SHOES! The Emperor's New Clothes. The Ghosts.

[Jerry52]

He who is first shall be last; he who is last shall be first.

Shoes- last and all- are the "sole" of interest for many of us.

As I shop (on and on) for dress shoes, I am curious for your pontification as to any brands that in your opinion simply don't measure up to their fabled reputation, and, on the other hand, any fairly obscure brands that seem "spot on" for both style and quality but seem to fly under the radar of praise...

Jerry
(who hopes if he pesters enough about dress shoes he might start getting them for free in the mail!

)

 

[Buckeye]

Peron & Peron......under the radar.

 

[Leaveitothexperts]

kenneth cole - Do not wear them!

 

[sho'nuff]

santoni fam.


well of course. what i say to you all?

santoni fam is as santoni fam does.

 

[StevenRocks]

I'm not as down on brands as I am on crappy construction selling for high prices. Anytime you have glued construction, vinyl linings, and corrected grain leather and it costs over $100, you got yourself a bad deal.

 

[thelion1856]

i suggest you just close this thread and order yourself a pair of Alden shoes. any style. they are the highest quality shoes of all time, all of them are hand made. Pricy from 200 up to 800 $'s.

 

[The_Foxx]

you may want to contact this seller, request that you be added to his email-mailing list. he is a great seller of fine shoes, bought at least two pairs from him i think.

http://stores.ebay.com/ELITE-FORUM

 

[rach2jlc]

At retail, I think the following ought to avoided, in most cases:

Shoe brands:
Mezlan- poor quality, poor design, overpriced
Donald J. Pliner- "made in the mountains of Italy" out of glue that falls apart in five hours.
Gordon Rush
most Bruno Magli
most Ferragamo
most To Boot New York (except those made by Peluso)

Egregiously bad Designer values (IMO):
Valentino- glued together yet retail for $500 or more. Why?
Marc Jacobs- innovative styling but same as above.
post 2002 Prada- changed the facilities, cheapened the materials, raised prices
DSquared- made by Vicini, cost $500 for crappy construction
Gianfranco Ferre- same as above

Good shoe brands (lesser known):
Premiata- fashion forward but classy, good contruction and leathers
Buttero- same as above
Peluso- less fashion forward, but still good construction
Sanders&Sanders- good value (~$200), not C&J but doesn't try to be.
Magnanni-good value (IMO), Spanish brand, I have a pair of welted loafers that have full grain leather, channeled soul, etc for about $200.

Good designers (way overpriced but no worse than the above, despite better quality):
LV, Loewe, post 2004 Givenchy (all made by Stefano Bi)
pre-2002 Prada- Much better than the new ones, IMO. I have sneakers and shoes from 1998 or so and they still are great.
Sergio Rossi-fashion forward but makes damn nice boots
Bottega Veneta- same as above
Comme des garcons- often rubber-soled shoes made by Heschung
Carol Christian Poell, Martin Margiela
(I didn't mention the usual suspects of Gucci, Dior, YSL, etc... we've hashed them out enough).

 

[Jerry52]

Originally Posted by The_Foxx

you may want to contact this seller, request that you be added to his email-mailing list. he is a great seller of fine shoes, bought at least two pairs from him i think.

http://stores.ebay.com/ELITE-FORUM
Thanks for the advice. It might be worth a shot.

 

[Jerry52]

Originally Posted by rach2jlc

At retail price, the following shoes are ones that I'd say don't bother wasting your time (for the most part).
Mezlan
Donald J. Pliner
Gordon Rush

That follows with these as well, but I would say they are okay if you can get them at deep discount (less than $100 or so):

post 2002 Prada
most Bruno Magli
most Ferragamo

Amongst lesser known shoe brands that I find to be a pretty good value, I'd list the following:

Amongst $300-400 shoes, I've had good experience with Premiata. (I talked about Premiata just the other day in the streetwear forum). They're a little more fashion forward, but still classy enough that you won't look like a clown. I haven't bought a pair for a few years, but recently I've seen that Barney's has started carrying them and charging in the neighborhood of $600 for them. I don't think I'd pay this much, but Barney's likes to make up their own prices for things (like the Martin Margiela AIDS tees whose MSRP is $47 and Barney's marks them up to $75 or so just for fun).

Another brand in the same realm as Premiata is Buttero. They make for some famous designers like Dior and Cloak, but their own models are very nice as well and not absurdly expensive (a $600 pair of Dior boots in a similar style from Buttero's own line would be maybe $380-400).


Slightly cheaper, I like Sanders & Sanders. They now make for RL Polo, but their own branded shoes are pretty nice for around $200 or so. They certainly aren't as refined as EG or C&J, but I think they are a good alternative and a good workhorse shoe. As well, they aren't very famous, so if you look carefully, you can sometimes find them at extreme discount (I've gotten a pair or two for $25 brand new believe it or not).

Magnanni also makes some decent shoes at a decent price point ($175-250). They aren't C&J, of course, but I'd say that they are considerably better than Mezlan, which is about the same retail price. I have a pair of Magnanni woven leather loafters that are welted, have channeled soals, and decent full-grain leathers. Not a bad deal for a retail of maybe $200.
John,

Thanks for an exhaustively-detailed reply. Lots to digest!
First do you have any opinion/experience with brands like Santoni, Gravati or Moreschi, from my list? I would likely choose Vass but availability under my maximum of $500 is in doubt.
I'm a bit familiar with Sanders and Sanders in the sense that one or two of their shoes are listed in a current ET Wright catalog I have. One or two reports have suggested that ET Wright shoes themselves have declined in quality lately, but that might not apply to Sanders and Sanders.

Premiata and Buttero are new discoveries. Thanks. I'll do a bit of research.

Whatever I choose must fit my size 12-C feet (as in Alden shoes) properly. Many English shoes don't have the proper sizing.

Thanks again for your insights!

Jerry

 

[Jerry52]

Originally Posted by thelion1856

i suggest you just close this thread and order yourself a pair of Alden shoes. any style. they are the highest quality shoes of all time, all of them are hand made. Pricy from 200 up to 800 $'s.
I know they're good, I own a pair. But variety being the spice of life, I wanted to check out the imported alternatives!

 

[sho'nuff]

in my opinion, i know i go against the norm here, but i dont mean any disrespect, but i prefer santoni FAM (norvogese and goodyear models, tan serrated edge insoles) over Vass.
they are both great shoes, i love vass, they are awesome shoes. but i just find the FAM a bit more awesomer.

 

[Artisan Fan]

While I like my pair, the price of Mephistos is fairly insane here in the U.S.

Out of the norm here, but I think Allen Edmonds are over-rated as well.

 

[sho'nuff]

wow,
i think these last two posts here by you and me can get us banished from here !

 

[norcaltransplant]

Underrated:
1) Peluso/Goodyear-welted designs for Bergdorf Goodman: A deal at BG? They routinely discount to around Alden prices, appear much sleeker, use better materials, and all-around more attractive.
2) Carmina: Again, tough to find shoes. Great materials, mediocre lasting as stocked by representatives in the United States, but the workmanship is definitely there.
3) Peal line for Brooks Brothers: Prices have steadily increased over the past few years, but the annual 25% off discounts, and dependable availability for staple models make them a deal IMO.

Overrated:
1) Tod's: Wonderfully comfortable. They wear like butter.
2) Alden: Rarely discount, clunky lasting (not substantial, just rough looking), and altogether not as comfortable as their English made counterparts (C&J and even Alfred Sargent Premier).