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

[halfnhalfnhalf]

Maiden voyage!

 

[tifosi]



Maiden voyage!

Spoiler

Crease em! Crease em! Crease em!

 

[halfnhalfnhalf]

Quote:

Crease em! Crease em! Crease em!

This is how I roll -

 

[Tim Whatley]

I sent a pair of Carminas back to Spain and it has been processing in customs in Spain since July 30. Does anyone have experience with this? Should I start getting aggressive or is this pretty standard?

 

[sinfjotli]

I would try contacting your shipping company.

Similar thing happened to me in an opposite direction a few months ago: Carmina has sent my shoes, and the Fedex tracking page said that the package is waiting for customs clearance for about 2 weeks. When I called them, it turned out that the package has never reached the (Canadian) customs and the tracking page had wrong info. They actually lost track of the package somewhere along the way in the US. Fedex then declared the package as missing and Carmina has sent me a replacement pair. But if I never inquired with them, they would have probably waited much longer before contacting either me or Carmina.

 

[Todd V]

Same thing happened to me when shipping usps. It took forever. I would alert carmina so they are aware of the cause of the delay.

 

[diglett]

I would try contacting your shipping company.

Similar thing happened to me in an opposite direction a few months ago: Carmina has sent my shoes, and the Fedex tracking page said that the package is waiting for customs clearance for about 2 weeks. When I called them, it turned out that the package has never reached the (Canadian) customs and the tracking page had wrong info. They actually lost track of the package somewhere along the way in the US. Fedex then declared the package as missing and Carmina has sent me a replacement pair. But if I never inquired with them, they would have probably waited much longer before contacting either me or Carmina.

Shipping companies seem to have a fairly inefficient system for dealing with "delayed" (lost) packages. UPS recently lost a Bloomingdale's package of mine, but simply kept postponing the planned delivery date; it was only after a few phone calls and emails to both UPS and Bloomingdale's that anyone on their end even realized something was lost.

 

[razl]

Question for anyone who had to break in a 80201 like this (pic snagged from Skoat):

My foot crease is just, I mean right behind the brogue line. When I step and it bends, the brogue edge itself seems to bite into the top of my foot a bit. Note that, on the outside, the brogue'ing is pretty stiff - certainly stiffer than the rest of the shoe - if I rub my finger up against the edge of it, it's got a little bite to it.

My question is, will the brogue'ing itself loosen/stretch a bit? The shoe is otherwise comfortable right out of the box - I'm just wondering if that brogue edge is especially rigid in a way that will never loosen up, I'm only in for a day's worth of wear so far, but it doesn't seem to be budging.

Aprpeciation in advance!

 

[WiredandTired]

Not sure if you are feeling the brogue ing or really the toe cap stiffener. I had a pair of rain wingtips that dug into the top of my toes initially, but there is a chance that it will subside as your foot sinks and the sole itself starts to gain flex. Carmina uses pretty stiff bark soles.

Long story short, it bothers me to a lesser degree. If I strongly flex it will still dig in but it's no longer an issue, but YMMV.

 

[razl]



Not sure if you are feeling the brogue ing or really the toe cap stiffener. I had a pair of rain wingtips that dug into the top of my toes initially, but there is a chance that it will subside as your foot sinks and the sole itself starts to gain flex. Carmina uses pretty stiff bark soles.

Long story short, it bothers me to a lesser degree. If I strongly flex it will still dig in but it's no longer an issue, but YMMV.

Hmmm, sounds reasonable. When I took them off tonight I felt around a bit and I think I see what you mean; from the inside the cap area is stronger than the body and where it ends is "stiffer" like you said than the surrounding area. Might not be the brogue on the outer at all but just where the cap itself ends.

You've at least given me hope that if I pay some dues I've got a shot at working through it.

 

[WorldWideWafflz]

It sounds like the shoe maybe too large from your description of what's happening.

 

[moonraker]

If a size is out of stock on a particular model sold on Carmina's direct website, does anyone have any experience of seeing it restocked online at some point? Or does that mean you now have to special order to get it your size? Thank you in advance!

 

[All Tatters]

Restocks do happen, but there really is no telling when and I am under the impression that asking by e-mail won't help either since they don't really know in advance.

You could ask whether a certain model still is in stock in one of the brick and mortar stores though. It seems from this thread they could help you with that.

 

[Skoaktiebolaget]

Question for anyone who had to break in a 80201 like this (pic snagged from Skoat):



My foot crease is just, I mean right behind the brogue line. When I step and it bends, the brogue edge itself seems to bite into the top of my foot a bit. Note that, on the outside, the brogue'ing is pretty stiff - certainly stiffer than the rest of the shoe - if I rub my finger up against the edge of it, it's got a little bite to it.

My question is, will the brogue'ing itself loosen/stretch a bit? The shoe is otherwise comfortable right out of the box - I'm just wondering if that brogue edge is especially rigid in a way that will never loosen up, I'm only in for a day's worth of wear so far, but it doesn't seem to be budging.

Aprpeciation in advance!

During the break in-period, the upper (as well as the sole) might be initially stiff and "folds" rather than creases. The brogue line (albeit slightly fortified) and the vamp will soften up if you let the body heat do most of the work.

 

[razl]



It sounds like the shoe maybe too large from your description of what's happening.

I hear you, but I don't think that's the case. If so, then the Simpson last just isn't for me since this is a 10UK and a 9.5 is too small. I will point out that everything else about it fits splendid, surprisingly so - snug but not tight.

Time will tell...