Santoni Shoe Appreciation Thread

[smfdoc]

I'm new to Santoni, and it seems that the majority of the photos on the forum are of the laced shoes, as opposed to slip-on versions. Are the loafers just the "ugly stepchildren" of the line or are they more popular than I realize? I thought these were rather good-looking loafers, but I am finding they are too large for me. Hopefully my next pair will work better.

 

[Jazzmenco]

Finally a good day for my shearling lined winter boots.

 

[Van DeStadt]

I thought these were rather good-looking loafers, but I am finding they are too large for me. Hopefully my next pair will work better...

I find Santoni run a half size large in most of their shoes. I wear a US10 and the 9.5 Santoni fits me. I do have a pair of Double monks that are not Goodyear welted and the size 10 fits better. I'm not sure if the welt has anything to do with it but worth mentioning if you are buying online.

 

[Petepan]

My first pair of Santoni Goat-Years- fits well....

 

[AriGold]

Just ordered these Santoni penny loafers from Mr. Porter.

The Mr Porter website claims that they are goodyear welted but on the Santoni website there is a pair of penny loafers that described as blake rapid.

I haven't been home to see them yet though

does anyone have views on:
- what construction method are used?
- the quality of the "Fatte A Mano" (orange insole) line in terms of leather quality (burnishing and ageing)
- Quality of construction?

 

[manasdirge]

Just ordered these Santoni penny loafers from Mr. Porter.

The Mr Porter website claims that they are goodyear welted but on the Santoni website there is a pair of penny loafers that described as blake rapid.

I haven't been home to see them yet though

does anyone have views on:
- what construction method are used?
- the quality of the "Fatte A Mano" (orange insole) line in terms of leather quality (burnishing and ageing)
- Quality of construction?

If you like the look and they fit your feet, then wear them!

FYI, most Santoni FAMs are Blake-rapid construction, they have their goodyear constructed shoes in a seperate line, known as Santoni "Goodyear" series, so if there is no marking of "GOODYEAR" on the sole, most likely it is not goodyear constructed.

That said, if you really want to know for certain, you can look inside your shoes, if you see visible stitches around the edge of insole, that is the Blake stitches, combined with the Rapid stitches we saw on the welt (from the 2nd picture) , we can safely say it is Blake-Rapid constructed.

IMO, Blake-Rapid construction is not inferior to Goodyear construction, if not better. For example, in Blake-Rapid construction you don't need to worry about gemming failure, which can happen(rarely) in Goodyear machine-welted shoes.

hope this helps!

 

[Beach Bum]



Just ordered these Santoni penny loafers from Mr. Porter.

The Mr Porter website claims that they are goodyear welted but on the Santoni website there is a pair of penny loafers that described as blake rapid.

I haven't been home to see them yet though

does anyone have views on:
- what construction method are used?
- the quality of the "Fatte A Mano" (orange insole) line in terms of leather quality (burnishing and ageing)
- Quality of construction?

Agree with poster from above. They are most likely Blake rapid and not GY unless the bottom of shoe says goodyear.

Nonetheless that is a great construction and a beautiful loafer. Only reason I would see holding out if they aren't GY is if you are entirely set on buying a goodyear welted shoe.

 

[Jim Chu]

Hi Jazz, could you please post some pics of your Santoni´s boots?.

Any good web retailer to buy Santonis Limited Edition in Europe?. Should I go straight to Santoni web page?

This may be a little late, but Yoox had a few pair of Santoni LEs when I checked about a few weeks ago. They were way less than half price from retail ~600 USD. You might get lucky if you check them out from time-to-time. Those LE are sweet. What makes them so expensive is that they are stitched from the inside out. It's amazing and I think it has to be done by hand.

 

[Jim Chu]

I posted about a month ago with stock photos of a new pair of Santoni FAMs I was lucky to find at a discount.

Finally wore them today, and I like them!! Here's a few pics...

Awesome....I love them. I've never seen them on sale. I've had a few pair (in brownish color) and managed to screw up the antiquing with my crude method of shoe polishing every single time. The best feature of those shoes to me is that I find they have the most narrow waist and last of any RTW shoe (other than maybe shoes like St. Crispin's) that I have ever seen. ...a true work of art even for the $800 price). Enjoy!

 

[Liber]

I've got a pair of F.A.M loafers for sale at a stupidly low price if anyone is interested? Link in my signature.

 

[JAEBH]

I found these Fatto a Manno's new on eBay for $299. Any opinions on which type they are and if it was a good buy?

http://m.ebay.com/itm/NEW-SANTONI-D...5-Uk-11-5-Us-12-5-9R-/151918480577?nav=SEARCH

 

[Beach Bum]

I found these Fatto a Manno's new on eBay for $299. Any opinions on which type they are and if it was a good buy?

http://m.ebay.com/itm/NEW-SANTONI-D...5-Uk-11-5-Us-12-5-9R-/151918480577?nav=SEARCH

The seller "sarafsaraf" has a good reputation from what I've read with a lot of nicely priced FAM and other Santonis. I think they are made for the Europe market (maybe Italy, maybe UK, ?) and so you probably won't be able to match up an exact style with a US name. Sherman Brothers, Nordstrom and other US stores that carry them will have similar styles, I don't think this seller will have those...generally speaking.

Regardless, it's still a higher end line from a top shoe maker, it all comes from the same place right? I like them, and you'd be hard pressed to find a brown oxford of that quality at or near $300.

 

[Beach Bum]

Awesome....I love them. I've never seen them on sale. I've had a few pair (in brownish color) and managed to screw up the antiquing with my crude method of shoe polishing every single time. The best feature of those shoes to me is that I find they have the most narrow waist and last of any RTW shoe (other than maybe shoes like St. Crispin's) that I have ever seen. ...a true work of art even for the $800 price). Enjoy!

Appreciate the compliment. I too noticed the skinny waist. Luckily they fit and aren't too skinny, but compared to even other pricey Santonis I own these are definitely sleeker. I believe they are the Vinnie model that was produced and sold in US this past year+.

Question for you then, what's your recommendation for polishing these? I've only worn them a few times so yet to condition/polish. I polish shoes at home and have an array of saphir/collonil polishes as well as a few conditioners. I certainly do not want to screw them up though!!

 

[Jazzmenco]

Maiden voyage...finally!

 

[Igor01]

The seller "sarafsaraf" has a good reputation from what I've read with a lot of nicely priced FAM and other Santonis. I think they are made for the Europe market (maybe Italy, maybe UK, ?) and so you probably won't be able to match up an exact style with a US name. Sherman Brothers, Nordstrom and other US stores that carry them will have similar styles, I don't think this seller will have those...generally speaking.

Regardless, it's still a higher end line from a top shoe maker, it all comes from the same place right? I like them, and you'd be hard pressed to find a brown oxford of that quality at or near $300.

I'll second that. Got the same style shoes from "sarafsaraf" in grey-blue suede, they appear to be well constructed and are nice and comfortable (which is a rare thing for oxfords with my high insteps). The shoes fit a tiny touch bigger than their size, but probably not even half a size, more like a third or a quarter size.



Gents, will these present a challenge to maintain? I know how to care for regular suede but never had a pair that combined that with this brushed/oiled finish.