Oak & Hyde is a British footwear brand that I have been meaning to talk about for a while. I’d only ever heard good things from my audience and the barefoot community, so when Emma reached out for me to visit their HQ, I was genuinely excited to see the shoes for myself. It was long awaited information for my followers, and I was thrilled to finally get a proper look at what they do.
I was so happy to discover how lovely the team are that I was kicking myself for not trying them sooner. They absolutely are a hidden gem of the barefoot community. I tried on a number of models from their growing barefoot offering, and everything I handled felt thoughtful, well-made, and designed with real people in mind. The team is a small and very friendly, and frankly it’s always a good sign when there are dogs in the office, right?
Fit is really important to me as I know this is what people come to my website for. I have EEE width feet and medium volume. I test a lot of shoes, and that often means wearing pairs that don’t quite suit my width, which can quickly show in pain around my right tailor’s bunion. With Oak & Hyde, I have not experienced that at all, which is a huge bonus for me. The shoes are wider and squarer than Vivobarefoot, with good overall volume, and the soft premium leather stretches naturally over time. Those with higher-volume feet or calves, are going to benefit from this as well. I could see first-hand how Emma’s own Cedar boots had aged beautifully, and she clearly designs with real wearers in mind. Their reported return rate for faults is under 1%(!), which shows how reliable these shoes are. You can really trust the brand and the quality of what you are buying. In addition to this statistic, I would highly recommend checking out real reviews in my private Facebook Group for genuine testimonies.
All of Oak & Hyde’s barefoot shoes are handcrafted in Portugal using premium leather, just like their original range. Portugal has a long tradition of shoemaking, and it shows here in the attention to detail, the finishing, and the way the shoes feel from the first wear. For my UK audience, it’s great to know you are buying from a British brand you can trust, and that there are no worries about import taxes or delivery issues. The shoes look fantastic, they feel great, and they are built to last. I even exclaimed that this is too good to be true, because in reality, what more do we want from a British barefoot shoe brand?!
I am especially excited by their approach to barefoot footwear, as it feels somewhat different to other brands in the niche. Due to their history of shoemaking, they have been in a great position taken some of their classic, traditional styles (ones that they already know are popular and great quality) and reimagined them with barefoot soles. This means you retain the style and elegance of the original designs but gain the benefits of more natural movement. The result is a hybrid that works incredibly well, and I cannot wait to see how they apply this to models like the Western cowboy boot- this is going to be a hit. This whole method is reminiscent of how I always talk about Froddo Barefoot children’s shoes; a brand I’ve always recommended for longevity and quality.
I have picked up the Cedar Wide Calf in brown, the Beech 18 in black, and some men’s models for my dad, husband, and brother-in-law. We are all looking forward to testing them, posting reviews, and sharing content soon. I genuinely love supporting a British brand with a real story, products you can trust, and a team that has both vision and energy. Oak & Hyde combines style, quality materials, and thoughtful design with barefoot function, and I am delighted to have them on my radar and to be sharing them with my audience.
Where can you buy them from?
You can get them directly from their website, here: https://www.oakandhyde.co.uk/collections/all-barefoot
Since Oak & Hyde are based in the UK, there’s no taxes to pay and returns are fuss-free.
Brit 👣
