Number Six Loves: Rompboy Shoes

Heavily influenced by tennis and badminton shoes from the 1960s, Tanan Boonyatapiwat handmade his first pair of shoes in 2015. Since then, he's taken his business from strength to strength - and prides himself on ensuring each pair is still handmade in Thailand by the very same people who helped him start it all.

"each pair is still handmade in Thailand"

The strong minimalism they keep up has been key in driving the brand forwards into the world. It's bang on the money for every trend we've seen in the last couple of seasons, and we can tell you now that these ones are going to last you for time to come. We're beyond happy to be one of their first UK stockists, so we can keep bringing you the good stuff.

Back in the day, Rompboy only produced the charcoal colourway - this made up their entire first drop back in 2015. It can be said it's risky to go that route, but that same first drop sold out in a matter of HOURS across Thailand and the rest of the world combined. Boonyatapiwat puts it down to the timelessness of the colourway: the white contrasts and black rubber around the toecap and sole were the driving force behind the success.

"sold out in a matter of hours"

No matter the colourway you choose, there's guaranteed functional detailing in each pair. The handmade nature means each one is slightly different and it's all part of their charm. We'd honestly bet there's enough detail to please even the most discerning of footwear fanatics.

Ivory is one of the latest colorways from Rompboy's design studios. This one stems from a more military heritage with its fundamentals drawn from canvas used during World War II. The original canvas they used had stencil marks and was heavily structured, some adaptations were made in the design process, and we've been left with an absolutely cracking end product.

"continuously developing to deliver the best possible quality"

Since the original designs, Rompboy have been continuously developing themselves in order to deliver us the best possible quality. These changes include switching to "black" shoes (note: not necessarily actually black), but ones that protect against dirt and wear-n-tear to a much higher degree than before. They've also cleverly designed their trainers to be non-slip, which is invaluable to those of us on that all-too-familiar drizzly commute.

Ideal for the everyday, that smart-casual gathering you're not sure about, and even that inevitable trip to the pub after work.