Yuketen

Yuketen is an American shoe brand founded by Yuki Matsuda of Meg Company (with early help from Quoddy) that makes primarily handsewn leather shoes. Their shoes are made similarly to other handsewn brands, but usually with more non-traditional styling. Yuketen does not manufacture all of their shoes themselves; their Johnson shoes and boots are made by Viberg and whether some of their shoes are made by other American manufacturers is not clear.

Subjective: Style and Quality

Stylistically, Yuketen differs from its competitors by its use of less traditional construction and materials. While some Yuketen shoes are made very traditionally in some respect, they usually have a characteristic that sets them apart. They make use of unorthodox prints and leathers, colorblocking, mismatched pairs, and other stylistic oddities.

The leather quality is typical compared to other handsewn shoe brands.

Sizing

Yuketen's bluchers, boat shoes, and ranger mocs run true-to-size. The Maine Guide boots run large; sizing down a half size should be enough for most people. Refer to Viberg sizing for the Johnson products, which are made by Viberg (this editor has no experience with that brand and cannot comment; do a google search.)

Price

Yuketen is considerably more expensive than similar handsewn manufacturers. However, Yuketen's products often undergo considerable price reduction in seasonal sales. The Yuketen Maine Guide boot, which normally retails for $550 and upward, generally goes down as low as $250 in sales. So while the brand may not be affordable for many people at MSRP, there are still opportunities to buy Yuketen at a lower price. This editor owns and loves three pairs of Yuketen shoes, all of which were bought well below their original prices.