Portugese and Spanish shoes

Originally Posted by Lusitano

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+1

There is definitly no tradition, like in England or Italy, of handmaking shoes in Portugal( neither in Spain by the way).

Portugese shoemaker were once famous for their skills, but sadly we' re facing the same problems like mentioned above, people prefer brands not talent.

FWIW Portugal has a strong shoemaking "industry", that produces quantity not quality.

Alas there is a exemption to the norm, the makers behind "mackjames", have a high end shoe line, that are handcrafted and of good quality "Carlos Santos".

http://www.carlossantos.eu/1.aspx

Saludos de Portugal

P.s.

Great graffiti! Makes me want to take a day trip to quiet Viana do Castelo!

But I must disagree: there is a handmade shoe tradition in Spain, just not at the same scale as in England, due to many reasons (to begin with, our geographical and political fragmentation).

PS: At least with the noise (young revelers, noisy neighbors, cars at all hours) it is hard to feel lonely here!

Let me put it that way, there for sure is a tradition in Spain(as in Portugal) for the cobbler catering for the "Beiro", but not in a large scale for international clients.

Viana do Castelo is the perfect spot to enjoy "portuguese silence", a wonderful little city!

Saludos

I just got married in Viana do Costelo this past August, Santa Luzia to be exact. My only complaint is that there are no bars in the traditional sense, just cafes that serve alcohol.

Regarding shoes, I did look around while over there and didn't really find anything I liked... Wish I knew about that link beforehand. As an aside, I've also been to Brazil quite a few times and haven't found anything I liked there either. In my price range and location, looks like I'm forced to choose AE and an occasional Loake 1880 order from Herringshoes.

Congratulations to your wedding ,

you've chosen a scenic church for your Wedding!

and yes Viana is a very "calm" city.

Povoa do Varzim or Ofir( south of Viana) offer a bit more nightlife

Shopping is very poor outside Porto and Lisbon, and prices are mostly up on par with the rest of Europe, so no really bargain here.

Can't speak for Brasil though

We do have tradition, but many brands died over the years. THe best one now is Carmina, and at least we have a brand which is very appreciated all around the world.

Some of my shoes...


Spectator Brown-Suede:



Whisley Cordovan:



Cordovan Blucher:



Cordovan tassell:




Cordovan full brogue rubbed soles:




Green Norwegian:



They have all been reviewed on my blog, but there are still some surprises to be published...

Own a very nice pair of black calf Carmina loafers, which appear to be made of very high quality calf (thicker than say church's masterclass). Construction seems very good- bevelled sole but open stitch channel rather than closed channel. Can heartily recommend the calf despite the company perhaps being more well known for their cordovan shoes.

Besides the pictures posted, I have reviews of all of them in my blog, just in case anyone is interested in watching more pictures. Also, today i reviewed one of their shops with pictures of many of the shoes. Hope you like it.

An appetizer...

...

About Portuguese shoes: It was already mentioned here about Carlos Santos. Zarco company is probably the best shoe handcrafted in Portugal. I recommend also Profession Bottier and De Gier. I am not sure but loding, emling and bowen brands are produced also in Portugal from Zarco. For all interested about this sector in Portugal I invite you to visit my blog. http://lusitanaehabilitas.blogspot.c...dustry-in.html Tudo de bom! all the best Mike

