I have always had a love/hate for Santoni shoes. Mainly I hate the fact they don’t make shoes the way I know they can, as their ‘mass market’ models. Instead, they sell $1000 blake shoes. The fact is that Santoni can make some of the best shoes you will find on this planet. But the reality is that there is no real money in quality welted shoes. It’s a really hard way to the top. Sure, we can mention C&J and Carmina, and sure the heads of the family have money but nothing compared to Santoni. And that’s because they sell blake stitched shoes for $1000 with an 8x margin or so (speculation but quite confident). And that fact will always dictate their collections.
Despite my not liking blake shoes and paying $1000 for them, I will still always love Santoni shoes, mainly for their design and for the fact that I know that they are still good shoemakers. I once went to their factory and was blown away by the greatness that it was. And in their showroom, I saw some of the most amazing shoes you would ever see. Sadly, no one ever sees them as they hardly make them. And that would be their limited edition series.
You are probably asking ‘what does that have to do with these?’ And the reality is nothing. I just always feel the need to mention how good Santoni is and/or can be. Yet, it is shoes like in this post that make them all the money and keep them from making the greatness that they can. Okay, rant over.
In a sneaker world where people are lining up to buy $1500 designer sneakers, I am losing the battle if I only focus on welted shoes. I have to accept the fact that ‘one inch at a time’ means getting someone who wears Giuseppe Zanotti garbage into a pair of slick suede loafers with plim soles by Santoni. That’s step one. Then step two is maybe something slightly more formal. Then the conversion of the garbage sneaker-wearing guy turns into a respectable shoe-wearing man.
I won’t lie, being a shoe lover on the whole, having owned everything under the sun, I actually really like this collection and would wear every single pair of the hybrid suede sneakers. Some of you will find that blasphemy but I do like being casual and these for me are great casual shoes for Summer.
I really love the colors and the subtle burnishing/patina on the suede. That’s impressive stuff for production footwear. Patina’ing suede is not easy. And making these vibrant colors isn’t either. I also really like the perforated model. I could definitely rock those in the DR, which I often frequent being my wife is Dominican.
While I love dress shoes, I find that there is nearly a place and time for most shoe styles out there. And being stylish is simply about how you put your outfits together. One can be stylish in a pair of $100 Sperry’s or an $800 Santoni plim soled slip-on. And truth be told, I like most of these a lot more than the majority of the shoes they have on offer!
Learn more: https://www.santonishoes.com/
To be fair, they are good looking.
yes they are 🙂