Bruno Magli Platinum

[demeis]

Wondering the opinion on quality of the platinum line of bruno's. Â I saw them briefly at the store i work at but didn't have time to really check them out. Â Wonder if anyone could compare them to grenson masterpieces or Harris shoes cause they are the only highend shoes i own and have really looked at a lot. http://store.nordstrom.com/product....2849780 Thanks NIk

 

[William Massena]

Remember 11 years ago during the OJ trial when everybody in town thought that Magli was the best shoes money could buy.

William

 

[Tokyo Slim]

ugh.

nuff said.

 

[johnapril]

Bruno Magli (overpriced) I put in a bucket next to Armani Collezioni (stylish and overpriced).

 

[marc37]

Grenson materpieces are much better quality than Magli. l have no experience with Harris.

 

[Ed13]

I own a pair along with a pair of Harris. Harris shoes don't compare. The Platinum line has much better construction and better leather than their other lines of shoes. Grenson masterpieces are still a little better again. I wouldn't pay over $600 US for the Magli shoes. At a decent discount they are a good shoe. Most people trash Magli shoes becsuse they only see their regular lines which are more fashion forward and cheaper construction.

 

[johnapril]

That may be, but I see the cheap stuff consistently priced at over $600, which is robbery.

 

[thinman]

Don't know if they're the Platinum line, but Sierra Trading Post has some Bruno Magli's for $230-$350 that they claim list for $545. You might check them out (at www.sierratradingpost.com).

 

[FCS]

Don't know if they're the Platinum line, but Sierra Trading Post has some Bruno Magli's for $230-$350 that they claim list for $545. Â You might check them out (at www.sierratradingpost.com).

Got a pair of monkstraps for $170s. Pretty clunky though, still thinking whether to keep them or not.

 

[benchan]

Bruno Magli is sold pretty cheaply outside USA, .even the platinum line seldom goes for more than $200 after discount. Maybe the OJ accident is a blessing in disguise for the Magli brand and allows it to charge a premium.

Regular line is mostly constructed using the Blake stitching method, while Good Year construction is seen on some of their platinums.

 

[DaBakr]

Bruno Magli is sold pretty cheaply outside USA, .even the platinum line seldom goes for more than $200 after discount. Maybe the OJ accident is a blessing in disguise for the Magli brand and allows it to charge a premium. Regular line is mostly constructed using the Blake stitching method, while Good Year construction is seen on some of their platinums.

seven years after this original question by OP I can now answer with the following:

I have 5 pair of AE from older handmade shell slip-ons to a brand new pair of 5th st. and Strawfut. They are all great.

I have worn Wolverine 1000m farmboots for ober 30years. They are great as well

I have one half-decent pair of new Cole-Haan nike-air loafers that look and feel fantastic but the quality is obviously a grade or 2 below the AE-still-for the $49 nord-rack price they r great

I have a pair of Peale lace-up boots made for Ralph Lauren that are superior quality and wonderful as well as a pair a Grenson I don't wear much but are also superior but not MORE superior then the Magli

And a dozen or more asst Italian/US made dress/work/casual shoes/boots/ hikers that all are nice in some way but not spectacular (Oh-I do have a pair of SPECTACULAR pair of hand made , custom Justin western boots)

And NOW? in 2013 I just bought a pair of BNIB Bruno Magli Platinum pull-on boots. I have examined them carefully and I am impressed with how beautifully they were crafted. Obviously hand-stitched (How can I tell?-There are certain deviations in the stitching that a machine could never produce. The leather upper is fantastic and cut in an innovative (or maybe it was done for style?) way which allowed for one piece of tanned leather (from tomaia pelle-tannery). The caramel colour is rich and beautiful with all the natural leather skin deviations there if one wants to inspect closely. And the lining? Unbelievable. Thick but soft calf-skin leather fully double lined except for an interesting linen/burlap/elastic gore that is somehow rustic and chic at the same time. In other words-I don't care how spectacular the British made (i am NOT referring to bespoke. thats a different category) are. I have a couple myself. I am not a in a busines where I have to wear dress shoes every day.In fact I wore farm/work boots for over 30 years designing anbd bulding furnture. Sometime in mid-2000s I discovered the difference between a Mason farm boot and a Wolvereen Horween leather boot. I also deciced to start wearing my wing-tips and oxfords more often-and even in the shop as I found I had beautiful shoes over 15yrs old that I was wearing only a half dozen times. SO now I wear EVERYTHING (except a pair of Bally formal spats and AE 5th st. black for dress) as often as I like. I am having a ball and learned that saving and hoarding are two different things.

But the Bruno Magli Platinum line (I have the 'Stresa') imo is every bit the equal in quality to the finest British shoe. Of course the stereotypical qualities that tend to apply to Italian versus English shoes do apply: More elongated toe-box, a slightly 'faster' looking design,etc. But quality? My piar is exceptional. I have rarely felt and seen a boot so lovingly hand-crafted in Bolongna. I wish I felt like snapping some pics and posting the design details of the welting. The caramel upper is hand stitched to a piece of beautiful beige calf-skin which is then hand-stitched to the midsole. The rest of the welting I believ is goodyear and is therefore machine and it looks more uniform. Because of the welting the soles are quite extended past what is the usual norm for an 'Italian' style boots so the Magli maker make a small scoop running along the side of the outsole so that when your eye first catches there is an illusion of less heft and more lightness-but the outsole is actually quite thick. I could go on and start sounding like a Bruno Magli fan-boy but I'm not. I only have this one pair. but I did do as much research on this ,ine as I could becuase I was NOT impressed with ANY other Bruno Magli shoes I saw online or on some local stores. So I am assuming that it is correct that the Platinum lne from BM is a complelty different standard of quality then their other shoes. There is very little info online about BM platinum but I feel I can now speak as I have w the BM in hand to compare directly to the others. And I stand by my staement that the BM platinum is imo on par with the finest quality shoes from England or the US short of bespoke.