Quality Of Grenson Shoes - Page 5

Seems like a good start. With Carmina and Grenson G1, C&J is finally going to have some competition. I hope that they're going to have more than Black though.

I'd put the Grenson Rose collection above Barker and Loake and perhaps slightly below Cheaney and Church, C & J mainline products. The Masterpiece stuff comes close to EG in terms of leather quality IMHO. The Rose Chelsea boots I have use reasonable quality leather and were a well made BNIB ebay bargain (sub $100) - representing a lot of shoe for the money so I'd suggest you have a look there. As an entry level shoe you won't go too far wrong. Unfortunately it will just whet your appetite for even better and more expensive products and then follows the slipper slope into shoe porn addiction...

I am contemplating getting a pair of the Archie for Summer wear.

Is the triple sole over kill?

I just got the Sharp boots and for the price, I like them, but I would note the same two issues: "botched" stitching and splotchiness....

Man, I wish I would have kept up with Grenson, I want that 0004-1470 from the G.zero collection in navy

I have the Grenson Freds in cognac (or something like that) w/ the white vibram sole. They are the boot version of the Archie. They are comfortable and quiet. I don't care if they are Goodyear welted, or if they are of quality construction, or if they are overpriced. They look good with almost anything you wear and you will get bombarded w/ compliments wearing them.

Hi All,  

First post, but a lurker for a while.  Recently I purchased a pair of Grenson Tom suede shoes (online) and the size is way off. I normally wear a US 10 or 10.5 depending on the maker, so taking this into consideration I opted for a 9UK. When I tried it on, it's at least a full size too large.  

 

See the pic, my finger shows where my big toe ends. Placing the shoe beside a few other pairs I have prove to me that it is slightly over an inch longer.

 

Is this normal with Grenson's?

 

 

Not with my Grensons which generally fit TTS. However, all my Grensons are from their Masterpiece/Paul Stuart's Stuart's Choice range.

Yah, I thought it was a bit weird. Anyone know the actual (tip to tip) length of a UK9 of the Grenson's?

the wide opening of your instep seems to suggest that the shoe is a tad tight. or is the shoe the kind with low instep?

I'm eyeing on Grenson Archie vibram sole for my walking shoes. but someone on this thread said something about Grenson red insole shoes being made in India? does it mean the shoes are not good?

Saw lots of people earlier in the thread saying the quality of the new line is crap because they're made in India. I wonder how many of them had even come into contact with a pair and were just making assumptions because I've recently bought a pair of finn and find them to be of very decent quality(very attractive to boot). I'm no expert but even so, if this is crap quality then I want to know what good quality looks and feels like.

I think 'crap' is subjective but the various lines of Grenson (smart shoes) tend to be not as impressive as others shoes. I do not think it is solely because they are now made in India, I think in general the quality has declined slightly. The leather used on the uppers are not as impressive, the soles are not finished as well, and the stitching is not as consistent. This my subjective intra-brand comparison.

Compared to similarly priced UK makers such as Barker and Loake, the difference is slight. When you move up Grenson's price line and compare them to Tricker's, Cheaney, AS, and C&J, the quality comparison is more noticeable. Any other comparison (EG, JL) is unfair although their GMP used to be made excellently enough to warrant a conversation.

I encourage you to see what brands like EG or even C&J HG "looks and feels like" because I think you will notice.

Basically yeah I agree, Grenson still make decent enough casual shoes for a reasonable price. If you're looking for that one pair of dress shoes then these days you're better off looking elsewhere.

It's been a while since this thread was commented on but i felt like adding my voice to this thread.

Firstly, i bought a pair of Grenson shoes for my girlfriend, the Emma suede boot with the Vibram sole. The boots are fine but in my ignorance i had failed to check up on the brand before buying and was disappointed to find out that the boots were made in India. There is absolutely nothing on the shoe or the box to tell the customer this, instead they prefer to write a generic 'England' after their name. Everything about the branding is meant to mislead the customer. I emailed Grenson to find out why they purposely avoid putting the country of manufacture on the product, to which i received no reply.

So, i got over this and I bought a pair of Grenson Archie V shoes online recently...i got a good deal so decided not to get hung up on the fact they were made in India. They arrived and I was disappointed to find that they do not have a Vibram sole and instead have a generic unbranded 'XL Extra Light' sole. I did a bit of research and came up with nothing other than the assumption that this is just yet more cost cutting by the 'English' brand. My understanding is that the Archie 'V' is the same shoe as the Archie, but with a Vibram sole...hence the 'V'.

Obviously Grenson didn't reply to my email about this and the shoes have been returned. So just be careful, as the new soles feel really nasty compared to the Vibram Morflex sole my girlfriend has on her boots. In fact, all the women's Grensons have authentic Vibram soles...i guess the company decided they'd save money by putting cheapo soles on the mens range. Note-to my knowledge, this is only true of shoes made 2012 onwards. If you get a pair of 'V' shoes on eBay or in a sale somewhere you might get lucky, as previous versions were made with Vibrams.

Rant over.

I came across a pair of Grenson Bleasdale boots in The Natural Shoe Store about a year and half ago. They'd cheaped out on the brass hardwear (the eyelets and ski hooks) - nowhere near the quality of the old Rose line boots. Grenson were a good maker, but they've gone downhill. There's no way I'd buy from Grenson now.