I’ve got big feet for a girl, which is quite a problem in India. So what do you do when shops don’t stock your size and you want some new boots?

Get them custom made. From a simple shack in Nizamuddin West.

There, Rameshwar Arya has been making shoes since 1974. And he’s really good at it.

I went with a couple pictures of the kind of boots I wanted; he showed me some leather samples. He didn’t have quite the right shade of dusky brown I was after so sourced some more samples for me to choose from. My feet were measured (or more accurately, traced!) and 3 weeks later I returned to see the results, totally prepared to be disappointed.

Instead, I was impressed. Perfect fit, well made, with nice touches like leather laces and totally reasonable.

Happy feet.