Antonio Meccariello Shoes

[BColl_Has_Too_Many_Shoes]

Necessary, no but certainly recommended that your shoe tree follow the shape of your shoe in order to maintain that shape. Two easily visible purposes for shoe trees are to straighten your sole, and to fight creasing. A generic shoe tree may straighten your sole but also slightly deform the heel of your shoe because the generic shoe tree has a strong spring to correct for fitting all lasts regardless of cm length differences. A generic shoe tree might not fill the vamp or sides of shoes completely (or fill them too much) leading to more creasing of the leather or warping of the shoe’s leather. AM makes it easy and fairly cheap, compared to JL or Saint Crispin’s, to get a lasted shoe tree for your 500+ Euro priced shoes. My thought is always that if I’m paying so much for a pair of shoes, I wouldn’t begin to cut costs at the very important shoe tree.

I would agree & disagree with @cliffordcaucus. Agree in that, as I already mentioned, it is not a necessity. Disagree, in that you will have your heel compromised by a 3rd party tree. Although I am sure he meant it as an issue of possibility more than a statement of certainty.

I mostly base my assertion on my experience thus far. I have several EGs and JLs in non lasted shoe trees with no discernible differences, and those are considerably more expensive than the AMs.

Having said that, if the lasted shoe trees are not outrageously priced I probably would spend a few more dollars on them. As @cliffordcaucus does point out, they do tend to be more inexpensive then your Lobb and EG trees. Additionally, I feel like those "lasted" trees are no different across several lasts. For instance, I have JL 7000 lasted trees which oddly fit better into my EG 202s.

So again, your shoe life will not come to an end if you decide to do 3rd party trees. Conversely, if the trees are not exorbitantly priced, then by all means. It also does complete the look of your overall purchase. It is so pleasant just to have the whole ensemble, as Meccariello really delivers a beautifully complete product (box, bags, trees, and shoes).

 

[nishant]

AM shoes and boots are so beautiful that I have thus far felt obligated to order shoe trees with all of them ... I feel like they deserve that extra love.

 

[shirtingfantasy]

Having said that, if the lasted shoe trees are not outrageously priced I probably would spend a few more dollars on them. As @cliffordcaucus does point out, they do tend to be more inexpensive then your Lobb and EG trees. Additionally, I feel like those "lasted" trees are no different across several lasts. For instance, I have JL 7000 lasted trees which oddly fit better into my EG 202s.

A friend of mine once directly inquired Skoaktiebolaget on his purchase of his JL Prestige - specifically asking if the trees were lasted - and Skoak diligently replied that the JL Prestige trees would fit well to the lasts, but were not lasted (as in AM's offerings).

On a global scale, lasted shoe trees are hard to come by: St Crispins have their famous hollow lasted trees, and Berluti also have lasted trees for their RTW models (see the trees for their recent Edge shoes for a spectacular example). There is a professional shoe tree factory in China who makes lasted trees for brands and takes single pair orders for individuals and charge only about EUR 40 - but to send shoes into and out of China and deal with the logistics and official documents is a deal-breaker for those residing elsewhere.

I would suggest buying AM lasted trees whenever possible. The lasted trees generally fit better, allowing the creased leather to stretch and flatten in a reliable manner; and, if you so wish, it is possible to fix certain fit issues using the lasted tree (as suggested by Antonio himself, when I told him his shoes made my heels ache ).

 

[WilYa]

I own dozens of lasted and generic shoetrees from various makers.
My opinion is that trees are vital but not fully lasted one. For reference, even my JL Paris bespoke trees are not lasted to the toe.
The support for the toe area is really not necessary as it's sturdily fixed with by the stiffeners. Therefore, to assess the fitness of certain pair of shoetrees, I will only look at the vamp and instep areas.

 

[unprocessed]

Thanks for the advice on the show trees everyone. Now placing my order for the Equites (Argentum) with the AM shoe trees. ?

 

[unprocessed]

For those with a pair of AM in caffe Tostato - how much red is in the shoes? From the photos I’ve seen there definitely seems to be red undertones and the shoes even look like a brownish burgundy in some photos. Debating whether to just leave them as a mid to dark brown, or whether to polish with burgundy cream and move the color in that direction. Just don’t know if the burgundy on dark brown shoes would be a disaster.

