UPDATE: These shoes are in! Check out my review here!
EDIT: Now, take 20% off your order with our exclusive promo code PRAKTICALA20!
Beckett Simonon must be doing something right because their business is really starting to take off: recently, they announced yet another line of “premium” shoes that are being funded initially through Kickstarter. So what about the shoes that I already have? What are they, chopped liver??
Though I’m not 100% sure about what makes the upcoming line more “premium” than the Beckett Simonon shoes I’ve reviewed in the past, I do know that they’ve added a ton of new styles and colors, most notably burgundy (which you need to wear more often) and pebbled brown. The assortment of styles include monk straps (cool), loafers WITH TASSELS (FAHncy), brogues (can’t beat ‘em), and chukkas.
As you can see, the lineup includes “core” styles that any gentleman should have!
The Kickstarter page goes into all kinds of detail about the construction of the new shoes: the leather (still full-grain) is described as 1.5mm and vegetable-tanned (which as far as I know is already true of the existing models’ leather); the cork footbed and latex foam layer might be new – I don’t remember seeing anything about that before (even though cork is already standard for Goodyear welted shoes in general). The full leather interior is nice (and appears to be fancily decorated). It seems that they have settled the lighter, more flexible (and less expensive) Blake stitch over the heavier-duty Goodyear welt, which I suppose is an acceptable trade-off. Some nifty diagrams are provided, including a cool cutaway picture of a shoe sliced down the middle.
The Kickstarter page also describes Beckett Simonon’s progressive business model, in which they cut down on costs through vertical integration – participating in multiple stages of the supply chain. The shoes are made in Colombia, in a family-owned factory where laborers work under fair conditions, and particular care is given to the eco-friendliness and sustainability of production. Once complete, the shoes are then sold directly to consumers, rather than through middlemen that pad the selling price with a hefty markup.
So far, we’ve been pleased with their shoes – I wore the Caine Oxfords to my wedding, and the Cohen loafers from the new line of shoes that we reviewed recently made some notable strides forward in quality. While the value is definitely hard to beat as it is, there is always room for more improvement – the leather on my shoes seems slightly thin and more prone to creasing than I would like, and the overall fit and finish could still use some more polish. Hopefully the new shoes, scheduled to be delivered in February, address some of those issues. I also look forward to seeing whether the updated construction offers more comfort (supposedly without the need for “break-in”) as promised.
Impressively, Beckett Simonon has already crushed their fundraising goal of $15,000. But you can still contribute to get your pair (or pairs) of premium shoes come February – pledging as low as $175 gets you a premium pair. In particular, we’d like to grab the black and burgundy pairs of brogues – they look cooool.
In fact, the fundraiser has done so well that Beckett Simonon threw in some “luxury sneakers,” which you can get for pledging as low as $129. I’m not sure how badly I need $129 sneakers, but hey if it rocks your boat, then go for it.
You have less than 2 weeks left to get in on this Kickstarter, so check it out ASAP! Go here to learn more, and to contribute if you want to get your paws on a pair.
If you want to read our reviews of Beckett Simonon’s other shoes, you can read our review of the Caine Oxford cap-toes here, and the review for the Cohen loafers here.
EDIT: Now, take 20% off your order with our exclusive promo code PRAKTICALA20!
UPDATE (04/14/2016): My review for the new premium shoes is in! Check out my Beckett Simonon premium oxford brogue review here!
As always, we’d love to hear from you if you have experience with Beckett Simonon’s shoes. Drop us line if you have any comments!