How Aurora Shoe Company Crafts Its Medieval-Looking Clogs
ShoppingFour hours north of New York City, a small team labors over monkish leather slip-ons with an ardent cult following. One ex-Birkenstock devotee explains their peculiar appeal.By Griffin GonzalesFebruary 4, 2025Photos: Griffin GonzalesSave this storySaveSave this storySaveAll products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.It’s never fun to ask yourself which shoes you should wear to a funeral. But that’s exactly what I wondered last summer before a memorial service in Michigan, my beloved home state. After a few moments of indecision, I defaulted to my usual answer, context be damned—Aurora Shoe Company’s buckled Middle English shoe, a pleasantly bulbous silhouette crafted by hand from full-grain leather. I might’ve been miserable, but at least I wouldn’t be uncomfortable.My love story with the Middle English started last spring, under slightly less trying circumstances. Scrolling through a deep corner of menswear TikTok, I encountered a natty Drake’s employee in an outfit that looked like it walked straight off the pages of one the brand’s signature lookbooks—Harris Tweed blazer, Japanese selvedge denim, silk paisley tie. His shoes, though, really piqued my interest. They weren’t quite clogs, but they definitely weren’t loafers; the only word I could conjure to properly describe their vibe was monkish.Aurora Shoe Co.Middle English Leather Shoes$219 Drake'sAurora Shoe Co.Middle English Leather Shoes$219 NepenthesA quick, frantic search led me to their source, a small factory a stone's throw from Cayuga Lake, in upstate New York. There, set among the bucolic countryside of the Finger Lakes, a nimble team of artisans has been handcrafting shoes from premium Horween Chromexcel leather, and finishing them with sturdy Vibram soles, for over 30 years.“Everyone who works here is proud that they're creating something tangible with their hands,” says David Binns, the owner and operator of Aurora Shoe Co. “I grew up just down the road from this factory, and deeply believe that manufacturing things can be done in the US.” Aurora’s shoes are made with a methodical approach to quality that's ubiquitous in the region, where craft breweries and organic farms dot the landscape. The Middle English is a direct product of that environment.Griffin GonzalesGriffin GonzalesSo it’s a little trickier to imagine them four hours to the south, smack in the center of Manhattan’s gallery-riddled Chelsea neighborhood. And yet, it takes about five seconds inside Steven Alan's boutique to understand why the veteran retail impresario decided to stock the brand in the store he opened there last year, steps away from Gagosian’s downtown outpost. The proximity is flattering to both parties. Alan’s store feels a bit like a gallery itself, down to the carefully edited mix of clothing, objects, art tomes, and skin care. Tellingly, the only shoes in the shop are made by Aurora.Alan has worn Aurora's shoes for years; people have been asking him about them for just as long. He touts their small-batch nature as a crucial selling point. In the context of his store, it’s easy to picture a gimlet-eyed customer wandering in from David Zwirner and walking out with a pair.Aurora Shoe Co.Middle English Leather Shoes$219 Aurora Shoe Co.Aurora Shoe Co.Middle English Leather Shoes$219 Aurora Shoe Co.Aurora’s craftsmanship has more pedestrian benefits, too. “They’re so comfortable,” James Donovan says. Donovan manages the Los Angeles branch of the Japanese retailer Nepenthes, which was early to stock the Middle English in stores on both coasts of the US. For him, Aurora’s flagship style is a highly versatile everyday shoe ready-made for post-pandemic life, where the popularity of Birkenstock’s bodega-friendly Boston clog helped propel the brand to a splashy 2023 IPO.For menswear fans, the fact that the Middle English looks like it could be the Boston's funky medieval progenitor only adds to its appeal. (To wit: A few weeks ago, the Australian fabric wizards at MAN-TLE previewed an upcoming Aurora collaboration that puts the Middle English front and center.)Aurora Shoe Co.T-Strap Shoes$245 EtsyAurora Shoe Co.Mary Jane Shoes$245 EtsyAt the memorial service last summer, I clocked my 17-year-old cousin wearing a pair of Bostons, and felt a small sense of reassurance that I decided to eschew the normie dress shoes—and managed to distinguish myself from a guy a decade younger. Still, I’d guess that we both slipped on our respective shoes for similar reasons: comfort, familiarity, and lace-free convenience, along with a whole host of signals we hoped they’d communicate about us.While he jostles to join the ranks of Gen-Z cool kids, I pride myself on a commitment to everything Aurora Shoe Company does best. He’s the one grappling with AP Biology, but to me, the difference between a fully-formed frontal lobe and one that hasn’t completely matured—sorry, cuz—might simply be a pair of monkish slip-ons.
