Where's my other damn shoe bag?

[Vintage Gent]

I ordered a pair of brown suede Sutor Mantellassi monk strap boots from the good folks at Sierra Trading Post. When I opened the box, however, I found but a single shoe bag. Admittedly, the shoe bag was a bit larger than normal, but it was nowhere near large enough to accommodate the precincts of two boots. So I called the STP service line. After checking, the rep told me that, in fact, the boots only come with a single shoe bag.

So I pose these questions to you, my sartorial brethren:

(1) Was the rep simply blowing smoke and was I denied my rightful dyad of shoe bags?
(2) Is this something common to Sutor Mantellassi? That would seem strange because every decent pair of shoes/boots I ever purchased came with two bags.

 

[dah328]

I think it's more common to get a single shoe bag with Italian shoes. I think I've only received a single, larger bag with the pairs of Testonis that I've purchased.

dan

 

[Teacher]

See, Italians only travel with one shoe. It's a cultural thing that I just don't understand.

 

[gdl203]

All my mantellassis (including boots) came with one large shoe bag

 

[Vintage Gent]

Originally Posted by gdl203

All my mantellassis (including boots) came with one large shoe bag

Well, heck. That seems to me the sartorial equivalent of the unibrow.

 

[Earthmover]

Yup. My Sutor Mantellassi boots from STP came with one bag as well, and definitely not big enough for both shoes. I just figured they lost the other one... But now, that's just interesting. It serves as my #1 buffing cloth now.

Ferragamos I got from Barney's sample sale came with two, so it's not a wholly Italian thing.

 

[gdl203]

Originally Posted by Vintage Gent

Well, heck. That seems to me the sartorial equivalent of the unibrow.

I actually find this very convenient and don't mind this at all

 

[skalogre]

Originally Posted by Teacher

See, Italians only travel with one shoe. It's a cultural thing that I just don't understand.

Wait until they drop the other shoe

Ok, that was an embarrassing joke. Anyway, what I wanted to add is that both pairs of Loding I have came with a larger single bag. Bloody continental europeans, hrumph

 

[thinman]

I have 4 pairs of Ferragamos and a pair of Testonis. All came with 2 shoe bags, but all were bought at US stores (Ferragamo outlet store or Neiman-Marcus).

 

[Renault78law]

My Mantellasi's bought from NM only came with one bag as well. It's a pet peeve of mine, as I've noticed that other makers do it too. I mean seriously, either the bag should be large enough to accomodate two shoes, or they should come with two bags. How hard is that!?!?

 

[gdl203]

Originally Posted by Renault78law

My Mantellasi's bought from NM only came with one bag as well. It's a pet peeve of mine, as I've noticed that other makers do it too. I mean seriously, either the bag should be large enough to accomodate two shoes, or they should come with two bags. How hard is that!?!?

All my Mantellassi's came with one bag that was definitely large enough to fit the two shoes... What's your shoe size? I'm a US11 and the "mono-bag" is always large enough...

 

[rip]

I would guess the thinking is that shoe bags are for packing and one bag would protect both the shoe that's inside and the shoe that's outside from each other. There is a certain Italianate logic to it, and that's how they keep their prices so low.

 

[PITAronin]

Out of curiosity - aside from your displeasure over the lack of a second shoe bag - what's been your reaction to the shoes themselves. I've been monitoring these Sutors for months and still can't decide whetehr to pull the trigger on them.

Thanks

 

[Vintage Gent]

Originally Posted by PITAronin

Out of curiosity - aside from your displeasure over the lack of a second shoe bag - what's been your reaction to the shoes themselves. I've been monitoring these Sutors for months and still can't decide whetehr to pull the trigger on them.

Thanks

With various discounts, I snagged them for under a hundred, so that's the price point in my equation of value. A few things: (1) I thought, from the pictures, that the toe would be somewhat chiseled. It's somewhat more square than that, but not to the point where we're approaching AmJack territory. (2) They didn't arrive in the best of shape, with dust/dirt in several places--nothing, however, some work with a suede eraser couldn't fix. (3) Surprisingly, they feel pretty insubstantial. Were they worth it? I'd say yes, but just barely.