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

[diglett]

^ Thanks. That is extremely helpful, but scares the life out of me; I was completely prepared to get 9UK on Oscar, just like Inca, but am now worried about the sizing all over again.

If a shoe ends up a bit too small, it can be stretched, correct?

 

[sask boot]

I am a US size 8. I recently bought carmina boots on the oscar and one on the forest last. Both fit perfectly going one size down.

 

[stevent]



I am a US size 8.  I recently bought carmina boots on the oscar and one on the forest last.  Both fit perfectly going one size down. 

How's the instep, that was something I was worried with as they say the last has quite a low instep. Some boots get pretty tight for me around instep even if length is good or even longer...

 

[diglett]

I am a US size 8. I recently bought carmina boots on the oscar and one on the forest last. Both fit perfectly going one size down.

Whew, okay. I'm gonna go with a full size down (as originally planned) and hope that Fiddler just has differently shaped feet.

 

[sask boot]

The instep is less generous than barrie last on Alden but I wouldnt say it is tight. I find Carmina oscar and forest a much better fit than alden barrie. My oscar last is shell and my forest is calf grain. Both have no imperfections and excellent finishing. Wore the grain boots in the rain today and had no worries.

 

[stevent]



The instep is less generous than barrie last on Alden but I wouldnt say it is tight.  I find Carmina oscar and forest a much better fit than alden barrie.  My oscar last is shell and my forest is calf grain.  Both have no imperfections and excellent finishing.  Wore the grain boots in the rain today and had no worries.

Thanks, Barrie at 10.5D is a bit long but instep is already tight...wish I coulda made it to the Epaulet trunk show earlier this month, would have been really helpful

 

[sask boot]

Also I now look at my aldens as being more casual after wearing carmina. My hampton and aberdeen aldens are slightly similar to carmina but barrie is a very different animal compared to carmina.

 

[Fiddler]

Diglett perhaps the majority is right and you should size down a full size...i do have a slightly higher than usual instep. Re: stretching..Carminas view is that shoes should be stretched by a rig that is the same shape as the last, otherwise they bear no responsibility for any deterioration of the shoe. Ive got a pair of Carmina shell single monks in UK8 currently being stretched and I'll let you know the results of it. But the cobbler said you can only stretch the sides and not the instep. Weird if you ask me.

But I do stand by my assessment...one size down for Inca, half down for every other Carmina.last.

 

[diglett]

Thanks, Fiddler. I'll be going with my Inca size and keeping my fingers crossed.

I appreciate all of your help.

 

[ncdobson]

Skoaktiebolaget is three words put together (this is common in swedish and a example would be, rain and fall makes the new word rainfall)
The words are:
SKO = Shoe
AKTIE = stock (like in stockholder)
BOLAGET = company (the exact mening is "the company")
AKTIEBOLAG is the swedish term for Inc.
So to conclude this swedish lesson. If you translate it directly to english it means "Shoe Inc.".
Hopefully someone understood what i just wrote

I dreamed last night that I was reading the business section of the newspaper, & Skoaktiebolaget was listed as a stock or mutual fund. Various Carmina models were listed next to it with prices & all of the usual data that appears for stocks.

Is 'sko-' pronounced as /sk-/ or /sh-/?

 

[diglett]

^ Literally dreaming about shoes. Nice.

 

[mymil]

Egad, someone with experience in Oscar and other Carmina lasts!

Cuts deep, dig. I size down a full size in Forest (UK8), and should have sized down a full size in Inca and Oscar. I'm sure there is no size of Inca that would fit me well, however; the last just doesn't agree with the shape of my feet. An 8.5 would have been too short/narrow in the toes (it would squeeze my pinky toes), and the heel would still be too wide. Forest vs. Oscar: Oscar seems slightly wider (even imagining it as half a size smaller), and has a less tapered toe box (which might be the reason for that perception). Forest seems to have a lower instep. But isn't there an entire thread dedicated to these issues?

 

[mymil]

I purchased an MTO bal boot direct from Carmina in September, before their price increase, and to my pleasant surprise it arrived just over a month later... Balmoral boot on Forest last in cognac shell with Dainite soles (i.e. this, only shell: http://www.carmina.telemaco.es/articulo.asp?idarticulo=3465222) Too much text, not enough pictures. Happy Monday!


The square red box is always a joy to see.


Two vivid red dust bags will be practical, since my others are brown.

And the money shot(s):







The small perforation on one side looks incompletely punched.


Oscar (center) next to his new sibling, Forest.

 

[Jakezero]



Is 'sko-' pronounced as /sk-/ or /sh-/?

/sk-/

^ Literally dreaming about shoes. Nice.

Not always the case. When I was taking sleeping pills last year I once had a hallucinatory nightmare where my shoes were trying to eat me, couldn't sleep for the rest of the night.

 

[badsha]



I purchased an MTO bal boot direct from Carmina in September, before their price increase, and to my pleasant surprise it arrived just over a month later... Balmoral boot on Forest last in cognac shell with Dainite soles (i.e. this, only shell: http://www.carmina.telemaco.es/articulo.asp?idarticulo=3465222) Too much text, not enough pictures. Happy Monday!

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

The square red box is always a joy to see.


Two vivid red dust bags will be practical, since my others are brown.

And the money shot(s):







The small perforation on one side looks incompletely punched.

Oscar (center) next to his new sibling, Forest.

Forest last looks slightly nicer, almost a smart round. Good MTO.