First, I would like to say hello and introduce myself. I have been lurking here for awhile and wanted to thank everyone for providing the vast amount of information that's available on this site.
Second, I was hoping for some help finding a dress shoe. I am looking for a pair of chestnut wingtips in the $300-500 range. I found a pair of Gianfranco Ferre wingtips that I like, but I have not been able to find much information about their quality. Are some of Ferre's lines made by Mantellassi? Is there a way to tell if these are made by Mantellassi?

http://www.zappos.com/n/p/dp/19247718/c/6.html

Any other suggestions would be much appreciated. Thank you..

I don't know about Ferre shoes, but my experience with this label is not very good. I have a few dress shirts and a couple pairs of trousers. Fabric quality and workmanship leaves a lot to be desired. If you are going to purchase online, why not try pediwear of plal. I am sure you could get much better quality for your money.

Similar experiences with the brand. Both my shirts lost buttons early on, and the suit I bought (while in a cool style), has needed repairs too. Steer clear.

I realize this is an old thread and the OP has probably long since stopped watching for responses, but just FYI to anyone else curious about Ferre, they are/were (until very recently anyway) manufactured by Vicini/Zanotti and so are somewhere in the mid-range of designer shoes. Those pictured in the link above are Vicini, not Mantellassi. I don't know 100%, as I don't work for Ferre or anything, but I don't believe they have anything being manufactured by Mantellassi.

As for this maker, Vicini also makes their own line of shoes, as well as shoes for Dsquared (again, this may have changed in the past year or two). Vicini and its licensed brands aren't crap, by any means, but they also aren't a hidden treasure.

My experience is that for fun styles or something a little off beat that you'll only wear three times for going out, Ferre is fine. For more standard, classic styles, you could get a lot better for less (how many times have we beaten this horse???). As such, anything close to retail would not be recommended. Zappos has Ferre from time to time; at drastic discount, I'd say go for it. More than $125-150 and I'd say pass; those pictured in the link are on sale for $322... I'd say don't do more than take a glance before surfing on to the next website.

Ebay is also a great place to get Ferre; he isn't that popular anymore nor have his collections been anything that garnered much press notice, so often you can find new or nearly new shoes for less than $20 (I've regularly seen shoes with opening bids of $9.99 go for only the opening bid, plus shipping).

Quality wise, they are probably in line with most designers at the retail level of $400-695. The quality, IMO, would be less than the LVMH brands that use Stefanobi (LV, Givenchy, Loewe), slightly less than Gucci, YSL Rive Gauche, or the top-end of Versace, better than most Prada or Valentino (who, IMO, is probably Ferre's biggest stylistic rival). I'd put them closer in range to the older Ferragamo "Studio" line or maybe some of the regular line... which is nothing to write home about... but a little better stylewise and with a 25-30% surcharge added for the label... meaning a $395 Ferragamo style would probably be $475-500 for Ferre.