730 Days, 104 Articles
Welcome everyone to the “Welted Shoe News Article for May 2020“, which is a very special piece of writing. It marks a 2 year landmark that I never thought I would reach when I began Misiu Academy in June 2018. Since then I wrote one post per week non-stop which is huge for a hobby that doesn’t generate any income at all. Thank you for your support and I hope you enjoy the journey too.
News dried out a little bit however in May. Many companies focus now on Group Made to Orders and Pre-Orders (like I do with The Noble Shoe) but there are a couple of exciting new players entering the fray from England and France.
Another thing to note is the incredible growth of Pinterest and Ebay Scammers who steal photos and your money. Be aware.
I will go grab some strawberries.
Hands On With Carlos Santos Handcrafted
When I was in the Carlos Santos Factory in January, I had my first chance to check out their high end line. The Handcrafted Range was astonishing but I didn’t have enough time to inspect it. A couple of weeks ago a special Handcrafted pair came for a client through The Noble Shoe.
I will make a showcase article hopefully next week about it, but let me tell you it is astonishing for the money. An extremely tight fiddleback waist, super high quality leather and patina work for less than 700$. Stay tuned for more!
GMTOs At The Noble Shoe
The Noble Shoe is my baby and it is growing so quickly! I have done a lot of Quality of Life improvements this month:
- Checkout in your own currency (major currencies supported)
- Accessories & Shoe Care added (Saphir, Patina Belts, City Sole & Metal Tips)
- Small Menu redesign and Geolocation
Additionally, a bunch of new models are incoming in the next few weeks! But I am most excited about the two new latest Group Made to Orders that are live now! Let’s take a quick look.
1. Carlos Santos Lazyman Oxford In Algarve
Very very excited about this one. My first GMTO from the Main Line in a while and quite unique. It is a Lazyman Oxford with a wingtip balmoral pattern and side gussets. It mimics the appearance of an Oxford but functions as a comfortable versatile slip on.
It is handpainted in Algarve Mid-Brown Patina and Goodyear Welted on the 387 Soft Square Last for a very sharp look. You can Pre-Order the Carlos Santos Lazyman Here for about 300$.
2. Carlos Santos Handcrafted Wing-Toe Oxford In Norte
I am not even sure how to classify this model, but it is awesome and unique. I saw this in the archives and it was the perfect opportunity to offer a Handcrafted Range shoe on the website.
This one will be on the 401 Almond Last with a Handcrafted Sole and a custom MTO Box. The price is around 620$ and both GMTOs close on the 30th of June! You can read more about the Carlos Santos Wing-Toe Here.
Beware Of Shoe Scammers
This is not a new topic. In fact I have talked about scammers very often and one of the reasons I watermark my pictures is to deter them more. These scammers are free roaming on Pinterest, Instagram and e-Bay stealing photos from reputable shops and attempting to sell the same shoe to you for cheap. Most scammers in this category come from Pakistan and India as per their website.
It is absolutely disgusting and I truly wonder how naive some people can be to think they will get the pictured item and save some money. In some occasions, the scammers used pictures that have other shoe brands’ names just like this from Paul Parkman.
What should you do? Well for starters consider reporting them. Also don’t be naive and think that you can get such shoes for 60$. One thing I always do is check any reviews online. The above “shop” has of angry people that never received anything.
Generally, if something sounds too good to be true, then it is fake.
Fake Welted Shoes By Russel & Bromley?
Recently my friend Karl from Ascot Shoes apparently purchased some shoes from Russel & Bromley. It seems to be a “Luxury” Shoe & Bag store, or it advertises as one. Karl paid 225£ (around 295$) to buy these shoes which were supposed to be welted.
Soon they started to come off and it looks like they have cemented construction and a fake welt. I am not sure how valid the story is or which shoe it was, but there’s no way I would ever shop from there.
Be wary.
Archibald Goes Naked
Ha! What a title huh? I first spoke about Archibald London about 9 months ago about a mistake between Hand-welt and Goodyear Welt.
Right now they have two options when you visit their website. You can choose to either browse normally, or visit the “naked” website. By giving your email you enter the same website but you apparently can shop items for the cost of making them. Essentially, it is their way to keep some cash flow going and support some smaller artisans that make their items.
It is a very bold move, but what is even more baffling is the incredible daft responses of people on their Facebook ads. They don’t want to give away their email as a form of control, when at the same time they are using Facebook who knows everything about them and what socks they wore today.
New Brands From England & France
It is quite the challenge to launch a new brand during corona times, but I found at least 3 in May. One comes from the UK, one from France and another player I don’t know much about from China.
Let’s take a brief look!
1. Newman & Regent
Based in Northampton which is the cradle of British Shoemaking, Newman & Regent offers entry Goodyear Welted Shoes and more expensive “Factory Bespoke”.
They seem to operate on a Made to Order status at the moment with about a month’s delivery time. Their current line up retails around 370$ and if I am honest, I am not impressed. I can’t find information about the lasts, the designs look a bit plain and the competition is fierce in those levels.
If you want something new and enjoy the British designs, maybe give them a try and let me know what you think!
2. Point De Paris
Straight out of France, Point de Paris is the result of 4 friends that wanted to make their own range of high quality shoes. Right now the selection seems to be very small and curated with only 1 Last called Audace which has a very sharp, chiseled shape.
The models are a classic oxford and a more unique 3-eyelet wholecut. Both come in 5 colors and have a closed channel sole on a Goodyear Welt construction.
The shoes retail for a massive 840 Euros (around 930$) and that does not include the 30 Euros Shipping to the EU and 50 Euros Worldwide. The prices include VAT so it is less if you are outside the EU.
As appealing as the specs and designs look to me, spending this amount of money here and not on Antonio Meccariello or Enzo Bonafe is unreasonable. I think you need to make a leap of faith to try or support French shoemaking if you decide to get one. Curious to see where this goes as it is a very expensive investment.
3. Acme Shoemaker
I don’t know much about this one and honestly I encourage you to read Justin’s Article. Growing up with Loony Tunes, I find the naming hilariously entertaining and I have flashbacks of Wile E. Coyote chasing the Road Runner.
Very interestingly, this Chinese brand sells shoes in the price region of St. Crispin’s. I won’t be trying them any time soon but they do have some very interesting designs. Handwelted super high end shoes with sharp designs. Great things coming out of China lately along with Yeossal.
Exercise Caution, Enjoy Shoes!
Thank you once more everyone for helping me reach this important milestone. Subscribing to the list, following on Instagram or supporting The Noble Shoe keeps me going. You can even see my first foray on YouTube here!
This was all the important News from the Welted Shoe World I could find from May 2020. I hope you enjoyed them and that you will be alert about the huge amount of scammers out there. Share this information with others too. And maybe give these new shoemakers a chance and let me know what you think in the comments down below!
See you next week with the Carlos Santos Handcrafted! Stay safe everyone.
Thank you for reading,
Kostas Mandilaris,
Misiu Academy
