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

[Neville Southall]

Damn! Those are stunning. Please share pics next time you wear them.

EDIT: Just saw a similar request above.

@stook1 I respectfully third this request for more pictures.

 

[huskiee]

Has anyone done a make-up of NST with a forrest last?

Generally how does the Forrest compare to the Soller for boots?

 

[stook1]

Has anyone done a make-up of NST with a forrest last?

Generally how does the Forrest compare to the Soller for boots?

Forest is a pretty common last for the NST. If you search, you should be able to find plenty of them. I'd go with fit above anything else but with that said, I personally prefer the look of soller nst to forest nst. Mainly because the toe is a little more pointy and tapered from the vamp to the tip of the toe. The front edge of the toe on the forest is higher.

I actually like the forest, in particular the EEE seems to fit me really well, but the Soller is also a good fit for me and prefer the Soller look on a more casual shoe.

By the way, you didn't ask but I'm pretty convinced that a Detroit NST would look terrific. I think it would approximate the look of an Alden Plaza NST, the last shapes arent quite as different as you might think. I considered it for the natural pair i posted last night but wanted to try the soller since I already have 2 pairs on detroit. Rain and Oscar are also good for the NST, in my opinion.

 

[danadd94]

Has anyone done a make-up of NST with a forrest last?

Generally how does the Forrest compare to the Soller for boots?

I have an order in for the color 4 on a forest NST boot.

This post on Reddit has pictures of navy suede NST boots on forest

And I believe these are also on the forest last, though it's not explicitly mentioned https://www.reddit.com/r/goodyearwelt/comments/8ydo60/first_impressions_carmina_shell_cordovan

Hopefully this helps!

 

[Churchill W]

That looks a bit odd - creasing ahead of the top cap often means a shoe that is too large.

Is that right? If a shoe is too large shouldn't the crease fall further back on a shoe?

 

[neelp3]

What are the specs on this makeup?
These look great!

Should I be worried about the creasing location on my left pair? View attachment 1277678

 

[zag73]

Is that right? If a shoe is too large shouldn't the crease fall further back on a shoe?

I don’t think so, as the foot would likely fill out the shoe further back.

 

[Churchill W]

I don’t think so, as the foot would likely fill out the shoe further back.

Right if your foot is filling the shoe further back in the shoe, wouldn't the roll in your foot, where your foot bends, be further back in the shoe too if the shoe were too large.

Maybe an argument can be made that the foot shifts too far forward in the shoe because of the extra length and bends it past the captoe because of the extra length.

 

[zag73]

Right if your foot is filling the shoe further back in the shoe, wouldn't the roll in your foot, where your foot bends, be further back in the shoe too if the shoe were too large.

Maybe an argument can be made that the foot shifts too far forward in the shoe because of the extra length and bends it past the captoe because of the extra length.

??‍♂️I’m not an expert. I was merely expressing an opinion....

 

[huskiee]

@stook1

I was thinking exactly the same thing - trying the Detroit as a NST to get a Carmina version of the classic Alden Indy boot. I searched for examples of Detroit as NST but couldn’t find any. I’ve never seen the the Detroit IRL and some of the photos I have seen ad cordovan Chukka make it look a little clumpy.

Do you have boots on Detroit? If so can you share pics?

Thanks

 

[stook1]

@stook1

I was thinking exactly the same thing - trying the Detroit as a NST to get a Carmina version of the classic Alden Indy boot. I searched for examples of Detroit as NST but couldn’t find any. I’ve never seen the the Detroit IRL and some of the photos I have seen ad cordovan Chukka make it look a little clumpy.

Do you have boots on Detroit? If so can you share pics?

Thanks
[/QUOTE]

The "classic" Indy, I believe, is on the Trubalance, which is a comfortable but significantly less shapely than any Carmina last. The Barrie might be a closer comparison to Detroit except that it's a round toe while Detroit is more of a soft square, albeit subtle. Detroit also has a slight height taper into the end of the toe. The shape is kind of different from Barrie in my opinion.

With all that said, the plaza NST, which is the one I was talking about is pretty fantastic, and not the typical Alden indy or nst last. It rides that line between dressy and casual quite well and is, to me, extremely well suited to the NST.

The Detroit is a little more chunky than the plaza but I don't think it's as wildly different as you might think. The plaza, to me at least, is like a mix between Rain and Detroit. The height of the toe box of the plaza seems more similar to rain but the width of the toe is closer to detroit, whereas rain is definitely more narrow at the tip of the toe.

I am not aware of anyone buying an NST on the Detroit thus far. I've asked Carmina a couple of times for a sample picture but I've never seen it done. So, my suggestion is that you take one for the team and buy a pair!

Sorry, I realize this is a rediculous post about tiny details. I spent a considerable amount of time (way too much) scrutinizing a few of these lasts while debating my Carmina NSTs.

 

[bamgrinus]

??‍♂️I’m not an expert. I was merely expressing an opinion....

I just know that on the pairs of shoes that are too large on me, they tend to get creasing in weird places. Can't really say why.

 

[zag73]

I just know that on the pairs of shoes that are too large on me, they tend to get creasing in weird places. Can't really say why.

Have you tried half size down

 

[nishant]

A sneak peek (in poor light) of my Kirby MTO pair. Natural shell NST boots on the Soller last.

View attachment 1277630

incredible!

 

[circumspice]

Is that right? If a shoe is too large shouldn't the crease fall further back on a shoe?

All that leather needs to go somewhere - he has multiple creases near the big toe. When the foot is flexed, that leather that needs to go somewhere is trying to go up against both the toe stiffener and the top of the foot