11/08/2026
This is supposed to happen.
Wearing my 990’s today and thought the rolls were worth showing. One of the things that can surprise someone with their first pair of shell cordovan shoes is how the leather starts to change once you actually wear it. Rather than finer creases normally associated with calf, shell tends to form these broader rolls around the areas where the shoe flexes.
They’re not something you’d wanna get rid of. If anything, this is when shell starts becoming more interesting. Every pair develops differently and eventually, your 990’s stop looking quite like anyone else’s.