Opinions on these boots from Brooks Brothers

I recently spotted these boots at Brooks Brothers, and there doesn't seem to be anything online about them so I thought I would start a new thread to gather opinions. I saw these for the first time through the window at a brick and mortar store, and I honestly thought I was most likely looking at a Peal & Co. boot (made by Crockett & Jones, or Alfred Sargent). I assumed the boots were probably in the range of $600.00. I went inside and picked them up to find that they are goodyear-welted, good looking leather, excellent stitching, and have a rubber sole that looks the same as a Dainite sole. Inside they have what looks like a nice natural leather insole with a cushioned heel sock lining just like a Peal & Co. shoe... Only then did I spot the "Made in Mexico" stamp under the tongue! They were not priced, so after asking the sales person, I was told that they are $248.00. I went home and looked them up online to see if I could find more information, and I see in the pictures online that they are stamped with the "346" on the sock liner, so apparently they are a part of their outlet line of shoes. This helps explain the lower cost, but the quality to price ratio still seems like one of the best I have ever seen. I should note that the pair I picked up in the store was NOT at an outlet, and they were NOT marked on the sock liner with the "346" logo. Below are pictures, and a link to them online. Hoping for some opinions!

http://www.brooksbrothers.com/Leather-Moccasin-Boots/MH00050,default,pd.html

They're not bad for $248, but the leather looks cheap.

Christian B said:

They're not bad for $248, but the leather looks cheap.

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I actually think they look alot cheaper in the photos myself. In person, the leather seemed ok. Not C&J or better, but fine for what I may need them for, which is jeans on weekends during the fall/winter and foul weather days year round.

I bou


I posted about these last year. Bought them on sale for about $200 after seeing them in-store. I really liked the style, the shape, and thought they fit pretty well. However, after wearing them around my house for maybe 10 minutes, the right shoe started creasing badly. The photos above were taken right after I took them out of the box. I became concerned with how they would hold up over the long term, so I returned these and got the AE Malverns instead. I like the shape of the BBs better, but AE is a known quantity, and the Malverns still look great after a year of regular wear. FWIW, if you have your heart set on these, you might want to wait until the holiday sales. Last year these got down to $145. I might pick these up again if they get that low this year.

reidrothchild said:

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I posted about these last year. Bought them on sale for about $200 after seeing them in-store. I really liked the style, the shape, and thought they fit pretty well. However, after wearing them around my house for maybe 10 minutes, the right shoe started creasing badly. The photos above were taken right after I took them out of the box. I became concerned with how they would hold up over the long term, so I returned these and got the AE Malverns instead. I like the shape of the BBs better, but AE is a known quantity, and the Malverns still look great after a year of regular wear. FWIW, if you have your heart set on these, you might want to wait until the holiday sales. Last year these got down to $145. I might pick these up again if they get that low this year.

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Wow, great to know! My heart isn't set on them, I'm just wanting to get the best value for my money. The majority seem to be saying that they would stay away from them. I agree that if they get down to $145.00, they may be worth the gamble though.

One other interesting note about these shoes is that last year when I bought them, they were NOT labeled as 346 shoes; they were mainline BB. If BB relabled them as their outlet brand a year into production, something tells me my creasing issue was likely not an isolated defect but perhaps an acknowledgement that the general quality of these was just not up to par.

reidrothchild said:

One other interesting note about these shoes is that last year when I bought them, they were NOT labeled as 346 shoes; they were mainline BB. If BB relabled them as their outlet brand a year into production, something tells me my creasing issue was likely not an isolated defect but perhaps an acknowledgement that the general quality of these was just not up to par.

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I found that interesting as well. The pair that I saw in the store was NOT marked with the 346 label, they had the regular BB logo. I didn't see the 346 until I looked at them online.