Back in August I made a video where I showed some of my shoe collection. In that video I let you guys know that I didn’t currently own any black dress shoes. Well, apparently, this caught the attention of the folks over at Beckett Simonon. They reached out to me and sent over not just one pair, but two pairs of their amazing dress shoes for me to review. I’m so incredibly grateful to them for sending these over, so I wanted to talk about the brand, and of course the shoes themselves. Please keep in mind that this is not a sponsored post/video whatsoever and they have no control over my content.
Beckett Simonon is a made-to-order business model, which means the shoes are actually made-to-order. This helps eliminate the need for tons of inventory which in turn, helps keep their prices low. So what this means for you is, you’ll be getting a fresh pair of hand-made shoes from ethically responsible manufacturers with fair working practices using Eco-friendly materials at an incredibly low price.
The only trade-off is that you may have to wait a few weeks to receive your order, but you’re also getting amazing quality for arguably half of what the same shoe might cost at a department store. In a world of gotta-have-it-now, it’s really nice to see someone slow down a little to make a beautiful, quality, hand-made product. They also offer free returns and exchanges which is amazing because this is essentially a custom order.
Now on to the shoes themselves. First and foremost, they’re beautiful. They’re made using Blake stitch construction which means they’re re-soleable and a little more flexible than Goodyear welt construction. They’re less waterproof, but also less chunky around the sole because the stitching is actually inside the shoe. This allows for a slimmer and sleeker profile when viewed from above. They use full-grain calfskin leather for the upper and full grain leather linings for extra breathability. They also incorporate a really cool suede patch at the heel for more comfort and anti-slip. Nice touch. They also have durable leather soles and rubber heel caps for better traction.
I have the Dean Oxford in black, and the Valencia Whole-Cut in brown. The interesting thing about whole-cuts (or one cut) is that the leather has to be flawless because there’s nowhere to hide any imperfections since the entire upper is made with a single piece of full grain calfskin leather. These are both very comfortable and very true to size. I highly encourage you to give these a shot if you’re in the market for new shoes.
