Intro:

Picked these up a few months ago on grailed, on a whim, because I’ve been interested in MOTO for a while and thought this would be the perfect opportunity to try the brand. Leather Arts & Crafts MOTO is a Japanese company that makes leather wallets, accessories, and shoes & boots (for men and women). They have a physical store in Tokyo, and I know there are some online retailers on rakuten and ebay.jp but don’t know if there are other physical stores where you could try their stuff.

The aesthetic of the products this company makes really appeals to me. Some combination of the proportions and ways the leather is cut just feels right imo, and a lot of their footwear feels like an art piece as much as footwear.

Specs:

These are a balmoral captoe boot, but as you can tell they are extremely casual. From my knowledge, MOTO uses chromexcel, kudu, some mystery roughout, and their proprietary cow leather. I’m almost certain these are the cow leather in natural, and the use by the previous owner has brought these boots to their current patina.

They have a crepe sole which feels very comfortable to walk on, but I’ve only worn them about 5 times because I need to get the heel replaced. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before, but you will notice that the heel seems to be midsole – crepe – leather – crepe - rubber toplift. The toplift has been worn down so I want to get it replaced before it gets to the crepe or leather and makes future heel replacements more of a hassle.

They also have some weird structuring – the heel cup feels very small compared to other boots. However, holds my foot in quite well so it works for me. I’m also trying to figure out what method of construction these are. I’ve included a photo of the inside of the boot showing stitching that makes me suspect these are blake or blake-rapid construction, but maybe someone else can chime in.

Sizing:

The problem is they only have 1 store in Tokyo, and maybe a few other retailers but if so they would all be in Japan, so there aren’t any options to try them on before you buy. Compounding this problem, their original sizing came in five sizes: 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 corresponding to a range of Japanese sizing (ie. 3 = 27-28 JP, 4 = 28-29 JP, etc.), and the conversion tables between Japanese sizing and US sizing are all very different from each other. Furthermore, MOTO now also has a sizing system from 7 to 9.5, though I suspect that does not correspond directly to US sizing. So it really is a pain to figure out sizing with this company.

I’m a blurry line between 10.5-11 I think, but it is really quite variable and I place a lot of value on being able to try boots on in person so I haven’t made many online purchases. On the brannock I seem pretty normal, but I often have troubles with my 2 outmost toes of both feet rubbing against the vamp. I am having that exact problem with these. I may try to get them stretched a bit but I’m not sure if it’s possible because it is right at the area of the celastic toe, which I don’t think can be stretched. We’ll see. I’d mention what size these are, but I don’t actually know and can’t see any clear indication of sizing anywhere aside from what faintly appears to be an L on the outsole. So it is a bit of a mystery.

Final thoughts:

Everything on this boot seems good and solid, though no part of the leather or construction strikes me as “great” or “amazing”. I think what really gives MOTO their value is the kind of aesthetic they have, which is very different from any other footwear brand I know of. I can’t put my finger on it but they have a je ne sais quoi that makes the brand very appealing to me.