Septieme Largeur footwear - Discussion Thread

[Northampton Novice]

I should add before anyone jumps on me for evening mentioning 7L in the same breath as C&J, that I am not making any quality comparisons between them!

 

[Gdot]

Definitely not in the same league quality wise. No doubt.

 

[Northampton Novice]

Er... yeah I know already!!!

 

[RDiaz]

I think we all agree SL is not at the level of Berluti, Corthay or Lobb. The question that would be more informative is, is it a good shoe for the price?

I don't know what to answer here - SL are €250, and the pair of Carminas I own was €218 - sure, they were on sale, but the quality is ten times better...

 

[fritzl]



If I could, I'd walk around on boots made by an 80-year old craftsman in a monumental workshop, made from the skin of organic and contented calfs that I would have hand-selected under the guise of the apple-cheeked farmer.

i did this. you should try it. it's pretty cool. i can recommend it to everyone, who's into shoes a tiny bit.

 

[Gdot]



I don't know what to answer here - SL are €250, and the pair of Carminas I own was €218 - sure, they were on sale, but the quality is ten times better...

My current opinion is that I would only consider Septieme L. for the finishes. As I know of no other manufacturer who offers the similar option of totally custom finish choices in this price range - or in any price range near it.

Has anyone ever seen a disection of a Carmina? I know they have a good reputation in general - and expect to have two pairs in hand within a week or so. But wonder what is known about the internal construction.

 

[Romain]

I own both SL and Carmina (funny, my Carmina are actually green like Gdot's SL), and, from what I can see (no I won't dissect any of them ), Carminas seem better made, but cost €100 more than Septieme Largeur : better leather, better stitching of the upper and of the welt.

On the other hand, SL offers a wide range of styles, from very conservative to excentric shoe afficionados style, at a price you don't need to sell a kidney to buy a pair or two.

 

[RogerC]



I don't know what to answer here - SL are €250, and the pair of Carminas I own was €218 - sure, they were on sale, but the quality is ten times better...

Carminas are now (at least in Europe) about a third more expensive as SL, and, at least for the moment, don't have sale on their online store (do they ever?). If I could get Carminas for those prices, I'd get them in a heartbeat.

I'm seeing it in a dynamic context: SL's are great to build a basic collection with which one looks quite good, and which will last long enough to make it possible to save up for better.

 

[fritzl]



My current opinion is that I would only consider Septieme L. for the finishes.

well, that's a valid point of view. if you don't have the possibility to get to paris to get your patine, this is the way to go.

certainly, the shoes ordered with patine are not the sales model, but the full retail + upcharge. still a good deal, imo.

 

[Xenon]



Has anyone ever seen a disection of a Carmina? I know they have a good reputation in general - and expect to have two pairs in hand within a week or so. But wonder what is known about the internal construction.

Its likely not substantially better than SL.

As an example I have always liked the John Lobb Becketts (8000 last) but only recently tried one on in the flesh. Well it was love at first sight. Unfortuneately , though it is several times the price of SL and of impeccable/flawless exterior finish, it probably has the same internals as the SL and all other RTW shoes. If you look at the depiedencap site a little more they have dissected many shoes including John Lobb . The JL has synthetic stiffenners and other obvious shortcuts just like entry level shoes (not to mention gemming which we all know)

 

[fritzl]



As an example I have always liked the John Lobb Becketts (8000 last)... ...it probably has the same internals as the SL and all other RTW shoes. If you look at the depiedencap site a little more they have dissected many shoes including John Lobb . The JL has synthetic stiffenners and other obvious shortcuts just like entry level shoes (not to mention gemming which we all know)

disgusting...

many thanks for this information.

 

[RDiaz]

Carminas are now (at least in Europe) about a third more expensive as SL, and, at least for the moment, don't have sale on their online store (do they ever?). If I could get Carminas for those prices, I'd get them in a heartbeat.
I'm seeing it in a dynamic context: SL's are great to build a basic collection with which one looks quite good, and which will last long enough to make it possible to save up for better.

The point is that I don't know if SL's are really worth €250... being low on cash, I'd rather have one pair of Carminas, C&J's, Allen Edmonds... than two pairs of SL's. From the outside, their quality just seems to be much better. But I don't really know anything about the internal construction of the higher end brands - that's why I said I don't really know what to answer...

 

[Northampton Novice]



My current opinion is that I would only consider Septieme L. for the finishes. As I know of no other manufacturer who offers the similar option of totally custom finish choices in this price range - or in any price range near it.

You are right, no other manufacturer offers such an option at this price point. You can however consider utilising Patina artists to achieve whichever finish you are after and importantly on whatever shoe brand. Prices in Paris start around 60 Euros and are a bit higher here in the UK.

 

[RogerC]



The point is that I don't know if SL's are really worth €250... being low on cash, I'd rather have one pair of Carminas, C&J's, Allen Edmonds... than two pairs of SL's. From the outside, their quality just seems to be much better. But I don't really know anything about the internal construction of the higher end brands - that's why I said I don't really know what to answer...

I guess that's exactly the problem. How do we know what is "good"? In any case, the deconstructions on the French website indicate synthetic materials being used in Lobbs, and them saying they were not quite happy with the construction of C&J Handgrades, where can we go?

 

[kasakka]

This forum seems to sometimes have a nearly audiophile level thing where nothing is good enough unless it's bespoke from brand X and made by an old man who has an epic moustache and lives in a pot of gold right at the end of the double rainbow. And those with the means to afford it, by all means have fun. But there is a point of diminishing returns where you're mostly paying for minor details, the brand and the bespokeness of it. I have a hard time believing durability would be a factor, considering the bottom rung shoes you see in thrift stores are often a decade old, never been even in a same room with a shoe tree, never been polished yet are still in quite wearable condition. Still ugly though.

Without any real knowledge about SL's quality, the shoes look rather nice and the prices are reasonable. For that money I'd expect them to be quite sufficient quality for most of us, providing years of enjoyment and service. Hell, I've got one pair of glued bottom shoes and most likely corrected grain leather that have lasted several years just fine and as far as aesthetics go they're really no worse than the C&J and Church's I've got, simply different and the last shape and fit is just as good.

At least for me it's more important to have shoes that fit well, look good and I enjoy wearing rather than worry about exactly how they were constructed as long as the construction doesn't cause a real problem (like what you can get with say, older fused suits or fully polyester clothing).