Grenson x Albam brouge shoes. Do they worth it?

[ichobi]

My recent trip to Albam store in Soho got me an interesting dilemma.
I've seen and tried their Grenson collab shoes. It's the new Brouge which cost £225 or about 370 USD. They look good. Very comfortable and all. I am not sure whether they worth the price. Some search on SF turns up that Grenson made good shoes. Better than Loake, Barker et al. but not up to par with Crocket, Green etc. £225 seems to be their regular premium line if I understood correctly. I am not sure whether this collab Brouge is made with the same standard, or just their normal range but marked up because of the collab.

I do have a Grenson DB and think they are superb. Can't say much about the value since I got em on heavy discount.

Here are some pics

(They also come with dark brown laces, kinda look better in person too.)

Any thoughts? Do you think they worth the price?

The reason I like them is because this particular last isn't too formal, and not to casual either, which seems to nail the balance for me. I really don't like the more traditional fit like Green / C&J.

 

[JohnnyLaw]

I like the old version better:

I'm guessing that if they're made in the UK and selling for 225 pounds they're made to Rose standards. Really can't say for sure though.

 

[ichobi]

They are made in the UK indeed. I've read album blogpost about how they go about making these shoes, pretty elaborated but I don't know if that's their Rose standard. That style you quoted just got out of commission, or more like sold out real quick, and they now going with less brouging in the shoes, hence the new version I posted.

I guess I'm gonna go pick up one pair tomorrow and see how it goes.

 

[pebblegrain]

What's a Grenson DB?

The thing about them is that they are somewhat unusual. The details like wide-spaced broguing on the vamp, and the straight blind stitching on the toe cap, you will not find this exact combination on any other shoe that I know of. If this is what made you pay your premium, there's no real arguing.

On the other hand, if you just wanted a tan burnished captoe with a little flair, there are much better values out there.

Look at the crooked stitching on the heel counter.

 

[ichobi]

Thanks for your detailed insight pebble. I got a Grenson x Matches distressed suede desert boot (DB). It was for S/S 10 and they went on super sale so I managed to snatch the last pair. It costs £300 retail but I got it for £80. Can't beat that, and the style+ colour is just what I like. Better made than most DB at £80 out there. Fit better than my Barker suede Oxford too. Of course I won't be buying them at retail price, that's just stupid, totally not worth it at the rpp.

Back to the brouge. You are right, not only the shape that fit me well. I tried in the store and my god I would kill to wear them they are super comfortable and perfect fit right in, not an easy thing to find for my feet shape and that's counting at least 1.5 hours of pre-walking. The stitching and brouging is just about right for me too. The previous model that Johny mentioned is a little excessive. Like you said they aren't styled quite like other brouges I have seen and that's where I like them because they go along well with my style. I don't know much of the shoes jargons but I can see that they are made quite different from other burnished brouge. It's the combination of these things that did it for me I guess.

It might be the honeymoon period but I rarely see shoes that I like a lot. However I will have 14 days for refund, and to try this with all stuff in my wardrobe.

 

[pebblegrain]

You seem obsessed with these X collaborations. They are meaningless. Grenson Rose are routinely sold on ebay for $80.

Also, do these say "Made in England" or do they say "Grenson England?". The latter means they are made in India.

 

[ichobi]

Nope I'm not obsessed with collab. I don't own any collab pieces in fact I think they inflate the price too much for what they are worth usually. The DB is just a coincidence, I bought the DB because they were the only DB on sale and probably the best DB i could get at that price. I wouldn't em at full retail, I just don't have that kind of cash to spare, or any collab pieces for that matter, just isn't worth it. And this is the reason I posted whether I should go for these. I wouldn't be posting this thread if I am that keen on collab because £225 is still a lot for me. If it isn't for style and fit that hit me I probably ignore this shoes altogether though. I personally can't find a lot brouge that aren't boring to me and most of them cost much more than this. Just asking around here if you guys think these particular shoes worth it. They seem pretty popular as they sold out quick so I thought someone on SF might have them, and spare me some opinion. But thanks again! As for where they are made, when I talked to the store assistant they said they are made in England. I wouldn't trust that opinion fully though. From these links here and here , they implied that they are made in England, but looks to me like they are just shown how the shoes are made, not where their particular collab with grenson are made whether partly or fully.

 

[pebblegrain]

If you don't see the words "Made in England" on the shoe, they probably say "made in India" in a location where you can barely view it. Like inside the toebox. I'm serious.

 

[clausc]

Originally Posted by pebblegrain

You seem obsessed with these X collaborations. They are meaningless. Grenson Rose are routinely sold on ebay for $80.

+1.
You might pay a bit more for these collaborations. I've seen those from Matches and I'm not sure they're worth more than the price of these subs on ebay.

ASOS had some special Grenson rose recently also. I was not impressed.

As you will find by searching on SF, most of them from the Rushden line are made in India. If you know you're size, better buy some Rose or Masterpieces subs on ebay, there are plenty of them around if you're patient.