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

[ThinkDerm]

guys - there are several carmina models for about $200 per pair at the madison avenue barneys.

 

[danadd94]

My color 4 MTO came in yesterday! I'm in love. If I can, I'll try to get a more detailed album. It was too dark to get good lighting last evening.
Specs
Model: 80488 NST boot
Last: Forest
Lining: Orange Kid
Sole: Tramuntana with storm welt (between Chestnut and natural edge)
Hardware: Vintage brass speed hooks and eyelets
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Pup tax included.

I just threw together a quick imgur album for anyone who want to see some more pictures!

I have to say, color 4 is even better in person. It has some great depth to the color and I can't wait to see how these patina.

 

[adrs1157]

I just threw together a quick imgur album for anyone who want to see some more pictures!

I have to say, color 4 is even better in person. It has some great depth to the color and I can't wait to see how these patina.

Colour 4 cordovan is grail level material and you made a good decision to build a NST with it. Plus you got a great shade of colour 4 - just the right amount of red.

They are perfect. I wish I could have jumped on this gmto but I couldn't get a slot. Good inspiration for whenever the opportunity comes up! Though I'd probably go with a flat welt and a JR sole

 

[trevorplease]

hey there, so I definitely empathize with you and understand the disappointment when a pair like this has a flaw. I wasn’t able to quite see the extent, but I get it. I have a wholecut color 4 shell loafer from Zeb, a similar issue came about, but it was before I had worn them. I’m not concerned or worried about it as I’ve worn the shoes 10 times already, put a lot of miles on them and no further weakness points identified.
Zeb explained it as:
“At these places of stress there is a special material that you put between upper leather and lining for example on Oxford shoes where all the leather connects in the middle or on slippers at the sides.”

so I understand the frustration but from a functional and whether the shoe is compromised from a sound structural perspective, more than likely it’s good. But just sharing my own experience.
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Thanks for the reassurance.. at this point I can only hope the fix will be neat and tidy. Might end up selling them in the end though. What does lightly used Carmina shell go for? I'd go below market just to get rid of them.

You can always return them and file a chargeback through your credit card company or PayPal.

Unfortunately the order is way too old I don't think the CC company will take me seriously

 

[Betelgeuse]

Single monks, polo suede.

 

[DL120]

A few pics of my just recently arrived football-print Shell cordovan, fur-lines jumper boots. They came out really well.

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They look excellent! Not to question the upper, but I ordered an mto grain shell from carmina a few months ago how and it looks exactly like that. Now I haven’t received them yet, only have the pic of the swatch to compare it to.
That said the football print is a very uniformly sized round pebble like grain print, while the grain shell is more abstract printed grain in the shell, similar to scotch grain. Here’s an image of the football print shell I referred to when I was designing my mto. Either way, I love your boots and makes me very excited to get my mto ?

 

[DL120]

Thanks for the reassurance.. at this point I can only hope the fix will be neat and tidy. Might end up selling them in the end though. What does lightly used Carmina shell go for? I'd go below market just to get rid of them.



Unfortunately the order is way too old I don't think the CC company will take me seriously

The preowned market varies depending on condition, shell, color, shoe, boot, loafer etc. my rule of thumb as a buyer and seller is about 75% of retail if new, 1-5 wears 50-60% 6-10 wears below 50% of retail and continuing down with more wear.
What size though, I’d be happy to take them off your hands ?

 

[danadd94]

Colour 4 cordovan is grail level material and you made a good decision to build a NST with it. Plus you got a great shade of colour 4 - just the right amount of red.

They are perfect. I wish I could have jumped on this gmto but I couldn't get a slot. Good inspiration for whenever the opportunity comes up! Though I'd probably go with a flat welt and a JR sole

Yeah, I can totally see a flat welt and JR looking nice but sadly that's not practical in Wisconsin haha. I needed a pair that could handle a little ice and snow because dainite and leather soles both do not far well here for about half the year haha. I figured why not go with stormwelt if I've already decided on commando?

