We were interested to learn that the Castañer family has been crafting espadrilles since 1927. That was before the company was nationalised in the name of military interest in 1936. Soldiers were sent to fight at the frontline of the Spanish Civil War wearing the company’s “seven-ribbon espadrilles”.
After the Castañer firm was returned to the family and found its feet again, the owners attended a trade fair in Paris where they met a young Frenchman by the name of Yves Saint Laurent. It turns out he’d been looking in vain for months for someone to make him a wedge espadrille.
Ever since, Castañer has been sought after by top fashion houses as their go-to espadrille maker. It wasn’t until 1994 that they opened their first standalone boutique.
Most versatile summer shoe ever?
The beauty of men’s espadrilles is they can be worn in any number of ways – all you have to do is show a little ankle (in the case of long pants) or a lot of leg (in the case of shorts). They can even be worn with lightweight summer suits! And of course, shorts, chinos and cropped jeans.
