GUIDI
In my opinion simply one of the finest footwear brands available on the market, Guidi is an Italian entity which started as a leather tannery "Conceria Guidi e Rosellini" back in 1896. Today, they are a footwear and handbag brand consisting of highly skilled craftsmen who utilize traditional artisanal techniques and methods beyond what the modern average “connoisseur” of footwear may be familiar with or even appreciate. Utilizing Goodyear and Norwegian welts throughout their line of shoes, Guidi not only provides an impeccable foundation of footwear construction but also delivers top tier quality leather that is offered in today's footwear market. The aesthetic is raw and "untouched", so the outsoles are not buffed and the uppers often unpolished. Thus, I have heard horror stories of people who have taken their Guidis to cobblers, only to find their shoes polished and buffed when picked up.
I had the fine opportunity to compare two versions of what people refer to as the "Guidi Backzip". This boot features a slanted shaft which ultimately creates the beautiful stacking of leather when worn as shown in the second photo below. This stacking is a major reason for why one would desire this backzip boot. I was able to compare the 988s horse version (“s” means slim shaft) vs. the 988 soft horse version and surprisingly they were actually quite different. The slimmer shaft versions are known to have a 2 cm decrease in circumference in the shaft and while that may sound very minuscule, the difference is drastic in terms of fit and look. At the end of the day the 988s is a better fit if you have slimmer ankles and like to wear slimmer pants.
988 soft horse
In the below photo, the boot on the left = 988s horse while boot on the right = 988 soft horse. Notice the difference in stacking style. Aside from the obvious difference in the smell of the horse vs. soft horse, the soft horse was literally "softer" and more "refined" than the horse (for better or worse..personally I like the horse more as it felt more rugged)