About a month ago we asked a question we'd been sitting on for a while: if we opened up custom options for the 3450, should certain leather and midsole combinations stay fixed, or should you be able to choose more freely?
The replies were clear. Most of you wanted more freedom — not unlimited options for everything, just more freedom where it actually matters.
The three things that came up most
Across the responses, three choices stood out as the ones people genuinely wanted control over, in this order:
- Leather — the material that sets the tone of the whole boot.
- Midsole color — small surface area, huge impact on character.
- Structure (toe puff & heel counter) — the choice that decides how the boot ages and holds its shape.
So that's the structure we're building toward. These three will be the core custom options on the 3450, with more flexibility instead of everything locked into a few preset combinations.
1. Leather — the tone of the boot
Leather is the first decision and the loudest one. It determines how the boot looks the day you unbox it, and how it'll look five years in. For the 3450 custom program, you'll be choosing between two finishes that age in very different directions — tea-core and oil-waxed.
2. Midsole — small surface, big character
Same boot. Swap the midsole color and suddenly it's a different object entirely. Not a variation — a different character. A natural midsole reads relaxed and worn-in from day one. A dark midsole grounds the boot, makes the upper feel heavier, more deliberate.
That's why we didn't want to lock it behind a fixed combination. The leather you love might call for the opposite midsole than we'd default to. Now it's your call.
3. Structure — toe puff & heel counter
This is the part you don't see, and the part that decides how the boot ages. The toe puff and heel counter set how the boot holds its shape over years of wear, how stiff it feels at first, and how it eventually softens. Different builders prefer different stiffnesses for different reasons. Now you choose.
What stays the same
Production runs are still small. That part isn't changing. The custom program isn't a move toward mass — it's a move toward the right boot for the person ordering it, made in the same numbers we've always made.
Final details are still getting sorted, but that's the direction. If you've been thinking about a 3450 Build Your Own, this is the moment to start thinking about the build you actually want.
Custom is coming
Small runs. Real choices. Build the 3450 that fits the way you actually want to wear it.
Build your 3450