What's the Deal with These Split-Toes

Can anyone comment on the quality, construction or fashionability of the shoes featured at this link?

http://www.sierratradingpost.com/p/,...s-For-Men.html

I'm assuming they're from the Mantellassi handgrade line judging by the nail pattern of the shoe. But why not a blue sole, like the ones seen at VCH? Even so, the finishing seems a little matte to me, and the split-toe not particularly versatile.

Feel free to disagree. I actually do take all Forum members into account before deciding to purchase (or not to purchase). Thanks in advance.

P.S. How often does STP get new shipments of Mantelassi's; the present stock seems to have been there for a while.

Can't comment on the actual shoe, but STP's pics tend to make stuff look worse IMO, so I woudn't pay too much attention to the matted-ness of it.

IIRC, you are at the beginning of building up your shoe wardrobe, right?

Have you already covered the basics? Do you know them?

A split-toe like these, is IMO on the bottom of the range. Probably on pair or just above a/the loafer(all kinds).

If you know, they fit you well, you like them and they fill a gap in your rotation, just go for them.

I like them, I have a pair of Peluso's just like them.
They are not super dressy, but servicable none the less.
DO IT.

Originally Posted by fritzl

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IIRC, you are at the beginning of building up your shoe wardrobe, right?

Have you already covered the basics? Do you know them?

A split-toe like these, is IMO on the bottom of the range. Probably on pair or just above a/the loafer(all kinds).

If you know, they fit you well, you like them and they fill a gap in your rotation, just go for them.

Yes. You are a keen observer (or maybe I just post too much ). I think I have most of the basics covered (black blucher, monkstrap, wholecut, ankle boot, etc.), but only recently have begun purchasing higher-end shoes (e.g. EG, Weston, Santoni). I thought these might be a nice contrast to the mostly black shoes I've acquired so far. I suppose it couldn't hurt to purchase given STPs liberal return policy...

Originally Posted by meauounji

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Can't comment on the actual shoe, but STP's pics tend to make stuff look worse IMO, so I woudn't pay too much attention to the matted-ness of it.

Really? That's very interesting. They look good enough now, so I look forward to seeing how they actually look in person. Thanks for the reply.

Originally Posted by antirabbit

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I like them, I have a pair of Peluso's just like them.
They are not super dressy, but servicable none the less.
DO IT.

Thanks for the reply. Do you think they're acceptable for a business casual environment? Do you have any idea of the construction quality of these shoes?

Well,
I think they are well above average, and that base line being defined as Allen Edmonds as average.
I wear my split toes with some suits, and with any of my sport coats.
I would say they are actually more versitile than a very dressy pair of shoes (say a super elegant sleek captoe in black).
Plus these gain alot of character overtime that you will enjoy.

I love mine and find I wear them very frequently.

I think you can not go wrong with these if you are happy with the price.

I'm not sure if this will help, but here are a few pictures of some Sutor Mantellassi split toe double monks that I purchased from STP. Perhaps this will give you a better idea on what the finish looks like, it is not so matte as the website pictures would suggest.

^The color on those look incredible. I don't think the OP's pair are going to look that good, bad photos or not.

Originally Posted by datasupa

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^The color on those look incredible. I don't think the OP's pair are going to look that good, bad photos or not.

+1000
I purchased the linked shoes last September and promptly returned them. They will look nothing like Merckx' shoes. I have no bias against Sutors and, in fact own four pairs including 2 shown on STP right now. But there is a clear line of demarcation between the $995 retail shoes and those below $900. No one needs a $500 pair of shoes that they weren't sure about in the first place.

As far as the blue sole, that is simply a plastic film, no? I've never rec'd a pair like that.

Thanks for posting the pictures. They do seem to have more anitquing than the pair I linked to (beautiful, in fact). I might just follow Thurston's advice in this case. As always, thanks for the valuable feedback.

Originally Posted by Merckx

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I'm not sure if this will help, but here are a few pictures of some Sutor Mantellassi split toe double monks that I purchased from STP. Perhaps this will give you a better idea on what the finish looks like, it is not so matte as the website pictures would suggest.

who did your fab antiquing? - it looks so natural unlike the elaborate disasters we see around here usually masquerading as antiquing successes... IMHO of course

I purchased that exact model from STP before last Christmas when they had a two-day blow-out of SM shoes. At the time--as now--the model shown by Merckx was available, as was a shoe almost identical to the one in question, but with full antiquing. These two--Merckx's double monk and the antiqued version of the shoe in the link--were shown with a retail price of $995, as opposed to the $875 of the shoe in question. My take on this was that they were basically the same shoes (the fully antiqued ones and those in question) leather-wise, construction-wise, and general quality-wise, except for the antiquing on the more expensive ones. The $120 difference in their stated retail prices seemed to me to probably reflect the extra work necessary to produce the antiqued finish.

In any case, I got them and wasn't too impressed with the color/finish of the leather. It wasn't terrible or anything, but struck me as a little bland. So I shot them off to our Ron Rider for his antiquing treatment. Fortunately, Ron took photos of the shoes as they went through this process and posted these in the Shoe Antiquing thread that has been running for some time now on SF. So, here's what Ron was able to accomplish at what strikes me as a very, very reasonable price. Incidentally, I would say that the best rendition of the color as they came from STP would be the one on the left in the second photo. Needless to say, I was thrilled with the result. (I understand that this level of antiquing might be more than some people would like, but I have shoes with more restrained antiquing and wanted something a little more spectacular.)

http://www.styleforum.net/showpost.p...5&postcount=96

I agree with Antirabbit's assessment of this level of SMs as "well above average" (with average defined as A-E quality), although I would probably alter this slightly to "much, much above average" and into the elite range of shoes. They are very well-made and comfortable. Although I don't have any Santoni FAMs, I'd guess that these SMs are about equivalent in quality to the tan-sock FAMs.

Originally Posted by Roger

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I agree with Antirabbit's assessment of this level of SMs as "well above average" (with average defined as A-E quality), although I would probably alter this slightly to "much, much above average" and into the elite range of shoes. They are very well-made and comfortable. Although I don't have any Santoni FAMs, I'd guess that these SMs are about equivalent in quality to the tan-sock FAMs.

Construction-wise they might be the same, but Santoni has advantage over SM with regards to the finish and patina.