It began as an experiment in family relations: Boston native Lewis Cutillo was living in Milan with his somewhat distant cousin Franco Gazzani, whose father had spent decades fashioning made-to-measure shoes for friends just for fun (even their hobbies are chicer than ours). To the business-minded American, it made absolutely no sense. Less than five years later, Cutillo and Gazzani's Bontoni shoes have quietly worked their way into this country's most elite retailers -- including Bergdorf Goodman and San Francisco's Wilkes Bashford -- and onto the feet of an equally elite clientele. Cut from Italian leather and hand-dyed for seven days, the shoes boast details like perforated cap toes and personalized etched soles that Cutillo says render them "sexier and sleeker than most, yet classic enough to be worn 50 years from now." A single pair can take up to 14 weeks to make (fitting alone takes 45 days), and sell for $1,050 to $12,000. "Many of our clients have as many as 13 to 15 pairs," says Cutillo. "But since everything is done by hand, there are truly no two pair alike." When asked, he declines to name the company's boldface fans, although moments later slips Jerry Yang, Tom Brady, and Arnold Schwarzenegger into conversation, without the slightest hint of foot in mouth. bontoni.com --ALYSSA GIACOBBE

Related: A look at Bontoni's spring/summer 2008 collection

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