Since the time of the British Raj, Wardy & Co has earned its laurels with handcrafted leather shoes for men. Once upon a time, in 1860, a British gentleman opened up a shop called Wardy & Co. It was located on one end of Brigade Road (where Mota Arcade now stands). The shop manufactured shoes and boots. When the Britisher was ready to sell off the property a few years later, he sold it to his own manager. Five generations later, the manager’s great-great-grandson, SD Sham Sundar, carries the Wardy & Co legacy forward and has been working at the shop for 42 years.
Over the centuries, Wardy & Co has taken on prestigious assignments including manufacturing shoes for the entire police force in the city and for all employees of KSTRC. While those contracts stopped coming their way around ten years ago, the shoe shop still makes shoes for leading hotels and factories in town. Sham Sundar also informs us that Wardy is a huge hit with the expats in the city and through word-of-mouth, they now get regular orders from around the globe. Around 22 years ago, the shop moved from its first location, on Brigade Road, to the current one at St. Patrick’s complex. When you stride in, you’ll see glass shelves lined with shoes and boots. Loafers, military-style boots, knee-length boots, and dress shoes are on offer here. You can either pick from their catalogue or bring in your own pattern (customers also bring in old pairs and ask for them to be copied). Wardy only makes shoes for men, in leather (they source it from Ambur, Tamil Nadu) and they are all hand-stitched. If you like a pair that’s already stacked on the shelves, you can walk out with those too.
