Monk strap shoes combine a classical style and a casual touch. In our Lottusse women's monk strap shoe catalogue, you will find a wide range of models, all crafted from top quality leather and backed by more than 140 years of experience.
Raw material: Cowhide leather.
Chrome tanning.
Key features: Cowhide leather that imitates the lizard skin. It presents a decoloured effect when brushing, which causes beautiful iridescences.
Leather cleaning and care:
Additional Information:
Prolonged exposure of the leather to direct sunlight can cause some degree discolouration.
Raw material: Cowhide leather.
Chrome tanning.
Key features: Cowhide leather that imitates the lizard skin. It presents a decoloured effect when brushing, which causes beautiful iridescences.
Leather cleaning and care:
Additional Information:
Prolonged exposure of the leather to direct sunlight can cause some degree discolouration.
Raw material: Cowhide leather.
Chrome tanning.
Key features: Leather with semi-gloss appearance characterized by its intense and luminous colours as well as its softness to the touch. This leather is especially suitable for shoes to be worn in business an casual contexts.
Leather cleaning and care:
Additional Information:
Prolonged exposure of the leather to direct sunlight can cause some degree discolouration.
Raw material: Cowhide leather.
Chrome tanning.
Key features: Leather with semi-gloss appearance characterized by its intense and luminous colours as well as its softness to the touch. This leather is especially suitable for shoes to be worn in business an casual contexts.
Leather cleaning and care:
Additional Information:
Prolonged exposure of the leather to direct sunlight can cause some degree discolouration.
Raw material: Cowhide leather.
Chrome tanning.
Key features: Leather with semi-gloss appearance characterized by its intense and luminous colours as well as its softness to the touch. This leather is especially suitable for shoes to be worn in business an casual contexts.
Leather cleaning and care:
Additional Information:
Prolonged exposure of the leather to direct sunlight can cause some degree discolouration.
Monk strap shoes have a number of features that make them instantly recognisable:
-Fastened with one or two buckles
-Fastening system that allows for a close fit
-Relatively serious and sober look
All these attributes make this type of shoe an elegant and comfortable option. For a long time, monk strap shoes were severely criticised by the purists, but today they are accepted without question. You can thus find models crafted in a wide range of leathers and sizes, using various construction techniques, such as Goodyear.
There are two clear subcategories of this type of shoe, and they concern the number of buckles. We can distinguish between:
-Single monk strap.
-Double monk strap.
These subcategories affect the degree of formality, single monk strap being considered more formal. They are unquestionably discreet shoes but can feature many decorative elements, making them very versatile for both formal and informal wear.
Given the versatility of these shoes (especially double monk straps), there are many options for combining them with different garments. Plain black shoes with a single buckle can be worn with suits and other more formal outfits. As we said, this is the most formal and, therefore, least versatile option.
However, double monk strap shoes can be worn with jeans, skirts and leggings, as well as jumpers, leather and tweed jackets, blazers, overcoats, raincoats and t-shirts.
Nevertheless, despite the great freedom we have when it comes to combinations, there is one rule we must follow: the buckle of your monk strap shoes should match your belt buckle and even the casing of your wrist watch.
As with other types of footwear, greater elegance is usually associated with plain black shoes. This type of monk strap shoe can be worn with black or other sober colours like grey, preferably with a suit or other dress clothes. If, on the other hand, you want to combine them with more eye-catching and casual colours, there is nothing better than double monk straps in suede.
You can also wear double monk strap shoes with broguing, fringes and even braided leather. Remember that in the world of footwear, there is a simple rule of thumb: the more ornate a shoe, the more suitable it is for informal or casual situations.
We mentioned before that monk straps are very sober shoes. This is closely related to their origins in the monasteries of England, a fact that also helps to explain the shoes' highly functional fastening, which allows for a close fit on any foot. Over time, the shoes evolved into the monk straps of today, adopting the shape we now associate with them in the early 19th century.
Since then, men's monk strap shoes have evolved and been adopted by all strata of society, and are now also a very popular type of footwear for women.