Made in Spain Footwear, including TLB Mallorca, Cobbler Union, Yanko, Norman Vilalta, etc

[LThomsen]

Oh, quite hard to say, some periods very often at very hard use, long days long walks sometimes bad weather etc (like during trunk show periods with lots of travels and they have been one of few shoes brought), some periods less and in more kind environments. Maybe once a week if calculated some average for the whole year.



Ok, yeah could be that you were a bit unlucky, even if I find TLB quite consistent in general (specially compared to many other Spanish factories) there can be cases with variations. One of the strongest points in general for British manufacturers is good consistency, but you get much simpler-made shoes. The mentioned C&J Benchgrade are for example very simple construction-wise, with square waists and fully square sole edges, heels cut far from the uppers, open channel soles, and that at an (as mentioned above) higher price point then even Artista. If that's something that one don't care much about, it of course C&J could still be the better choice.

Do you think you can get 400 wears out of the artista shoes before needing to resole them?

 

[j ingevaldsson]

Do you think you can get 400 wears out of the artista shoes before needing to resole them?

Depends on a lot of factors, how they are worn, how you walk, what conditions, etc. But the Italian super prime soles that TLB use are excellent IMO, not on pair with JR or Baker oak bark tanned, but not that far behind. That's also (considering what talked about above) something that in general (not all cases, bear in mind, it's a generalisation) is much better on Spanish and Italian shoes compared to British shoes, the quality of the leather soles. For example C&J BG soles are quite ****** IMO.

 

[LThomsen]

One of my next shoe purchases will be a MTO TLB oxford with JR soles and heels.

 

[Andrew0409]

One of my next shoe purchases will be a MTO TLB oxford with JR soles and heels.

TLB's MTO has one of the cheapest upcharges I've seen.

 

[Patrick1053]

One of my next shoe purchases will be a MTO TLB oxford with JR soles and heels.

Great! What are you thinking of getting?

 

[LThomsen]

Interested to see how the TLB mto shoes with JR soles/ heels compare to enzo bonafe, vass, G & G classic range, etc.

 

[LThomsen]

Great! What are you thinking of getting?

112/Goya /vegano, dark brown, Jr soles/heels

 

[Wild Strawberry Rabbit]

"For me it's more on Yanko/Mermin Classic level "

Blasphemy. You either got really unlucky or maybe the creasing is related to a fit issue, not a leather issue.

Yes, for sure it's fit issue I own around 40 pairs of shoes, some cheaper and some more expensive than TLB. I walk more than 5 km each day in my shoes (well, except of last two months). While I'm not the shoe expert like the quoted shoe snob or @j ingevaldsson I think I'm still capable of assessing the fit of my shoes and comparison of leather used on different pairs I own… I get that you like your TLB pairs, but really no need to undermine my opinion. I prefer @j ingevaldsson factual discussion and balanced opinion. BTW I fully agree that C&J Benchgrade are simpler made in relation to some details and that they have ****** leather soles. Still when it comes to leather in my opinion it is much better than the one on my TLB pair. I still quite like this pair (especially that I bought it on sale for less than 300 EUR) but I simply don't agree that they are definitely the best value for money in this price segment. At least that's not my experience, I'm more happy with my Linea Maestro Meermins.

 

[Sfroide3]

@j ingevaldsson It's mostly leather that's dissapointing.The design is nice and crafstsmanship is good (although finishing is not ideal, but I guess it's the issue for all Spanish shoes, it's the same for Carmina or Yanko). The leather is quite thin and does not crease as nicely as e.g. C&J benchgrade (not to mention C&J handgrade or Vass…).

That's interesting. I only own one pair of Loafers from the TLB artista line and multiple C&J. I have a lot to complain about finish from C&J - multiple pairs of boots with quarters not aligned. I have seen a lot of pairs of boots and derbies with the exact same issue on the C&J thread on this forum. This is something I have never had with Carmina for example. I love C&J but I will probably never ever buy online again, only in person.

I can't say anything about TLB leather, my shoes are new.

 

[blekit]

Mine mainline TLB after 1.5 years of regular usage. They my go-to brown oxfords for Spring/Autumn/Winter due to rubber sole and G-width last that accommodates for thicker socks - with 20-30 full day outings, often in rainy weather. I take care of them in a similar fashion to all my shoes.

I'm quite happy with the quality of leather, craftsmanship and I like how they aged in general. I rate them higher than cheaper shoes I own (Yanko, Berwick, Shoepassion, Patine) and comparable to some more pricier (Cheaney). I have better shoes (Vass, Alfred Sargent or Artista line from TLB), but their regular retail price is way above 350 euro. I don't own and have never seen live neither Meermin Linea Maestro nor Carmina shoes, so I cannot compare them. However once I was really keen on buying a pair of C&J and I've tried on several pairs (Benchgrade I think). Frankly speaking I wasn't impressed - maybe it was the way they were stored, maybe I was unlucky - but the leather seemed very dry and thin and at that point I felt that they certainly weren't worth their full retail price.

 

[j ingevaldsson]

AM is probably my next purchase, but they are about 100 euros more with VAT for me.

I think AM’s Aeris line looks great as well! If one is just to compare spec with Artista though (only things I feel I can do unbiased), I believe Aeris has only cemented waist not with sole stitching going all the way back to the heel as Artista, and leather board heel stiffeners not real leather as Artista (please correct me if I’m wrong, haven’t handled Aeris in person, have with The Sabot’s own Meccarillo-made shoes though which I’ve been told have the same construction here as Aeris).

 

[LThomsen]

I believe my older Aeris shoes have a cemented waist.

 

[Andrew0409]

I believe my older Aeris shoes have a cemented waist.

What difference would a cemented waist make? Less durable?

 

[arturobelano]

I also wonder. These babies seem to have cemented waists as well (at 840 euros!). They also claim to use wooden shanks.

What material does TLB use for its shanks? And what are the pros and cons?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Sfroide3]

Wood vs metal

Wood is more flexible but can break and loose its purpose. Metal is more resistant but less flexible. It can rust if not properly protected. As long as they are not plastic I don't care.

Big diff with your 840 euros shoes is the construction:

"Our goodyear is made through cutting a lip in the insole. The welt seam is then sewn, as opposed to glued when "gemming" is used. "

This is way more labor intensive and traditional. They do a little more handmade operations also. Made in France.

I never owned a pair of shoes with the waist only glued. I wouldn't mind for oxford or formal shoes. But I don't want this construction for boots or week end derbies.