Santoni double monks

Hi, Iong time lurker and this is my first post so, first off, many thanks for the shared wisdom. 

I'm keen to buy a couple of brown/tan/burgundy double monk strap shoes but unfortunately my local selection (Argentina and Chile) is very limited to say the least (a couple of Salvatore Ferragamo stores, with a very small and rather unfortunate selection). Needless to say, the closest I am to bespoke would be Loake in Chile, and I was planning to have a couple of desert boots made there.

I've been looking for online stores that ship to my country and I have these models in mind:

http://www.voustenshoes.com/men/santoni-roel-16976

I'm sure these are fatto a mano, but I have my doubts on the online store (never heard of them before)

http://shop.santonishoes.com/man/man-classic/doppia-fibbia-11652.html

These are straight out of Santoni, but I'm not sure which line they are.

To make things harder, the local (currently in Bs Aires for the next few weeks) Salvatore Ferragamo has a lovely pair of double monks, but in black (Tramezza I believe, though I may have been confused and be LO). The exchange rate helps me quite a bit, so it's about a 30% discount from retail price.

On the other hand I love the price on these Sutor Mantellasi, but I'm not a big fan of the (seemingly) squared toe and colour.

http://www.shopthefinest.com/p-57501-sutor-mantellassi-burgundy-red-shoes-size-95-us-85-uk.aspx

There's also these which are really extraordinary, but the sizing is too large as I was made aware the Santoni shoes tend to be about half a size larger (which it's also reflected on their own sizing chart)

http://www.farfetch.com/shopping/men/santoni-buckle-shoe-item-10277393.aspx

What should I do here? Should I go for proven Santoni fatto a mano from an until now unknown store? Run the risk with the until now unknown line of Santoni's but from their own website? Bite the bullet and buy the black Ferragamos from the store here in BA? (which I could use, but would prefer a brown model). Or take the Sutor Mantellassi, despite the toe?

Thanks in advance for your comments and help.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mishon 

I own something similar to the second pair of Santoni's you posted (mine are a FAM, orange sock) and they are a very nice, dressy pair of shoes. They were UK sized, so pay careful attention if you decide to purchase from the official site.
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Those are very nice mishon, congrats. Exactly what I'm looking for actually. I'm usually 42.5- 43 Europe (9 - 9.5 US/ 8,5 UK). Did your Santoni measure normally or were they larger?

Quote:

Originally Posted by meister 


There is also a thread here on a downtown Santiago bespoke maker.

Yes, read it. I thought the quality of the suede wasn't the best on that pair. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by kungapa 

Go to Calzados Correa in Buenos AIres, and see if they would be able to make you a pair of double monks. I doubt it is part of their typical line-up, but who knows!

In any case, go there and buy shoes instead of ordering from Loake.

Thanks kungapa, looks like a great find. I'll go visit them today, though alas it looks as if you are right and they don't do double monks. Will update later.

Thanks mishon.

As it turns out I ended up ordering a pair from Calzados Correa. I was greeted and measured by Danny (Felix) Correa. We saw the photos and agreed it would be best to follow a similar line, though perhaps a bit more classic than Santoni's. Danny said he believed he could do better, so I'm eager to see if that's true. With all the holidays these time of year in the southern hemisphere, it'll take a month to have them ready so I'll probably go for a try-on around the 10th of March. That's a bit too long of a wait for my taste so Danny brought a pair of brown oxfords which I ended up buying. They fit like a glove. Here they are:

The bespoke pair cost AR$3100 so with favourable USD exchange (7,4) it's only $420 and the OtR oxfords cost $230. 

I also bought a couple of plastic shoe trees, which I think should help for all the business travelling. Has anyone used these type of tree? 

Quote:

Originally Posted by kungapa 

They are developing a double monk for you? Awesome! See if you can get it in their navy stingray, just to be baller.

I drooled all over their navy stingray to be honest. The owner recommended not to do go that route however, as he said it would likely be "a bit too much" for the model and I think I have to agree with him- I'm still on the fence on going full flare with the stingray... oh well, perhaps in the future.

If I'm happy with the results I'll probably order a boot similar to the EG Silverstone model (perhaps in elephant! haha).