These are hands-down among the nicest shoes that I have truly ever seen in my entire life, and I mean it! Even though Saint Crispins shoes are incredibly expensive for RTW/MTO standards (please read comment below to understand why), I have to say, that from the looks of things, they are worth every last penny. Not only do the leathers look superb, but the pattern-making and minute detailing are without a doubt, top-notch! I really can’t help it but there is not one bad thing that I can say about this shoe, except that I am truly and utterly envious of the person who owns them! The apron stitch is perfect and this is one thing that really ruins a shoe for me. If the apron stitch is not spot-on, then the shoe is ruined, which is reason why I don’t particularly like apron toed shoes. The fact that they added a saddle on a double monk just makes them go up 100 points in my book as many of you know that I am a saddle freak! And to top it off, the coloring of the leather is phenomenal. It may not be to everyone’s liking, but you can’t deny that the patina applied was nothing short of amazing, as getting an olive green like this, is very hard to do….Anyway, enough of my praising, I think that the shoes speak for themselves. My hat is tipped to the owner of these lovely beauties!
Picture Courtesy Of: Rugged Old Salt
Hi Justin, Although the love of saddles is one thing we do not share, this is indeed a wonderful specimen of a shoe with a saddle pattern. I may just add it to our little lineup here in Seoul 🙂
As far as the RTW comment is concerned, I just wanted to say that apart from the Saint Crispin’s being made on a standard last (which can even be adjusted significantly), there is no difference to a full bespoke shoe in the construction, materials or finishing.
Cheers from Korea
Reto – After re-reading it, I can see where it sounds as if I was saying that they are not worth their price and that they overcharge, but that is not what I intended. What I meant, is that even though they are RTW, they sit in between the price range of MTO and bespoke, which may make it hard for some people to justify it when they could go all the way to bespoke. Definitely did not mean that they are not worth their price.
Glad to have inspired you with this model, it’s nothing short of flawless and am sure that it would be a nice addition to your collection!
All the best,
-Justin
so you dont think that the fact that the shoe does not appear to have holes for the buckle on the strap a problem? still perfect?
Igael – the hole would be made for the customer when they try it on. I presume it’s so as to have a hole in the exact spot it’s needed. Not difficult for the retailer to punch the hole.
Justin – what exactly makes it a saddle?
Lucas, thank you that makes sense..
Reto:
Most high quality bespoke shoes have a Hand sewn welt-outsole seam. The St. Crispins have a machine stitched welt-outsole seam (at least in their video), so that is a difference vs. true bespoke.
Lucas – Thanks for the clarification on the buckle holes, that makes good sense actually, an almost bespoke touch to it.
What makes it a saddle (which is quite difficult to see in the picture that I posted) is the way in which the buckle/strap bit is affixed to the shoe. It will be difficult to explain entirely in words but if you take a look at a normal oxford saddle shoe and you see the design that is referred to as the ‘saddle’, you will be able to see that this green monk also has that ‘saddle’ design element to it. I hope that this makes sense..
-Justin