your foot. These offer that happy medium!
New Fiddleback Waist on the Sole
The stiletto style fiddleback that CNES originally added to their hand welted shoes was not a favorite, if I am going to be completely honest. It was unique, that’s for sure. But not to my personal liking. They must have felt the same as they upgraded that fiddleback to your standard look, and I feel that it suits the shoes much better. It is still very defined but more harmonious with the shape of the sole now, IMHO. I think that they were smart to update that.
Notched/Slanted/Trimmed Heels
The first set of CNES handwelted shoes had quite robust and heavy heel blocks. That is what added to the weight of the shoe. They greatly refined this portion of the shoe, and that change makes them look infinitely better. The heel is trimmed tighter to the last. They added a slant to the outside of the heel, giving it a pitched nature. And the one truly unique detail that sets them apart is that they even slanted the inside part of the heel. That feature is rarely seen on ready-made shoes and gives them a very sharp look that streamlines the fluidity of the last to the sole to the patter of the shoe.
Defined Sole Edge Finishing
Their first round of hand welted shoes had fudging with a standard trim on the sole edge. This was quite common, but a good stepping stone into refined details. CNES decided to take it up a notch by using a sole-edge tool that few makers outside of bespoke use. I do not know the technical name for this tool, but it creates a lip by basically searing the top and bottom parts of the sole edge, giving it a very sharp, refined trim.
I have always liked this finish. The one downside is when customers walk clumsily and open the channel from kicking the lip of leather on the concrete and then blaming the shoemaker. That is the one downside of this elegant feature.
Refined Lasts
CNES has worked very hard on their lasts and it is now really showing. Their 1st collection fit very large, and it was hard to ascertain the correct size. The new lasts in the CNES handwelted collection are much more refined and, in my opinion, based on a more ‘standard fit’. What I mean by that is that I finally take a more standard fit for a ‘large fitting shoe’, and it’s comparison makes more sense to what I normally take.
I will break that down. I used to get size 40 in CNES shoes. That 40 was still quite large on me. I could not tell if a 39.5 or 39 would have been better. But now the 40 fits just right and is a half size down from my usual size of 40.5. Therefore, I can confidently recommend that CNES shoes run a half size big now, instead of being unsure of size recommendations.
Conclusion
It is great to see CNES actively upgrading its footwear. The new CNES hand welted range is truly a great value for money. I am unsure of how they are handling the new tariff situation, but at the current prices of under $500 USD, you surely get a lot of bang for your buck with all of these upgrade details!
If you are in the NYC area on October 4th, 2025, make sure to come see their shoes in person at the NY Super Trunk Show 2025.
Access their website here: https://www.cnes.co/
—Justin FitzPatrick, The Shoe Snob
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