All products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.
It’s never fun to ask yourself which shoes you should wear to a funeral. But that’s exactly what I wondered last summer before a memorial service in Michigan, my beloved home state. After a few moments of indecision, I defaulted to my usual answer, context be damned—Aurora Shoe Company’s buckled Middle English shoe, a pleasantly bulbous silhouette crafted by hand from full-grain leather. I might’ve been miserable, but at least I wouldn’t be uncomfortable.
My love story with the Middle English started last spring, under slightly less trying circumstances. Scrolling through a deep corner of menswear TikTok, I encountered a natty Drake’s employee in an outfit that looked like it walked straight off the pages of one the brand’s signature lookbooks—Harris Tweed blazer, Japanese selvedge denim, silk paisley tie. His shoes, though, really piqued my interest. They weren’t quite clogs, but they definitely weren’t loafers; the only word I could conjure to properly describe their vibe was monkish.
A quick, frantic search led me to their source, a small factory a stone's throw from Cayuga Lake, in upstate New York. There, set among the bucolic countryside of the Finger Lakes, a nimble team of artisans has been handcrafting shoes from premium Horween Chromexcel leather, and finishing them with sturdy Vibram soles, for over 30 years.
“Everyone who works here is proud that they're creating something tangible with their hands,” says David Binns, the owner and operator of Aurora Shoe Co. “I grew up just down the road from this factory, and deeply believe that manufacturing things can be done in the US.” Aurora’s shoes are made with a methodical approach to quality that's ubiquitous in the region, where craft breweries and organic farms dot the landscape. The Middle English is a direct product of that environment.
So it’s a little trickier to imagine them four hours to the south, smack in the center of Manhattan’s gallery-riddled Chelsea neighborhood. And yet, it takes about five seconds inside Steven Alan's boutique to understand why the veteran retail impresario decided to stock the brand in the store he opened there last year, steps away from Gagosian’s downtown outpost. The proximity is flattering to both parties. Alan’s store feels a bit like a gallery itself, down to the carefully edited mix of clothing, objects, art tomes, and skin care. Tellingly, the only shoes in the shop are made by Aurora.
Alan has worn Aurora's shoes for years; people have been asking him about them for just as long. He touts their small-batch nature as a crucial selling point. In the context of his store, it’s easy to picture a gimlet-eyed customer wandering in from David Zwirner and walking out with a pair.
Aurora’s craftsmanship has more pedestrian benefits, too. “They’re so comfortable,” James Donovan says. Donovan manages the Los Angeles branch of the Japanese retailer Nepenthes, which was early to stock the Middle English in stores on both coasts of the US. For him, Aurora’s flagship style is a highly versatile everyday shoe ready-made for post-pandemic life, where the popularity of Birkenstock’s bodega-friendly Boston clog helped propel the brand to a splashy 2023 IPO.
For menswear fans, the fact that the Middle English looks like it could be the Boston's funky medieval progenitor only adds to its appeal. (To wit: A few weeks ago, the Australian fabric wizards at MAN-TLE previewed an upcoming Aurora collaboration that puts the Middle English front and center.)
At the memorial service last summer, I clocked my 17-year-old cousin wearing a pair of Bostons, and felt a small sense of reassurance that I decided to eschew the normie dress shoes—and managed to distinguish myself from a guy a decade younger. Still, I’d guess that we both slipped on our respective shoes for similar reasons: comfort, familiarity, and lace-free convenience, along with a whole host of signals we hoped they’d communicate about us.
While he jostles to join the ranks of Gen-Z cool kids, I pride myself on a commitment to everything Aurora Shoe Company does best. He’s the one grappling with AP Biology, but to me, the difference between a fully-formed frontal lobe and one that hasn’t completely matured—sorry, cuz—might simply be a pair of monkish slip-ons.
