Ordered a pair of Jack Erwin shoes

Well, after not finding any AE seconds in the size I needed, I ended up ordering a pair of Jack Erwins as my formal "dressy/interviews/weddings/funerals" shoe -

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They appear to get good reviews for the price ($195), which for a new, cap-toe shoe in full grain leather with a stitched sole is about as low as I've seen except for John Doe shoes (which are pretty close, but the Jack Erwin shoes seem to have slightly better reviews). The idea of a softer leather is also appealing.

I will add that I have now discovered 2 other brands of "full grain, leather soled" shoes produced at a lower price point - Beckett Simonon and Just A Men Shoe. Jack Erwins are made in Portugal, I believe, whereas the John Doe (and Just A Men Shoe?) are made in Mexico. I have no idea about Beckett Simonon.

I find it both amusing and irritating that once I place an order, other options that I didn't even know about crop up. Ah well . . .

I'll keep y'all posted as to what the shoes are like.

I just discovered that Beckett Simonon is sourced from both India and South America.

No reviews discovered on the Just a Men Shoe.

nice looking shoes!

I haven't heard of that brand. I'll have to check them out as those shoes look very nice.

I've been looking for a final pair of shoes to round out a collection (black toe caps = formal, brown casual shoes, black slip-on clogs, and an old pair of Birkenstocks which I love). I've been thinking of a pair of burgundy wingtips but haven't found anything that I really love that is available. Then I found these, which hit my "a different shoe for fun" button -





http://www.beckettsimonon.com/products/goodyear-welted-hoyt-double-monk-straps-burgundy

I realize that these are not Allen Edmonds or similar. I'd like to buy a pair of burgundy shoes with at least some wingtip detailing at a relatively low price point to see how much I would actually use them. My other thoughts are Ecco Atlantas in brown (comfortable, look nice, but not in burgundy) or J&M Karnes (maybe . . . ).

Thoughts?

OP - Those are nice looking shoes. Portugal has a big shoe industry, so I'd rather have shoes from there over the other countries.

Hope you attend more interviews and weddings than funerals.

I like em!

I'm leaning more towards dark brown, dark burgundy shoes these days.

Looks like I'll be needing my Jack Erwins pretty soon (for good reasons!). I hope that they fit, look like the picture, and are comfortable.

I have yet to have a leather-soled shoe that wasn't hard on my feet compared to my usual rubber/synthetic soled shoes. I'm hoping that either replacement insoles or whatever they use these days works better than my old Sebagos.

Belt question - does brown or "chili" go with burgundy? I found a darn interesting (read: cool!) belt at Torino leather, but it doesn't come in burgundy. The brown, at least, is going on my wish list.

http://www.torinoleather.com/display.asp?id=145



The other thing I can't figure out (I need a black belt) is the difference between Antigua leather, aniline leather, glove leather, kipskin leather, calf leather, shrunken calf leather, and burnished veal leather. Since I have no clue what the differences are, I may go with something reversible and cheaper. Their belts all look like they're made of high quality leather, so I don't think I'd be getting something inferior.

I'm thinking of having a "minimal" number of good quality belts - a black/brown reversible or just plain black (dressy), my current casual brown belt, the above perforated brown belt for fun, and a burgundy if I get burgundy shoes. Is there a downside to reversible belts?

Shoes are here! They are beautiful! They are . . . slightly too big! Arghhhhhhh . . . I will try them with an insole. That may turn out to be ideal, considering that I strongly prefer cushiony shoes.

I'm brain dead, so I'll try to post some info tomorrow.

Well, I tried them on . . . and the size seemed right with a thin insole (the insole in them is nonremoveable and paper thin) . . . but they feel slippery inside the shoe and, frankly, unstable. It's not just the bottom of the inside (I had a pair of insoles that took care of that), but the sides of the shoe felt like slicked ice and my feet kept feeling like the wanted to slide forward/all around even though they didn't move. Compared to my old tasseled Bostonians (made in Italy; might be Florsheim) which fit my feet like a happy pair of gloves, they just don't feel like shoes that fit me. Arghhhhh . . .

I will say that they are exceedingly sharp looking, are packaged very well, and look like wonderful shoes. I really wanted to love these shoes. Unfortunately, they don't seem to fit my feet, and if they don't fit they aren't what I need.

For someone with wider feet, perhaps (I'm a B), or a differently shaped foot, I would definitely recommend them assuming that your foot doesn't slip/feel unstable inside them. And that's with an insole that didn't slip at all and provided excellent traction.

The only good news is that I'm going to be near a Nordstrom's for their anniversary sale (till Aug 3?). Wish me luck. I'd actually prefer a synthetic/padded sole, to be honest . . . I'd forgotten how uncomfortable I find leather soles.

My current Bostonian Florentines. Yes, they really need polishing, especially the sides of the soles. See thread on "natural shoe polish" . . . and even these soles aren't nearly as comfortable as a synthetic sole. I should try insoles for these . . .

Sorry to hear the shoes aren't going to work out for you. Shoe shopping is my least favorite shopping activity.