RANCOURT & Co. Shoes - Made in Maine - Page 87

I want to share my experience with sizing - I bought a pair of CXL venetians from BB in the summer, 10.5 d.  Same as my Allen Edmonds size.  They stretched out a lot.  At the suggestion of my cobbler, I added a pair of $5.50 cushioned insoles.  Voila, they fit great now.  Still, the CXL is so stretchy that without laces to cinch them, it is a big risk.  My Oak street CXL mocs have also stretched, but the feeling is much different since they can be tied tight.

The second pair was MTO, which I bought after the BB pair.  Another pair of venetians, but this time medium brown pebble grain leather with a brick sole.  I also got them lined.  But I over compensated for the CXL and bought a 10.5 B.  With the addition of the lining, this was a mistake.  they were way too tight.  And the light brown pebbled leather didn't stretch like the CXL.  I sent them back to Rancourt and had them stretched and "re-lasted" but it really didn't do much.  Then I took them back to my local cobbler who stretched them with much better results.  I still need to have the toe area of the right foot stretched more, but they are wearable now, which is a relief because I was ready to list them on ebay or try to sell on SF.  

my conclusion is that buying MTO shoes without being able to try them on is...tricky.  And it changes based on the material and configuration.  For me, this is an acceptable price to pay to have top quality USA made shoes that are customizable and have only one layer of mark-up.  But the MTO experience is not for everyone and sometimes you have to accept creative solutions.

Thanks for sharing your experience.  Should be valuable to those who are unsure about what size to order.

How did the first pair fit before stretching?  TTS?

the CXL venetians from BB (navy color) fit like a glove when I first bought them.  In hindsight, this was actually a bad sign.  they need to be tight and then will loosen.  If I buy a CXL loafer again, I will get 10.5 B unlined.  That should be tight enough to fit well after stretching from wear.  But I'm speculating.  I don't know how it will be until I try it.  

BTW, I sent the BB pair back to Rancourt and had white boat soles put on instead of the leather soles they came with.  I was slip-sliding so much on the pure leather and had so many near miss wipe outs that I had to get a rubber sole on those shoes.  Now they are my go-to.  I love them, especially with the insert to make them feel snug again.  

One of the most intriguing shoes to me in Rancourt line up right now (other than Chukkas) is the camp moc.  It has the easy slip on/off features of a loafer but the cinching ability of a tie.  This helps calm my nerves on fit issues.  Could be my next purchase (if I don't get winter chukkas first).  Speaking of which, can you get a commando sole with Rancourt MTO like they have on Alden shoes?

Quote:

Originally Posted by FrankCowperwood 


If you could actually get your foot into the 8D, which it certainly sounds like you could, then hopefully going up one width is going to work. In light of the recent discussion here, what's the leather you are looking at and are you going lined or unlined?

CXL on on both the beefroll and ranger moc. Both unlined. My first time with a CXL shoe.

Vibram sole on the ranger moc and Tempest sole on the beefroll

I'm a little nervous, just because I've never worn CXL

I actually ended up going up a 1/2 size from my AE size, but down two widths to "E" on account of the CXL

Quote:

Originally Posted by jah786 

 

BTW, I sent the BB pair back to Rancourt and had white boat soles put on instead of the leather soles they came with.  I was slip-sliding so much on the pure leather and had so many near miss wipe outs that I had to get a rubber sole on those shoes.  Now they are my go-to.  I love them, especially with the insert to make them feel snug again.  

 

I've actually been thinking of doing a Venetian Loafer / Boat shoe hybrid for next summer.  Brown CXL with white stitching, white boat sole  and sort of an ornamental boat shoe rawhide lace tie (like instead of a tassel).  No eyelets, no lacing around the side of the shoe.  If you can picture such a thing.  Essentially a boat shoe but the laces aren't functional.  Or it could be thought of as a boat shoe themed venetian with ornamental rawhide tie where a tassel would go.

If i'm not mistaken, the camp moc laces go around the foot opening of the shoe.  It would be like a brown CXL venetian with white stitching and white boat sole, if you can picture that.  Then just add a rawhide lace bow where a tassel would go.  The bow would not be functional, as it would not tighten the shoe.  No eyelets anywhere.

Also, camp moc has camp moc sole.

So this with white sole and white stitching, plus rawhide bow.

Or this without the eyelets and the piece of leather they are connected too.  Also, without the lace that goes around the shoe. Just rawhide bow where a tassel would be.

not too far off from this actually, just white sole and non-functional laces. Also no eyelets.

Picture rawhide bow instead of tassels.  See what I mean by "non-fuctional like a tassel"?  Does not tighten shoe.

On  a separate thought, ^ This with camp moc sole and non-functional laces/bow made of suede in leu of tassels would make a cool driving shoe.

I'm not gonna lie - those royal blue boat shoes keep calling my name. I was thinking with an RLH sole and grey laces. Also loving those Color 8 boat shoes...

Anyone have a pair of their boat shoes?

I'd like to give my sizing experience with Rancourt as well.

I think of myself as being a 9.5e TTS, and sized on a Brannock I'm between a 9 and 9.5, and between D and E.  9.5e in AE 7 and 9 lasts fit quite well. I measured myself (or more specifically, by GF measured me) using the Rancourt sizing guide, and it came out basically the same as the brannock.  So I ordered the pinch pennies in 9.5e, and they're just about right - one foot is a little loose, but that foot was closer to a 9 when I measured.  

I also wanted to thank people in this thread for all the info and pictures etc - I definitely wouldn't have bought these shoes (which have become my favorites) without the advice here.

Dark olive CXL with black lactea hevea soles. They look dark brown in everything but direct sunlight where they are noticeably olive.

I really like the soles. They're very comfortable and have good traction.