Last Guide
Bootmaking Starts With The Last
Question: What is a last?
Answer: Wikipedia tells us "a last is a mechanical form shaped like a human foot," but as a footwear designer who has developed well over 100 lasts, I can tell you that the last is much more important than a mold used to form leather around. At Thursday, we design lasts with precision tooling to 0.1mm specificity, which is the thickness of a standard piece of paper. We’ve also invested in developing and changing production lasts to make <1mm adjustments, or the thickness of a standard credit card! We don’t do this because we’re crazy, although we are obsessed. We do this because the last defines the look and fit for a boot.
Below is a walkthrough of some of our most popular lasts and fit tips!
The Kingmaker
The culmination of nearly a decade of last making at Thursday Boot Company. The Kingmaker is designed to balance a masculine Americana aesthetic with a sensibly refined toe shape perfect for everyday wear that feels appropriate in any setting. An evolution of our well-reviewed True last, used on Rugged and Resilient Captains prior to the summer of 2022, with an added 1.5mm in width at the ball of the foot for added comfort and a more masculine look.
Fit Tip: We recommend a full ‘thumb width’ from the edge of your big toe to the front of the boot. If your toes are touching the front, you should order a half size larger. The width should be snug out of the box, as the leather breaks in this snugness will dissipate leaving you with a perfect fit for your foot. Please note “snug” does not mean painful! If the width is tight to the point of pain, you will be happier exchanging your boots for the wide width version on the Kingmaker EE last.
A Few Styles That Use The Kingmaker:
The Encore
The quintessential almond shaped toe last. The Encore sits perfectly in the middle of legacy North American and European boots, featuring a shape that is both lower-profile and sleeker vs heritage North American boots with more bulbous toes while being more substantial than heritage European boots.
The Encore is the successor to our New Foundation last, used on classic Captains and Presidents prior to the spring of 2022, with an added 2mm in width at the ball and less “false toe” (extra space beyond the edge of your toe to the front of the boot) for significant added comfort and more enjoyable wear with long-term daily use.
Fit Tip: We recommend a full ‘thumb width’ from the edge of your big toe to the front of the boot. If your toes are touching the front, you should order a half size larger. The instep (top of your foot) and width should be snug out of the box, as the leather breaks in this snugness will dissipate leaving you with a perfect fit for your foot. Please note “snug” does not mean painful! If the width is tight to the point of pain, you will be happier exchanging your boots for the wide width version on the Encore EE last.
A Few Styles That Use The Encore:
The Equilibrium
Exclusively designed for our Rugged & Resilient Diplomats, the Equilibrium was built to allow for a true pin tuck moc-toe without creating an excessively large toe bump. Featuring a generous rounded toe box, cuboid and instep perfect for long days of wear.
Fit Tip: The Rugged & Resilient Diplomats feature slightly thicker leather than many of our other boots, which requires a few extra days to break in. The Equilibrium is also on the narrow side of the range for a D width last, if the width feels too tight we recommend the wide width version made on the Equilibrium EE.
A Few Styles That Use The Equilibrium:
The True
The True last, as the name suggests, is designed with 1/10 of an mm precision to be an exact D width in all aspects of the last. Featuring a low profile almond shaped toe and aesthetically pleasing perfect numerical proportions. The True last was used on Rugged and Resilient Captains prior to the summer of 2022 and is the predecessor of the Kingmaker last, which features 1.5mm additional width at the ball of the foot. The True last is still used on the Scout given that the extra space created by the stitchout construction on the classic scout and looser fitting 2-eyelet design makes the true last perfect for this construction to this day.
A Few Styles That Use The True:
The Challenger
Many customers and boot enthusiasts consider the Challenger lasts one of the best ever developed. Designed to feature a “toe bump” that doesn’t look overly round/bulbous, most people find it surprising that the Challenger is actually slightly narrower (1-2mm) at the widest point vs the Encore and Kingmaker lasts, which allows the boots made on the Challenger last to have an aesthetically pleasing curvature with the added room in the toe box.
Fit Tip: Given the roominess of the toe box, some members of our team like as little as ½ “thumb width” between the edge of the big toe to the front of the boot, although 1 full thumb width is still our recommendation for most people. The instep (top of your foot) and width should be slightly snug out of the box. For me, I feel the most snugness on the instep, but it only takes 1 day of full wear to achieve a perfect fit. The Challenger EE is set to be released in December 2023.
A Few Styles That Use The Challenger:
The 1776
1776 is the year the United States of America was founded, which is why the 1776 last is exclusively featured on the Vanguards and Loggers Made in the USA (MIUSA). Featuring a slightly broader toe box, instep and cuboid- the 1776 has a great natural almond toe profile, good “heft”, and is perfect for the thicker leathers we tend to use in the MIUSA line.
Fit Tip: We recommend a full ‘thumb width’ from the edge of your big toe to the front of the boot. If your toes are touching the front, you should order a half size larger. The leather should be a bit stiff out of the box, creating a bit of “snugness” around the foot. as the leather breaks in this snugness will dissipate leaving you with a perfect fit for your foot. Please note “snug” does not mean painful! While we are not currently making wide width Vanguards and Loggers, we have heard from many customers with wider feet and higher insteps that they were happy with the fit sizing up a ½ size.
A Few Styles That Use The 1776:
The RT3
The RT3 last is a close cousin of the Encore last. Although the body of both lasts are identical, the RT3 has a 3mm wider toe box and is 3mm shorter. This creates a significantly broader appearance when looking down at the boots, although the two lasts look the same at all other angles. Although not the most aesthetically pleasing, the RT3 is widely considered a well-fitting last great for long days on your feet.
Fit Tip: Given the much wider toe box, all of our team members prefer a ½ “thumb width” between the edge of the big toe to the front of the boot. While this is atypical compared to most lasts, the Round Toe allows the toes to splay out more within the toe box.
A Few Styles That Use the RT3:
The New Foundation
The New Foundation is the predecessor to the Encore last, and was most prominently featured on classic Captains and Presidents prior to 2020. In comparison to the Encore, the New Foundation had an extra 2mm false toe (the excess room at the front of the toe) and less width at the ball of the foot through the instep. Boots on the New Foundation last were transitioned to the Encore last after very positive wear tests results with our team. These positive results were reflected in customer reviews. If you liked the New Foundation last, we are confident you will love the Encore!
A Few Styles That Use the New Foundation:
Dress Boots 22
The classic luxury boot last. The Dress Boot 22 last features a refined almond toe shape combined with a sleek last body. The 22 in the name comes from the average heel height the last was designed for, excluding the toplift (rubbed at the bottom of the heel). While a true D width, the last runs on the narrow side of the range, as is true with most luxury boots.
Fit Tip: We recommend a full ‘thumb width’ from the edge of your big toe to the front of the boot. If your toes are touching the front, you should order a half size larger. The instep (top of your foot) and width should be snug out of the box, as the leather breaks in this snugness will dissipate leaving you with a perfect fit for your foot. Please note “snug” does not mean painful! If the width is tight to the point of pain, you will be happier exchanging your boots for the wide width version on the EE last.
A Few Styles That Use the Dress Boot 22: