Pitillos: The Hardest Name to Say. Some of the Easiest Shoes to Wear.
We’ll happily admit it, Pitillos may be one of the hardest brand names in the store to say, and we’re still not entirely convinced we’re getting it right every time. Fortunately, wearing them is much easier!
Made in Spain, Pitillos is a comfort-focused footwear brand that has managed to solve a problem we hear about all the time at Sissa: how do you find a shoe with a little more support, cushioning and room without automatically ending up in another pair of sneakers?
That’s really what caught Kate’s attention with this collection. There are proper supportive footbeds, padded insoles and broader-fitting styles, but they still look like shoes you actually want to wear out, not sneakers. There are platforms and patent finishes, pretty rosette details, loafers and some very clever sneaker hybrids, so although we’d say that comfort is the starting point, it certainly isn’t the whole story.
Comfort is the starting point
There are times when comfort is a nice bonus and there are times when it becomes completely non-negotiable, particularly if you spend a lot of time on your feet or find that standard fashion shoes simply don’t work for you anymore.
Pitillos has been designed with that in mind, with supportive footbeds, cushioning and slightly broader-fitting shapes appearing throughout the collection. What we particularly like, though, is that you don’t look at them and immediately think comfort shoe.
Because, why should comfortable shoes have to announce themselves?
The reality is that our feet change over time, and so do the things we need from our shoes. Some of us have bunions, some need a little more width or cushioning, and some of us have simply reached the point where, if a shoe hurts, we’re not wearing it!
But none of that means we’ve suddenly stopped caring about what our shoes look like.
Can we talk about the rosette?
Left: PITILLOS Nude 11221 , Right: PITILLOS Black 11221
One of Kate’s favourites from the collection is the rosette style, which we have in two colours, and this is probably the perfect example of what Pitillos does so well.
It looks really beautiful on the foot, with that lovely statement rosette giving it a feminine, slightly dressier feel, but underneath all of that prettiness there’s a platform sole and padded insole doing the practical work.
It means you get something that feels quite different from a sneaker but still gives you the comfort and cushioning you might usually rely on one for, which makes it a lovely option for days when you want to feel a little more dressed without immediately reaching for a traditional heel.
And while we’re talking about real feet... bunions
Not necessarily the most glamorous topic to make its way into The Sissa Sorella Edit, but an important one nonetheless - and we’ve done it before!
Anyone with bunions or a broader foot will know how quickly a beautiful shoe can become considerably less beautiful when it starts pressing or rubbing in exactly the wrong place. We particularly like some of the Pitillos styles for this reason, because the combination of a broader fit and beautifully soft patent can make them a much more forgiving option around the foot.
Of course, no two feet - or bunions- are exactly the same, so this is where the Sissa service comes in. If width or fit is an issue for you, talk to us before ordering and we can check the shoe, explain how it feels and help you work out which style is most likely to suit your foot.
It’s one of the reasons we spend so much time trying everything on ourselves. Sometimes the information you actually need isn't “Is it beautiful?” but “Is that going to hurt me after two hours?”
When a loafer and a sneaker get together...
Left: PITILLOS 11082, Right: PITILLOS 11083
Another thing that caught our attention in this collection is the way Pitillos plays with traditional shoe shapes on sneaker-style bases.
There’s a lace-up version as well as a loafer-style upper, which gives you the polished look of a proper shoe with some of the cushioning and practicality we usually associate with a sneaker. It fills a surprisingly useful little gap in the wardrobe, particularly when you need something comfortable enough for a full day on your feet but a sneaker feels too casual and a traditional loafer feels a little too structured.
With jeans, wide-leg pants or relaxed tailoring, they give you that easy everyday comfort without making the whole outfit feel sporty. We can also see them being particularly useful for travel, work and those days when you know you’re going to be doing far more walking than you originally planned.
A little Spanish shoemaking know-how
Pitillos has been making footwear in Spain since 1981, with its shoes produced in Arnedo in La Rioja, an area with a long history of shoemaking.
What’s interesting about the brand is the way it combines that traditional Spanish footwear knowledge with modern comfort technology. The cushioning, fit and footbeds aren’t things that have simply been added to an otherwise fashionable shoe at the end of the process; comfort is considered as part of the shoe from the beginning.
For Sissa, that makes Pitillos a really useful addition to our collection. We love a fabulous heel as much as the next Sissaholic - obviously - but we also know that sometimes you need a shoe that is going to look good at 8am and still feel good at 5pm, without having to carry a backup pair in your handbag.
Perhaps the comfort shoe has had a makeover?
That might be the best way to describe this first Pitillos collection. Pitillos has simply managed to wrap comfort and practicality into a collection with enough personality that choosing the comfortable option doesn’t feel like a compromise.
There are pretty rosettes and soft patent finishes, platforms, loafers and clever sneaker-inspired soles, with plenty of options for those of us who want our shoes to look and feel good. Now all we need is for someone to teach us how to pronounce Pitillos properly and we’ll be sorted.
Shop the new Pitillos collection online now, or visit us in Deakin and let us help you find the right fit.
Shoe Love is True Love. 🩷👠
