Carmina Shoes - Definitive Thread (reviews, advice, sizing, etc...) - official thread.

[zag73]

Znam, znam... a ti?

Anyways, I know the guy on my profile pic is controversial to say the least, and while I do not completely endorse what he is most known for, that photo always made big impression on me.

Mum from Knin and dad from Grahovo

 

[autoportrait]

Sure. But what you mean by “Stats”?

The spec of this pair? Or The count of my shoes

Assume you mean the former. Will capture the exact makeup later.

Haha yes, the specs!

 

[NikG]

Od kada smo mnogi od nas nosili Carmina ?

But yes, Princip was a hero for us by liberating Bosnia of Austria-Hungary rule. Have all this time to learn our history while I wait for Carmina to reply hahahaha.

 

[zag73]

Od kada smo mnogi od nas nosili Carmina ?

But yes, Princip was a hero for us by liberating Bosnia of Austria-Hungary rule. Have all this time to learn our history while I wait for Carmina to reply hahahaha.

??????

 

[zag73]

Od kada smo mnogi od nas nosili Carmina ?

But yes, Princip was a hero for us by liberating Bosnia of Austria-Hungary rule. Have all this time to learn our history while I wait for Carmina to reply hahahaha.

Odakle?

 

[gs77]

Hahahaha, Carmina, omiljene balkanske cipele.

My favorite 4 pairs of shoes are actually from Zagreb based shoe maker - Bocak. Wish I still live in Belgrade, 4 hour drive to both Zagreb and Budapest - for custom fitting
Toronto is a shoe wasteland...

 

[NikG]

Odakle?

Bio sam u Australia svoj zivot. Ali mama iz Bileca i tata iz Sarajevo.

 

[zag73]

Hahahaha, Carmina, omiljene balkanske cipele.

My favorite 4 pairs of shoes are actually from Zagreb based shoe maker - Bocak. Wish I still live in Belgrade, 4 hour drive to both Zagreb and Budapest - for custom fitting
Toronto is a shoe wasteland...

Ha! Carmina ..... bringing the world’s Serbs together ????

 

[dave_rawitat]

Haha yes, the specs!

It's the 80450 Balmoral Boots, with Red Vitello + Red Suede leathers. Red Kid lining. Simpson Last + JR Sole. Double leather sole + Natural edge. Medallion 25.

Red Vitello and Suede aren't in the customization tools. I got them by asking Sara about the availability of the "red leathers", as red as it gets. She is very very helpful and found me a couple of hides, and I chose these two.

Red isn't everyone's cup of tea, especially when it's very very vibrant and very very loud. However, I have too many black, brown, and burgundy pairs already (as well as couple navy and green), so I can afford this, even though I'm not gonna wear them that much.

 

[patliean1]

@dave_rawitat

Nice!! - What was the turn around time, from ordering to completion?

 

[pediwear]

Just got these... Chukas on Rain last through @pediwear

View attachment 1306602

Looking good! Thanks for sharing the photo.

 

[Neville Southall]

Enjoying one of the MTO models I recently received. Going to wear these all day and into tonight’s festivities!

 

[flylikeneagle]

Finally getting around to posting pictures of Amaretto boots from the September GMTO. Unlike my previous Carmina custom orders, these do have a few minor flaws but nothing I would consider a deal breaker. The most irritating is minor discoloration on the toe of the left boot, but it's a surface blemish and easily concealable (if I could only get my hands on Amaretto cordovan cream!) Overall it's a well executed pair. I'm still trying to find my perfect Carmina last (these are on Oscar). I like the end results but I have a feelling these would look even better (i.e better proportioned) on a beefier last. While the boots are quite tall, they're only about half an inch taller than EG Galway and approximately an inch taller than C&J Harlech.

I'm going to finish by sharing my thoughts on the complementary shoe trees. Like a few others, initially I felt the trees were a half to full size too large and I had difficulty inserting and pulling them out of the boots. With a little bit of practice, I'm now able to insert and pull these out of the boots more easily. However to avoid damage to the lining, the process requires more care than required by Woodlore epic twin-tube trees (very little effort in the case of woodlore). The trees would probably work better in shoes or shorter boots. Once inserted they do fit like a glove in these Oscar lasted boots. My initial impression is the trees are substantial and high quality, and look great too. These are on par with EG trees, but I don't see myself getting another pair (I would much rather spend my $ on metal toe taps and JR soles).

Spoiler: Height comparison vs EG Galway

 

[dave_rawitat]

@dave_rawitat

Nice!! - What was the turn around time, from ordering to completion?

Normal customization time. From 30-60 days, depending on what they quoted you at purchase (normally, it's 45, but could be 60 depending on conditions, factory loads, etc.). I found this number to be quite good approximation of actual production time.

This doesn't mean that I never experienced any delay. I did. Most of the time the errors are negligible. The only time I experienced the significant delay was the they ran out of hides for production of my pair, and they failed to notify me. I had to ask Sara about it. She was, as usual, very helpful.

I believe I got this pair in, like, around 50 days.

Hope this helps.

 

[BXpress]

I like the end results but I have a feelling these would look even better (i.e better proportioned) on a beefier last.

I know that seeing them in real life is different, but judging by the pictures that last seems pretty damn perfect. Beautiful. Can you tell me, how does Oscar compare to Forest length wise?