The bottom layer of a shoe's sole that comes into contact with the ground.
The outsole is the bottom layer of the shoe, the one in contact with the ground. It is leather or rubber: Crockett & Jones cuts its own from leather bends or rubber sheets on heavy presses, and offers single and double leather soles as well as rubber soles such as Dainite. Tricker’s notes that double leather soles are stiffer and wear longer.
How the outsole is attached decides how it is replaced. In a Goodyear-welted shoe it is stitched to the welt; in a Blake-stitched shoe one seam runs through outsole, upper and insole; in a cemented shoe it is glued on. Crockett & Jones notes that not every sole suits every style, and that changing a leather sole to rubber is its most common repair request. Manolo Blahnik, whose soles are delicate leather, advises against replacing them, as this may alter the structure of the shoe.
In job listings
Outsoles appear in footwear development, where technicians work with sole makers and technical design roles adjust blueprints for molded outsoles; in production, as sole application; and in after-sales, where in-store artisans resole shoes. See current footwear development roles.