I totally agree on the shade of this color 4 though. I was a little worried that it would maybe be too red, but it's definitely not. Hopefully you'll have the opportunity to order something in this leather in the future! It's worth it. And now I will not be buying any boots for a while haha.

 

[gld edmond]

Happy to say I just got a shipping notice for my MTO shoes, pretty much right on time, hopefully this is an indicator for all orders that are outstanding

 

[budapest12]

Does right on time mean 45 days? Cause I’m at around 70 something on the Color 4. Can manage but interested if there is faster action on subsequently placed orders.

 

[gld edmond]

Does right on time mean 45 days? Cause I’m at around 70 something on the Color 4. Can manage but interested if there is faster action on subsequently placed orders.

It has been 50 days, which with the holidays I consider on time. Yeah 70 days is not timely.

 

[ErPupone4]

Has anyone been able to receive a response from customer support? I was waiting a response since before christmas but haven't receive any even if I have sent them a reminder.

It's been a few weeks since I sent an email asking for an update on my Chelsea boots I had to have repaired/remade. I sent a follow up email a week ago and still have not heard anything. In my second email I kindly asked for any sort of reply and still haven't heard from them. I love Carmina shoes, but their CS is so hit or miss. I've had great interaction with the team in Barcelona where I bought my first pair. They are very quick to respond. US, not so much.

 

[zag73]

It's been a few weeks since I sent an email asking for an update on my Chelsea boots I had to have repaired/remade. I sent a follow up email a week ago and still have not heard anything. In my second email I kindly asked for any sort of reply and still haven't heard from them. I love Carmina shoes, but their CS is so hit or miss. I've had great interaction with the team in Barcelona where I bought my first pair. They are very quick to respond. US, not so much.

I just got a reply today after over a month. Usually , they reply in a day or two. The lady was very apologetic. It’s sounds like they’re massively snowed under with work. She did say they’re a small team and that it’s taking time to get through all emails.

 

[serbarristan]

They look excellent! Not to question the upper, but I ordered an mto grain shell from carmina a few months ago how and it looks exactly like that. Now I haven’t received them yet, only have the pic of the swatch to compare it to.
That said the football print is a very uniformly sized round pebble like grain print, while the grain shell is more abstract printed grain in the shell, similar to scotch grain. Here’s an image of the football print shell I referred to when I was designing my mto. Either way, I love your boots and makes me very excited to get my mto ? View attachment 1322212

Can’t wait to see those. Are you still doing that saddle NST blucher makeup? Been looking forward to seeing those as well.

 

[adrs1157]

Thought I'd share some restoration photos of my Armagnac cordovan Frankenstitch jumpers.

Before:

The above pictures were taken after cleaning the boots. Uppers are in good shape, but dry. Lots of damage to the edge from rain, snow, slush and salt over the years. I mainly coat the edge in something waxy to resist the weather but I haven't put aside the time to actually restore the edge finish.

After:

The uppers soaked up the conditioner quickly. Brushed and buffed to spread the wax and to remove any excess/pooling then left overnight. Spent 30 minutes or so buffing the day after. Haven't done a final brushing yet and they're already shiny. For the edge, I applied two separate coats. The edge is still rough since I didn't bother to sand it, but it looks and feels much better.

Other observations after 2.5 years of ownership:
- These things shred more laces than any other pair
- Some of the eyelets are starting to come loose. Maybe the shell in the facings are stretching from wear?
-/+ Lost a pull tab early on, but Carmina did offer to repair it for free (including shipping both ways) - but I declined the offer. Don't trust the pull tabs!
+ The cordovan is still in amazing shape considering the conditions I put these through. I wear these exclusively in winter and temperatures of -10C/14F or colder, for all weather conditions (except super deep snow)
+ Tramuntana rubber soles are showing minimal wear, though it should be noted these boots see ice and snow more than concrete
+ Welt and leather sole edges are still fully solid, no signs of water penetration, expansion or softening
+ Not a single stitch is coming undone anywhere on either boot. A number of my Alden pairs have stitching coming undone, usually the piping
+ Lining is in great shape, no signs of abrasion
+ Not a drop of water has gotten into these boots