Gokey Custom Footwear
The world’s best value. For the ultimate fit, nothing rivals handcrafted Gokey footwear custom-made to your specifications. What’s most remarkable about Gokey is that it is the only footwear company of its size to provide custom made oxfords, hiking shoes, Snakeproof Boots, or upland boots in various weights to fit your foot and your foot alone. Just as a fine tailor requires your own precise measurements for a fitted look and feel of a fine sport coat or silk shirt, Gokey will take your precise foot measurements to custom fit a shoe to your exact foot width, length and arch. Imagine, footwear that will last a lifetime or more, and has the comfort of one made solely to your own foot’s measurements. There is no other shoe company that offers this custom fit cobbling on such a wide scale.
Plus, you can choose from a wide range of custom options, including sole type, leather thickness, lacing arrangement, leather-lined uppers, and reinforced ankle support.
Handmade in the USA
The Gokey construction process is an incredible example of the bootmaker’s art - a rare thing in today’s mass-produced world. Our craftsmen expertly hand cut and hand sew this durable leather using techniques that date back generations—methods that take years to teach. We start by hand selecting the finest oil-tanned bullhide the world has to offer. This heavy, remarkably durable bullhide is molded over a hardwood last. Next, a welt is stitched to this so cunningly that no awl hole ever completely penetrates the shoe leather to admit water. An arch support is inserted, the outer sole hand-sewn into place, and the top constructed. Each stitch of waxed thread is knotted, locking it firmly in place. Keep in mind, this is done for every single individual shoe that leaves the factory. And with durable Vibram® soles and modern comfort features such as cushioned leather insoles, Gokey footwear is built for comfort and a lifetime of wear.
Custom Fit for a President
Shown in this picture with Katharine H. Perkins to his right, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, wearing his custom Gokey boots, was clearly ready for the field when he visited the Perkins’ household in 1948. Eisenhower was an avid outdoorsman and spent many hours hunting and fishing in the years following his presidency.
Many years later, when Leigh H. Perkins purchased the Orvis Company, he didn’t have to look far to find a top quality field boot to carry in his catalogs. He was wearing one.
“When my father was 70,” Leigh Perkins recalls,“he decided he needed a new pair of Gokey Snakeproof Boots. He was a practical man, and reckoned that no matter how many hunting years he had left, those new boots would outlast him. So he ordered them one-half size larger, so they would fit me, and then put considerable mileage on them before he died six years later. At that point, they reverted to me. I hunted quail in Florida for 20 years before turning them over to my son David, who has worn them since.”
Over the past 150 years, the mission of the Gokey Company has remained unchanged: No compromise in quality or custom fit.