Goodyear legacy – Ludwig Reiter, Vienna

In between getting lost of finding my restaurant for dinner and some interesting things in Vienna, I made myself a turn to a left from the hustling and bustling shopping street, Kärntner Straße, just to find someone that I can ask for a direction; not sure if it’s my shoes fairy takes me there or not, that landed me in front of a classic shoesmaker’s store, I was instantly enchanted by it’s Viennese classic and an unspeakable connection about craftsmanship from it, I let myself in, and then, my pre-dinner magic starts right from there by having a personal experience to see the exquisite Ludwig Reiter shoes collection.

The beautiful store was located on the tranquil Führichgasse (which is only a few minutes walk away from the famous Hotel Sacher), this sophisticated Viennese shoemaker was founded since 1885 by the shoemaking master, Mr. Ludwig Reiter, an intimate family own business that creates the finest shoes for elites and even imperial officials in the best quality and timeless designs. One of their motto - ‘Quality takes time’, truly speaks about their rigor, precision and attention to detail to each steps of delicately crafted fine shoes when ones saw the actual piece of finished work at hand. For the classic shoes collection, each shoes take no fewer than 300 steps, engaged with their traditional ‘Goodyear’ method which imported by Mr. Ludwig Reiter II from America, such method is still in use today in their Viennese workshop.

Currently run by the 4th generation of the family, the beautiful legacy of the Ludwig Reiter not only preserves its old day classic, durability and style thanks to the rigorous and refined Viennese craftsmanship, the house also catches up the modern day fashion by bring in some innovative styles, one will always fond of their classic Chelsea Boot which created since 1908 as official outfitter for imperial guard, or the Budapester, a Viennese version of classic Brogue that looks absolutely timeless for either formal business attire or stylish weekend in a comfortable polo and chinos; going for something sportier, a pair of C. Kitzmantel trainer that looks literally contemporary, stylish and luxurious sporty at the same time. As for me, I will definitely love to mix-and-match with their exquisitely handcrafted leather briefcase altogether in the finest calf-leather.

It seems to me getting lost in the middle in Vienna doesn’t sound that bad, at least having a wonderful surprise with the refined shoes by Ludwig Reiter that certainly gave me a lovely prelude for my dinner.

Image courtesy of Ludwig Reiter, Vienna

https://www.ludwig-reiter.com/en/home