Italokengissä pidän ongelmana hankalampaa laadunvarmennusta sekä ylipäätään käsitykseni on sellainen, että englantilaiset kengät tehdään kestävämmiksi (reunospohjaus, jämäkkyys ja paksuus sirouden sijaan).
On hieman väärin verrata englantilaista järeää popoa italialaiseen lipsuttimeen. Range Rover ja Ferrari ovat tarkoitettuja ihan erilaisiin hommiin. Järeä rakenne ei tarkoita laadukkuutta silloin kun käyttö ei vaadi järeyttä.
Tämä artikkeli antaa hieman osviittaa italo-valmistajien laadusta:
http://www.askandyaboutclothes.com/Tutorials/JCuseyOnShoes.htmItse raakkasin tuosta artikkelista seuraavat valmistajat, joiden tulkitsin tarjoavan vastinetta rahalle. Kengät on listattu karkeassa houkuttelevuusjärjestyksessä. Omistan Moreschia ja Fratelli Pelusoa. Olen ollut ihan tyytyväinen noiden laatuun.
Gravati -- One of my favorite Italian manufacturers, not because there aren't better producers out
there (there are) but because Gravati makes an excellent shoe for a reasonable price and because they
are almost infinitely flexible in what they can and will produce. Over the years, I have placed many,
many special orders for Gravati shoes, and they are always right and of remarkably consistent
quality. Their shoes are mostly Blake- and Blake/Rapid-constructed, but they will make Goodyearwelted
shoes on request.
Romano Martegani -- Martegani operates a very good Blake and Blake/Rapid factory, and they are
endlessly flexible. Gravati will almost never say no to a customer's cockamamie ideas for a shoe, but
they will say no sometimes. Martegani won't. These are good, not excellent, shoes offered for a
reasonable price. User Ron Rider, formerly the shoe manager at Franco's in Richmond, is now the
US distributer for Martegani.
· Moreschi -- Moreschi is yet another good maker of mid-range Blake-constructed shoes. Much of
what they sell is, ah, exuberant. Combinations of blue peccary with blue ostrich leg are to be found.
You don't have to buy those. The normal shoes are well-made and reasonably priced. Probably a
small step below Gravati in quality of construction, and much below Gravati in flexibility of
offerings and receptivity to special orders.
· Fratelli Peluso -- I have seen a number of different types of Peluso shoes. The first is a line of
Goodyear-welted shoes that look to be well-constructed and fairly-priced. From the website, it
appears that these shoes have a gemmed linen feather and are machine-welted just as most English
welted shoes. Given the price (under $500 per pair), this is to be expected. Peluso also makes a line
of Blake-constructed shoes and yet another line of Blake-constructed shoes sold under the "Peluso
for To Boot Adam Derrick" label. Both appear to be relatively well-constructed shoes offered for
reasonable prices.
· Borgioli -- Borgioli is a major producer of private-label shoes, some of which are made to execrable
standards of quality and which Borgioli would never want to claim. Hey, they need to survive. The
shoes produced under their own label are very good. Most are Blake-constructed. A few are
Norwegian-constructed, and they are excellent.
· Sutor Mantellassi -- I will admit that I have a soft spot in my heart for Sutor Mantellassi shoes. I
love the way that they do Norwegian construction (with a single row of stitching rather than the
flashier two braided rows favored by other makers) and their innovative use of skin stitching. Like
most Italian producers, Mantellassi has more than one line: a Blake-constructed line of good but not
outstanding quality and a Norwegian or Goodyear-constructed line that is of excellent quality.
· Santoni -- Santoni produces many, many different lines of shoes. The Nuvola shoes have natural
rubber soles and are decently-constructed and comfortable Blake shoes. The Classic line consists of
some Bologna, some Blake, and some Goodyear shoes. The new Bologna models, in particular, are
made on a very attractive round-toe last and are extremely flexible. The Fatte a Mano line consists of
some Blake and some Goodyear, Norwegian, or Bentivegna shoes. Many of the Fatte a Mano models
are, well, ugly, with overly-elongated, pointy, witch's-shoes-looking snouts; but when they're right,
they're very, very right. Regardless, while you can complain about the looks of the non-Blake Fatte a
Manos, you can't complain about the construction. It's excellent.
· Bonora -- Florentine bespoke maker that has branched into RTW. I don't know if these are factorymade
shoes of if they are made in Bonora's workshop. Given the prices, I suspect that the former is
more likely than the latter. The shoes themselves appear to be mostly Goodyear-welted and staid in
their styling.
· De Tommaso -- A specialist in handmade Goodyear, Norwegian, and Treccia shoes. See Ron Rider's
post below
Aihe: Italialaiset / Italialaistyyliset kengät (Luettu 16841 kertaa)