Proper leather shoes

I am disappoint

Kind of - a playground in shoreditch, their natural habitat… yeah Cola suede 👍🏻

They are 🔥would bang

Is this cordovan leather?

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'orse

Surely a man of Rishi’s substance should know what boating shoes look like!

At first glance I thought the microphones were braces and it was a weird meme with Rishi dressed as a bovver boy.

I’m looking in to a pair or black penny loafers, Berwick 1707 to be precise. The shoe is offered with either a box calf or Dainite sole.

I intend to wear the shoe at the office / occasionally on weekend.

The box leather appears to be more breathable and mold to the foot, according to the NPS website.

Is the box leather the more serviceable option as a rule or is Dainite more suitable?

Most fun I had on a leather sole were with the ones used for working in (and stored at) a supermarket, mostly smooth and hard flooring, they were also loafers - someone will confirm the serviceability but I would assume no real difference possible with NPS maybe the option to switch .. i remember taking mine to the cobbler for a resole his opinion was don't bother loads of life left i made the mistake of settling on a stick-a-sole - it ruined them abit

It's down to personal preference. As those shoes are Goodyear welted both options will be serviceable and a cobbler can easily change to another option once they need replacing.

I find leather soles can be a bit slippery in some conditions especially when new and for me they seem to wear through quickly - i have usually replaced with dainite / commando etc based on the shoe.

Personally I'd get the dainite.

Thanks all, I do think I naturally tend towards preferring the traditional leather sole. So decision made!

Are there any other comparable shoes out there for price and quality to Berwick?

Something with a low vamp?

https://eu.meermin.com/collections/mens-loafers/products/114414-black-calf-e

To me they look really good for the money.

Any Goodyear welted shoe in theory should last a long time.

The whole point is that the sole can be replaced as and when it wears out with multiple options on the material.

Hope that helps and apologies if you knew a lot of that. The whole point of these shoes is longevity through repair which I am all for.

Cheers, I’ve got some Meermin shoes, great shoe. I did check there already, think I prefer the Berwick shape.

Yes, specifically only looking at Goodyear welts 👍🏻

Depending on your size, I’ve got a very lightly worn pair of black uk9.5 Church’s Bristol loafers with leather sole I don’t wear…

Thanks for the offer, would be interested if they were an 11.

Ah no worries, other places I’d look are Mojas (though same issue with meermin and berwick is that they need posting so sizing is a bit of a gamble and returns etc - https://www.morjas.com/product/the-penny-loafer-black-grain/ - for example, little bit different but not too different) - Loake might be of interest if you’ve got one nearby - I’ve gone off the brand but did go in a try some loafers a while back and was tempted - think they’re like £220 ish… last thought is somewhere like Charles Tywhitt, they have their shoes made by someone else but a fairly standard black loafer should be in there and they could have some kind of deal/sale etc on that’d make them worth a look?

Finally - these meermin are nice, copies of JM Weston loafers - https://eu.meermin.com/collections/mens-loafers/products/101483-black-calf-e

I think I did 3 returns with Meermin years ago, but they were the perfect wedding shoe and a great price, even with all the returns.

Never had Loakes, but can't see a real advantage over the Spanish made brands. And I budget is c. 160, so Morjas are a little to high as well.

The advantage of Berwick is you can buy in the UK at A Fine Pair Of Shoes .

I am warming to those Meermins as well....

I bought these Yuketen loafers in the Mr Porter sale but my left foot is a half size smaller and the shoe won’t stay put on the ankle when walking. Can I insole one shoe or am I asking for all sorts of back trouble?
I know the sensible answer is return ‘em :’(

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Bought some Astorflex Dukeflex desert boots as I’m facing a lot of having to wear smart* things whilst walking non-trivial distances in 35-40°C temps this summer. They’re very comfy so far! Will see how they fare in Madrid this week…

(*My definition of smart falls well short of the mirror-like patent leather definition, but for my purposes chinos a blazer and a button down are smart enough 90% of the time)

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Could you put a pad in the back of the heel?

How many times have you worn them?
As shoes break in they will conform better to your feet than when new; I’ve had boots with significant heel lift start to behave after a week or so.
These being slip on though, not sure…

I’ve got a pair of them, be careful of wet slippery Madrid tiled floors!
@rj great shout, I might just rest one in to see if it takes up enough slop.
@withered_preacher Only worn for a couple of minutes around the house so as not to damage. My feeling is with this woven construction is that they’ll only get looser with time…

Thanks for the heads up!