Medieval Moccasins is a small family business located in the outskirts of San Marcos Texas. We have been making shoes by hand for over 30 years, and we’ve been proud to be local to the Austin area for over 6 of them.

When my mother, Ingrid Wendt, came to this country from Germany in the early 1980s, she and my father fell in love with the American people and their lifestyle. When I was born in 1981, she knew she wanted to be able to help support our new family in a way that let her spend as much time with us as she could. Living in New Orleans, my father and her started our small business in French Quarter markets, making the shoes to people’s feet for each order (we didn’t have sizes!).

As time passed, and the shoes became more popular, the business was able to grow in ways that exceeded her ability to go it alone. She asked her sister-in-law to become a partner, and with their combined effort, the patterns and production were refined so that the shoes could be sold nation-wide. In the late 1990s, Medieval Moccasins was large enough that it made sense to divide into two thriving businesses.

When I was old enough to get a college education, it was thanks to the family business that I was given the opportunity. I knew from the beginning that Medieval Moccasins was the future I wanted for myself, and when I graduated in 2007 I began to get involved full time in the day-to-day operations. Together with my incredibly hard working mother, we strove to bring the shoes beyond the Renaissance Festival circuit and into the modern world.

2013 brought my family’s world to the brink of collapse, when we lost Ingrid to pancreatic cancer. Leaning on my incredibly talented musician father Klaus Weiland more than ever, and with the help of our wonderful supportive family that is affectionately dubbed the “Shoe Crew”, our family (and business) made it through those darkest of days.

I look to the future with hope and determination, always with a mind to honor my mother’s spirit of generosity, compassion, and integrity. She taught me the joys of making people happy, and the rewards and lasting friendships that our customer relationships can bring. May I do justice to her footsteps.

Thank you to all who have helped us along the way. I look forward to continuing the legacy.

Sincerely,
Chela Wendt-Weiland
Our Lead Shoe Elf in Chief

Now a days, many companies throw around terms like handcrafted, handmade, or home made. When we say it, we mean we do every stage of our production from scratch and in house, right here at the edge of the Texas Hill Country. We trace our patterns on the hide by hand, we cut the leather with scissors, and we punch each hole with a mallet, one at a time. We even cut our laces using a hand-held, spiral-cutting tool.

Our shoes are Inspired by ancient Celtic design, and...
they are equally appropriate for historical period attire and modern fashion.

Our historical shoes are an original design based on styles found throughout Europe, from the Bronze Age, through Greek and Roman times, and up to present day.

My mother, and business founder, Ingrid Wendt created our patterns after seeing ancient shoes found at archaeological digs, especially those taken from the peat bogs of Celtic Europe. She fused and combined the best aspects of many patterns to create her own copyrighted design.

Over the years, Medieval Moccasins has refined and developed this design into a variety of leather sandals, boots and more based on the theme of customizable comfort, creating shoes that not only feel amazing, but also look uniquely eye catching.

Hard to fit, problem feet love our shoes!
We can even custom-make the shoes to your foot tracings,
although most people can wear our stock patterns.

This uniquely adjustable design accommodates for foot width, instep depth or even hammertoes and bunions. Our shoes have a sock like feel that supports your feet without hindering movement. From dancers to runners to rock climbers, active customers love the freedom of that fluid support. If you need, you can upgrade to our Hightop styles and then add the support of your own orthotic inserts.

Each shoe is made from one piece of supple leather that wraps around the foot, creating a barefoot feeling shoe that conforms to your shape, rather than forcing your foot into a pre-formed shoe.

Our shoes are a unisex design. Thousands of years ago, Celtic Warriors wore them in to battle. Historically, this bog style was most prevalent in the common and merchant classes, but our modern versions in metallic finishes can be easily used as formal wear.

These shoes aren’t “just” history’s moccasins.

Choose from a Wide Array of Colors and finishes, including matte, glossy, patent, shimmer, or even metallic! Our leather textures range from smooth to pebbled, and occasionally even velvety suede. Variety is the spice of life. Most of our leathers are cowhides, but sometimes we get specialty hides in exotic leathers like moose, elk or deer. Don’t see something you like in our shopping cart? Want to accessorize or customize? Just ask us how…

Whether you are hiking a forest path or walking down the aisle, treat your feet to this one of a kind shoe.

Find out why we say you may buy them for costume, but you will wear them for life!

Click Here for Shoe FAQs