Like I said in my last post, Zarco is one of the best and biggest Portuguese manufacturers for luxury shoes. They export 99% of their production and they have 3 own brands: http://www.mackjames.com/ http://www.carlossantos.eu/1.aspx and Star Label http://www.la-botte.com/4DCGI/PromoM...0LABEL/Homme/1 Then they produce for others brands like : http://www.altanbottier.com/3.aspx http://www.emling.fr/en/the_7_gold_rules# http://www.markowski-chausseur.fr/ http://www.bowen-shoes.com/ http://www.loding.fr/ Maybe they work for more brands but my research discovered only these ones. A curiosity : Carlos Santos brand sell some very exclusive and unique pairs for about 3000 euros. And some more Portuguese brands are: http://www.professionbottier.com/default.htm http://www.degier1935.com/ broken link now but working some weeks ago. http://www.marianoshoes.com/ http://www.nunescorrea.pt/Sapatos http://www.sarenza.co.uk/brett-sons http://www.armandosilva.pt/engine.php?cat=1 http://www.centenario.com.pt/index_en.htm this brand besides leather and crocodile shoes, has also from eel, ostrich and ray. More recently brands like: http://www.luisonofre.com/ and http://www.miguelvieira.pt/ shows that Portugal have designers and not only good working force. I am sure that I am missing some more brands and I am posting only about this type of shoes. I have a blog where I am showing some of the best from Portugal, including brands, companies, technology, innovation, culture, music and so on. If you like to know all regarding these issues, you are inviting to follow me. I think you guys will have now a better idea about these shoes made from Portugal, some more hand-made than others but with good quality and I will not reply about some comments I read in this thread. Carpe Diem!! Other curiosity about other Portuguese brand is related to http://www.swear-london.com/shopping/sale/items.aspx this brand belongs to a nice concept with other brands and stores and President Obama...... "read the story" ;-) http://translate.google.pt/translate...p%3Fid%3D24134 all the best Mike

Originally Posted by cameroon

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I dont think this kind of obvious brand promotion is proper in this type of forum.

It is obvious you believe Carmina shoes are very good. Your point is taken, and if you have some for sale please put them on the B&S thread but this is not an advertising board.

I believe that if you persist it in such an obvious display of single brand promotion it will actually backfire on you/brand

of course this is just one man's opinion

I didn't see this post in the past.

I have a collection of over 60 different pairs. EG, G&G, C&J, Alden and yes, Carmina. I have more EG and C&J than Carmina's. You can check that on the reviews of my blog.

I defend Carmina because it is the only one being questioned here. Just for that. It is an excellent brand, but as many other top ones. I wouldn't say it tops EG or G&G, because they don't.

I was just promoting and defending my country, because it is a fact that Carmina is a good brand, and many people from SF love it. Being me one of them.

I don't think there is any harm or promotion on showing pictures and trying to help people who are interested.

By the way, I have never sold any shoes in here, so you should check before pointing accusations. That is not good.

I can't understand why showing my collection of this brand, which is not so easy to buy depending on where you live, would do any harm or "backfire" me. That is not an opion, it is an absurd acusation not based in facts.

Regards.

What do you think of Sendra and Sancho boots?

Originally Posted by economiayocio

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I didn't see this post in the past.

I have a collection of over 60 different pairs. EG, G&G, C&J, Alden and yes, Carmina. I have more EG and C&J than Carmina's. You can check that on the reviews of my blog.

I defend Carmina because it is the only one being questioned here. Just for that. It is an excellent brand, but as many other top ones. I wouldn't say it tops EG or G&G, because they don't.


Regards.

Thanks economiayocio, great posts! I have read your blog in translation (Babelfish is pretty terrible but the best i have access to) and enjoyed it very much.

re: 'promotion of Carmina' - I don't think it's inappropriate. I can vouch that Economiayocio discusses a lot of other brands on his blog. There is a memorable account of his trip to Budapest to visit Laszlo Vass, with some great pics. Economiayocio is a shoe-phile, like most of us, and appreciates quality artisanship. It's not about promoting any particular business interest.

Originally Posted by economiayocio

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I didn't see this post in the past. I have a collection of over 60 different pairs. EG, G&G, C&J, Alden and yes, Carmina. I have more EG and C&J than Carmina's. You can check that on the reviews of my blog. I defend Carmina because it is the only one being questioned here. Just for that. It is an excellent brand, but as many other top ones. I wouldn't say it tops EG or G&G, because they don't. I was just promoting and defending my country, because it is a fact that Carmina is a good brand, and many people from SF love it. Being me one of them. I don't think there is any harm or promotion on showing pictures and trying to help people who are interested. By the way, I have never sold any shoes in here, so you should check before pointing accusations. That is not good. I can't understand why showing my collection of this brand, which is not so easy to buy depending on where you live, would do any harm or "backfire" me. That is not an opion, it is an absurd acusation not based in facts. Regards.
I don't see any harm in what economiayocio has posted so far, he's a shoe afficionado with a very remarkable collection, thus not different to other posters with the same passion. Furthermore his words sound like respect and appreciation for a well regarded manufacturer(flavoured with a bit of patriotic pride), not like marketing bullshit.

^^^seconded.