 

[shirtingfantasy]

For those with a pair of AM in caffe Tostato - how much red is in the shoes? From the photos I’ve seen there definitely seems to be red undertones and the shoes even look like a brownish burgundy in some photos. Debating whether to just leave them as a mid to dark brown, or whether to polish with burgundy cream and move the color in that direction. Just don’t know if the burgundy on dark brown shoes would be a disaster.

Wax is safer. Opinions differ, but my experience has been that cream (especially darker colours) are quite opaque, and can lead to unsightly blotches if unevenly applied. Wax, in contrast, is more transparent and allows one to give nuanced shades (to either direction).

On a related unrelated note... gorgeous new model in dark Caffe Tostato (mostly brownish)

 

[cliffordcaucus]

I would agree & disagree with @cliffordcaucus. Agree in that, as I already mentioned, it is not a necessity. Disagree, in that you will have your heel compromised by a 3rd party tree. Although I am sure he meant it as an issue of possibility more than a statement of certainty.

I appreciate the fair interpretation of my views. To expound on the idea of shoe tree fitting the shape of your shoe, how asymmetrical is the shape of the shoe? When a shoe’s last is more asymmetrical is when I would argue there is a higher utility for a lasted shoe tree. I used to keep JL shoe trees in a pair of cordovan shell boots because the derby nature of the boots make size differences more forgiving and the vamp was more filled which really helped fight rolling of the cordovan shell. However I wouldn’t put those same JL shoe trees into my GG deco Rogers because the shape of the shoe would be warped. That’s the difference. It’s certainly something to think about when you go to purchase a $1000+ USD pair of shoes from a web store and they make you purchase shoe trees separately. If those costly shoes really are worth that $1000+ USD in leather and finishing a buyer should be looking for lasted shoe trees, which at that price should be included. As in all things shoe related, Shoegazing has an excellent article on differences in shoe trees titled “Guide - Shoe Trees”.

 

[BColl_Has_Too_Many_Shoes]

I appreciate the fair interpretation of my views. To expound on the idea of shoe tree fitting the shape of your shoe, how asymmetrical is the shape of the shoe? When a shoe’s last is more asymmetrical is when I would argue there is a higher utility for a lasted shoe tree. I used to keep JL shoe trees in a pair of cordovan shell boots because the derby nature of the boots make size differences more forgiving and the vamp was more filled which really helped fight rolling of the cordovan shell. However I wouldn’t put those same JL shoe trees into my GG deco Rogers because the shape of the shoe would be warped. That’s the difference. It’s certainly something to think about when you go to purchase a $1000+ USD pair of shoes from a web store and they make you purchase shoe trees separately. If those costly shoes really are worth that $1000+ USD in leather and finishing a buyer should be looking for lasted shoe trees, which at that price should be included. As in all things shoe related, Shoegazing has an excellent article on differences in shoe trees titled “Guide - Shoe Trees”.

This is exactly what I was referring to when I mentioned utilizing appropriate shaped trees with their corresponding asymmetric counterparts. Last thing I would ever even attempt is placing a rounded shoe tree (think C&J tree) into a Deco shoe. For the short term, it should be fine. Long term, I would imagine there would inevitably be warping. Honestly, I do not want my shoes to serve as the guinea pig in this undoubted failed experiment.

 

[AWu]

I usually just go to their store to buy it... but guess that’s only possible if you have a store in your city.

How much is it (in HK)?

 

[shirtingfantasy]

HKD 180 per 100 mL can

 

[unprocessed]

How long does it usually take for AM to ship out and to get a shipping notification for an in stock RTW shoes? Ordered a few days ago.

 

[shirtingfantasy]

My orders were often shipped on Fridays. Not sure if that has something to do with the logistics of the workshop.

 

[unprocessed]

@unprocessed the Argentum soft square is what I would think of as being “timelessly elegant”

Grey black: Aeris Soft Square B05
Whisky: Argentum Soft Square


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How would you compare the Aeris vs Argentum soft square in terms of looks amd feel? From the photo it looks like the Argentum is sleeker, although the Aeris is a cap toe.

 

[woofmang]

It's Wingtip Wednesday again...