For the past 7 months, I've been teaching myself the manual process of making my own shoes! After numerous practice attempts, I'm proud to present my very first pair :)
The uppers are made from leftover fabric from my dress that I made last year, lined with veg tan goatskin leather. The insoles are made from a 9-10oz (3.6-4mm thick) veg tan cowhide, and the outsoles are made from a super solid outsole bend 9.5oz (3.8mm) veg tan cowhide. I cut and sanded the heels out of poplar turning blanks. The shoes also contain stiffeners; the shank is made from layers of cardstock glued together and shaped to the bottom of the last, and the heel counter and toe puff are made from a 4-5oz (1.6-2mm thick) veg tan cowhide. I also painted the soles gold with Angelus leather paint :)
I'm just getting started on my shoemaking journey, so there are still a few areas where I can improve. Hopefully by the end of this year I'll be able to share my next step in this process, which will actually use SOLIDWORKS ;)
Here is my progress from my very first attempt at a "shoe" to my first ever pair!
And here is a picture of me wearing them, of course: