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Blastwice

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I'm looking at Carmina's current cordovan boots MTO. Some of the colours are unfamiliar to me. I've drunk amaretto, bourbon and armagnac, not necessarily in equal proportions, but I'd be grateful if anyone could illustrate what these shades of shell look like in the flesh, so to speak.

You should be able to see these types of cordovan in their customization tool. You could probably customize a boot similar to the GTMO and compare different shell shades in the tool.
 

stook1

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I'm looking at Carmina's current cordovan boots MTO. Some of the colours are unfamiliar to me. I've drunk amaretto, bourbon and armagnac, not necessarily in equal proportions, but I'd be grateful if anyone could illustrate what these shades of shell look like in the flesh, so to speak.

Coincidentally, I am wearing my amaretto pair today.
IMG_3428 (002).jpg
 

SirThopas

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Maybe I should have canvassed subjective views about which the best colour might be!

I don’t have much use for green, though I appreciate it looks good, and probably have too many pairs of blue shoes already, relative to their actual usefulness.

I wear black only with suits, for which a brogue boot wouldn’t be my choice of accompaniment.

But I’m torn between a few of the other options. My experience with the paler shades of shell cordovan is that they can mark badly. My shoes are for wearing, rather than simply admiring, and I walk a lot - not in harsh conditions, just pounding the streets of London - so they’ll take some punishment.

I am wondering about the burgundy hatchgrain, but have no experience of it. Does it manifest the full aesthetic qualities of shell? Bit of a pretentious way to put it, but I figure I can probably get away with that here...
 
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Patrick1053

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Maybe I should have canvassed subjective views about which the best colour might be!

I don’t have much use for green, though I appreciate it looks good, and probably have too many pairs of blue shoes already, relative to their actual usefulness.

I wear black only with suits, for which a brogue boot wouldn’t be my choice of accompaniment.

But I’m torn between a few of the other options. My experience with the paler shades of shell cordovan is that they can mark badly. My shoes are for wearing, rather than simply admiring, and I walk a lot - not in harsh conditions, just pounding the streets of London - so they’ll take some punishment.

I am wondering about the burgundy hatchgrain, but have no experience of it. Does it manifest the full aesthetic qualities of shell? Bit of a pretentious way to put it, but I figure I can probably get away with that here...



Nancy Sinatra These Boots Are Made For Walkin GIF - Nancy Sinatra These  Boots Are Made For Walkin Thats Just What Theyll Do - Discover & Share GIFs
 

stook1

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Maybe I should have canvassed subjective views about which the best colour might be!

I don’t have much use for green, though I appreciate it looks good, and probably have too many pairs of blue shoes already, relative to their actual usefulness.

I wear black only with suits, for which a brogue boot wouldn’t be my choice of accompaniment.

But I’m torn between a few of the other options. My experience with the paler shades of shell cordovan is that they can mark badly. My shoes are for wearing, rather than simply admiring, and I walk a lot - not in harsh conditions, just pounding the streets of London - so they’ll take some punishment.

I am wondering about the burgundy hatchgrain, but have no experience of it. Does it manifest the full aesthetic qualities of shell? Bit of a pretentious way to put it, but I figure I can probably get away with that here...

It's really a function of personal preference but since you asked for input, I think you should get armagnac or request a darker shade of bourbon. These colors will "manifest the full aesthetic qualities of shell" a bit more than the hatch print, in my personal opinion.
 

Goofy

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Maybe I should have canvassed subjective views about which the best colour might be!

I don’t have much use for green, though I appreciate it looks good, and probably have too many pairs of blue shoes already, relative to their actual usefulness.

I wear black only with suits, for which a brogue boot wouldn’t be my choice of accompaniment.

But I’m torn between a few of the other options. My experience with the paler shades of shell cordovan is that they can mark badly. My shoes are for wearing, rather than simply admiring, and I walk a lot - not in harsh conditions, just pounding the streets of London - so they’ll take some punishment.

I am wondering about the burgundy hatchgrain, but have no experience of it. Does it manifest the full aesthetic qualities of shell? Bit of a pretentious way to put it, but I figure I can probably get away with that here...
Also consider that all cordovan colors will patina and darken over time, but lighter shades even more so. Buy amaretto and end up with bourbon over the cours of a decade.
 

H. E. Pennypacker

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Maybe I should have canvassed subjective views about which the best colour might be!

I don’t have much use for green, though I appreciate it looks good, and probably have too many pairs of blue shoes already, relative to their actual usefulness.

I wear black only with suits, for which a brogue boot wouldn’t be my choice of accompaniment.

But I’m torn between a few of the other options. My experience with the paler shades of shell cordovan is that they can mark badly. My shoes are for wearing, rather than simply admiring, and I walk a lot - not in harsh conditions, just pounding the streets of London - so they’ll take some punishment.

I am wondering about the burgundy hatchgrain, but have no experience of it. Does it manifest the full aesthetic qualities of shell? Bit of a pretentious way to put it, but I figure I can probably get away with that here...
Personally, I like bourbon and amaretto a lot and I’d get armagnac later on, but only bc I currently have color 8. Thus, I’m more inclined to get a light color shell boot currently. Otherwise, it might be amaretto or Armagnac and bourbon later.
 

stook1

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Armagnac is a mid/dark brown with gorgeous undertones - it will get a bit lighter with more color depth over time. Of the various choices being discussed it's easily the most versatile and seems like the closest fit to what @SirThopas is after.

Bourbon will darken over time and will take on red/brown undertones but if @SirThopas is averse to lighter colors of shell then this is also not really the best option. At least with Carmina, it is likely possible to request that they use darker Bourbon shells which would probably get closer to the old Cognac color but it would still be relatively light.

Amaretto is a gorgeous color but, to be fair, a bit polarizing or maybe the better way to put it is that it's more niche and less versatile. I love amaretto but it's not for everyone. It's also a light color - similar to bourbon that will darken over time with rusty brown undertones as it ages.
 

SirThopas

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Armagnac is a mid/dark brown with gorgeous undertones - it will get a bit lighter with more color depth over time. Of the various choices being discussed it's easily the most versatile and seems like the closest fit to what @SirThopas is after.

Bourbon will darken over time and will take on red/brown undertones but if @SirThopas is averse to lighter colors of shell then this is also not really the best option. At least with Carmina, it is likely possible to request that they use darker Bourbon shells which would probably get closer to the old Cognac color but it would still be relatively light.

Amaretto is a gorgeous color but, to be fair, a bit polarizing or maybe the better way to put it is that it's more niche and less versatile. I love amaretto but it's not for everyone. It's also a light color - similar to bourbon that will darken over time with rusty brown undertones as it ages.

Thank you. This is really helpful. I am actually now contemplating the ruby red, though armagnac and amaretto remain possibilities. Do you have any insight into how Carmina's "rubi" develops over time? I'm figuring it darkens.
 

stook1

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Thank you. This is really helpful. I am actually now contemplating the ruby red, though armagnac and amaretto remain possibilities. Do you have any insight into how Carmina's "rubi" develops over time? I'm figuring it darkens.

What shell colors do you have currently? "Rubi" is horween garnet shell (or color #2). I had a pair at one point that I resold. The color is gorgeous but it's another that's arguably in the polarizing or less versatile range since they can turn out pretty darn red. I'm not certain how Rubi tends to evolve -- assuming it gets more brown/red -- maybe someone has a pic for you.

If you are looking for more of a red/brown from the get go then color #4 is a great middle ground, although I am not sure if Carmina has any more of it left.
 

SirThopas

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What shell colors do you have currently? "Rubi" is horween garnet shell (or color #2). I had a pair at one point that I resold. The color is gorgeous but it's another that's arguably in the polarizing or less versatile range since they can turn out pretty darn red. I'm not certain how Rubi tends to evolve -- assuming it gets more brown/red -- maybe someone has a pic for you.

If you are looking for more of a red/brown from the get go then color #4 is a great middle ground, although I am not sure if Carmina has any more of it left.

I have two pairs of shoes in shell: one burgundy (C&J longwings, which I've had for quite a while, and on which the shell has become dark), and one in what Carmina calls "natural".

My other shoes are, to an overwhelming degree, some shade of brown, though I've a few in black, blue suede, loden, etc.

Red is a colour for which I have some use; I think it looks great with blue jeans, for instance, but I do already have a pair of red Heschung split-toe derbies that are, to my eye, perfect with denim, so another red pair might be overkill.
 
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stook1

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I have two pairs of shoes in shell: one burgundy (C&J longwings, which I've had for quite a while, and on which the shell has become dark), and one in what Carmina calls "natural".

My other shoes are, to an overwhelming degree, some shade of brown, though I've a few in black, blue suede, loden, etc.

Red is a colour for which I have some use; I think it looks great with blue jeans, for instance, but I do already have a pair of red Heschung split-toe derbies that are, to my eye, perfect with denim, so another red pair might be overkill.

I'm sticking with what I said from the get-go... given the limited amount of shell you have now, I would go for Armagnac, a darker shade of Bourbon, or perhaps the best option given your last note here would be Color #4, which is reddish brown without being RED(!!). If you do decide to go with Ruby, I would explicitly request shells that skew towards brown. They will still be very red but I think you will be happier with the outcome.
 

PACostag

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To all the shell nuts here - is it a trend with Carmina that the shell they get tends to crease more than roll? Is that impacted by how your foot fills out the last shape, or just super thin shell from Horween? Of the four pairs I have, only one seems to be rolling while the others have sharp creases...
 

test32323

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To all the shell nuts here - is it a trend with Carmina that the shell they get tends to crease more than roll? Is that impacted by how your foot fills out the last shape, or just super thin shell from Horween? Of the four pairs I have, only one seems to be rolling while the others have sharp creases...
Post pics?

Some part of horween shell can be as thin as 2.5 to 2oz like 0.8mm, some parts are 2.5mm, which is insane variation in a hide. Compare to Italian shell which is shaved to the same thickness.

TBH Carmina can click it in a lot of ways, I highly doubt they will click the thickest part to the vamp, i would think it's all random. Carmina also apply their own finish which can hide a lot of weird horween shell parts that is around the edge.
 

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