Meermin

I have two pair, the first from their higher end linea maestro line. Absolutely beautiful shoes, significantly nicer than Allen Edmonds for the same price. Probably my nicest pair of dress shoes. My second pair is a pair of chukkas from a GMTO order buy, from the regular classic line. Not as nice as the first pair, but obviously significantly cheaper. And I'd say probably on par with AE. Long and short of it, they have great price / quality, so definitely don't hesitate.

Looks great!  I loooooove double monks.  I have two.



Considering getting a third in either navy calf or navy suede made by Alfred Sargent or Carmina.

Cycling shoes remind you too much of time tested design of double monks.....

You're a tough cookie when it comes to fashion, lol!

It's kind of strange that you prefer (the generally agreed upon less attractive) single monks. Single monks are still nice though, especially the Alden shell ones.

I'm with the single monk vote.

I've been wanting a nice casual pair for years.

I cant get onboard with the double either.

Good to know they do shell. Is it just the MTO deals?

Their big brother Carmina does Horween shell.

I feel you, but you've REALLY got to see a pair in person to understand how much of a steal they are, ESPECIALLY at this price.

Even at double the price, I think they would STILL be a better quality and deal than Allen Edmonds (I own a couple pairs, one is shell), and possible still better than some Aldens (Being that there are so many rumbling over the past couple of years that Alden quality of build and QA/QC is really becoming hit or miss).

If I were buying "dress shoes" to "dress up" in, I could easily see myself splurging on Alden or Carmina... But, the way my personal life and career are setup right now, I have no need for SERIOUS dresswear, so I'm absolutely fine with the lower end, sub $500 stuff to keep me looking "casual-cool". Boots and workwear on the other hand... THAT is where my cash dump is currently.

Contrary to our tangent on the "What are Your Favorite Brands" thread, Meermin is indeed made in China, and seriously those guys are REALLY producing some good work! I mean, REALLY! And, I wouldn't be surprised if Carmina and Meermin are different levels of materials... No way Meermin could produce Horween shell shoes for $400-$500/pair, so they use Shinki Hikaku to keep the prices down. Here's some quick shoe blogger reading, if it at all interests you:

www.theshoesnobblog.com/2012/11/meermin-mallorca-review-appreciation.html

"Now for those that don’t really know much about Meermin, allow me to explain a little bit. You may have noticed that the owner, Mr. Pepe Albaladejo shares the same surname as the owners of Carmina. This leads most people to believe that they are somehow associated, when in fact the only association between them is ancestry. They have nothing to do with each other and go about things in very different ways. While both brands seemed to have wanted to create the best shoe at the best possible price, Meermin took an approach that was quite different and more risky. What he did was find a workshop/factory in China, went to train them up in order for them to hand-last and hand-welt every shoe in his production. Then once the soles are ready to be put on, they send the shoes back to Spain to have it done on the machines. So in theory, half of the shoe is constructed by hand, but done so in China. This might throw some people off, but if the quality of the work is good, it should not really matter where it was done, so long as it is done right. And because the labor in China is much lower than anywhere else, this allows for Meermin to control his prices and offer something much lower than most, for a shoe that is hand grade and even more. Good business? I think so….." -TheShoeSnobBlog

Yeah, AE is a little devious about the Made in USA thing. I understand that only the Independence / Liberty whatnot is 100% US made and even their shell isn't.

Sadly, I'm out on Meermin because of the Chinese production. Too many other options from other countries.