Bishop of Briggs wrote:

The Parisian Gentleman has had a bad experience - http://parisiangentleman.co.uk/2011/12/ … -berlutis/


"Yet again, I continue to very much respect Berluti’s work and its impact in the appreciation of masculine shoe. But frankly, such an obvious drop in quality and reliability is simply incomprehensible."

IIRC, they are now made in China...

Berluti makes Patinas of great beauty, NOT shoes of great quality.  Even the patinas are best enjoyed on a canvas, rather than on a pair of shoes, as the finish is made with shoe polishes & is thus NOT durable at all.

Bishop of Briggs wrote:

isshinryu101 wrote:

Bishop of Briggs wrote:

The Parisian Gentleman has had a bad experience - http://parisiangentleman.co.uk/2011/12/ … -berlutis/


"Yet again, I continue to very much respect Berluti’s work and its impact in the appreciation of masculine shoe. But frankly, such an obvious drop in quality and reliability is simply incomprehensible."

IIRC, they are now made in China...

Berluti makes Patinas of great beauty, NOT shoes of great quality.  Even the patinas are best enjoyed on a canvas, rather than on a pair of shoes, as the finish is made with shoe polishes & is thus NOT durable at all.

Nonsense. Berluti sells shoes not paintings! They should not let in rainwater.

What?  Didn't I just say that their shoes are for show, & not for wearing?  That's not exactly a compliment for a shoemaker.

Bishop of Briggs wrote:

isshinryu101 wrote:

Bishop of Briggs wrote:

The Parisian Gentleman has had a bad experience - http://parisiangentleman.co.uk/2011/12/ … -berlutis/


"Yet again, I continue to very much respect Berluti’s work and its impact in the appreciation of masculine shoe. But frankly, such an obvious drop in quality and reliability is simply incomprehensible."

IIRC, they are now made in China...

Berluti makes Patinas of great beauty, NOT shoes of great quality.  Even the patinas are best enjoyed on a canvas, rather than on a pair of shoes, as the finish is made with shoe polishes & is thus NOT durable at all.

Nonsense. Berluti sells shoes not paintings! They should not let in rainwater.

You're unhinged because shoes get wet in the rain?  Where does it say that well-made shoes don't get wet in the rain?

Last edited by Marc Grayson (2012-01-03 21:13:04)

Says a lot for Blake stitching vs Goodyear or Norvegese etc.

meister wrote:

Says a lot for Blake stitching vs Goodyear or Norvegese etc.

Blake is not a hard working shoe, it is only a shoe for easy times. A shoe to wear mainly indoors or outside in nice weather when walking is kept to a minimum, that's why most blake shoes are single soled...nice and delicate and easy on the feet. Berluti is a shoe to only wear occasionally...it's not built to take a big work load. The hard workers are the welted shoes and blake-rapid shoes and norvegese etc.

l would love to own some Berluti rtw, but they are far too expensive for a shoe i'd only wanna wear once or twice a year.

Last edited by The_Shooman (2012-01-04 00:50:27)

Marc Grayson wrote:

Bishop of Briggs wrote:

isshinryu101 wrote:

Berluti makes Patinas of great beauty, NOT shoes of great quality.  Even the patinas are best enjoyed on a canvas, rather than on a pair of shoes, as the finish is made with shoe polishes & is thus NOT durable at all.

Nonsense. Berluti sells shoes not paintings! They should not let in rainwater.

You're unhinged because shoes get wet in the rain?  Where does it say that well-made shoes don't get wet in the rain?

Unhinged? I did not say that they should not get wet, just that they should not let water in.

Bishop of Briggs wrote:

The Parisian Gentleman has had a bad experience - http://parisiangentleman.co.uk/2011/12/ … -berlutis/


"an unquestionable drop in the general product quality despite a dramatic price increase.

In the last few years, this double and worrisome turn has been compounded by a problem that tends to worsen and that all Berluti owners have sadly experienced at some point. The shoes are extremely fragile and, most importantly, tend to take in water under the slightest rain (I am not talking about downpours, but a slightly damp ground).

Recently, friends told me that they had adapted a widespread French saying to reflect the water vs. Berluti paradigm. As soon as the weather lets the slightest spit, they say that “this is no weather to go out in your Berlutis”.

Having myself had to deal with the horrendous feeling of soaking my feet in 1,500 euros shoes, I wonder what explains Berluti’s lack of action to resolve a recurrent problem that is causing a number of amateurs (including some that are deeply attached to the label) to find dry ground somewhere else."

The saddest in this is the spineless explanation provided by shop salesmen (including on Saint-Germain). They explain, with great aplomb, that this is due to the exceptional quality of untreated leather before the customized patina. This is not a waterproof explanation by any stretch of the imagination for a problem probably brought on by the Blake assembly and that has nothing to do with leather…

Yet again, I continue to very much respect Berluti’s work and its impact in the appreciation of masculine shoe. But frankly, such an obvious drop in quality and reliability is simply incomprehensible."

IIRC, they are now made in China...

What? Berlutis made in China?

Sal wrote:

The problems I have with Berluti (which are defects not common in other shoes) are that (i)water causes the upper surface to wrinkle and (ii) the patina is not permanent and wears away when the shoes are cleaned and polished.

I think these shoes are not supposed to be polished but returned to the vendor for refinishing after 6 wearings. I suppose that could be every 3 years ( if you are Shooey).

http://www.permanentstyle.co.uk/2010/08 … rluti.html

Marc Grayson wrote:

Bishop of Briggs wrote:

isshinryu101 wrote:

Berluti makes Patinas of great beauty, NOT shoes of great quality.  Even the patinas are best enjoyed on a canvas, rather than on a pair of shoes, as the finish is made with shoe polishes & is thus NOT durable at all.

Nonsense. Berluti sells shoes not paintings! They should not let in rainwater.

You're unhinged because shoes get wet in the rain?  Where does it say that well-made shoes don't get wet in the rain?

For the $2k US price tag, blake stitched is totally unacceptable.  Not so much an issue of whether they can stand a rainstorm, but the point is that if they can't handle stepping in a single puddle for a second, they will not last.  Good shoes get better with age, and some may argue that the 1 decade mark is when they start to really get nice.  Berluti's ALSO seem to use thinner & less durable leather... thus the major vamp creasing I see in relatively new models.

Bishop of Briggs wrote:

Ali Kebab wrote:

Bishop of Briggs wrote:

The Parisian Gentleman has had a bad experience - http://parisiangentleman.co.uk/2011/12/ … -berlutis/


"an unquestionable drop in the general product quality despite a dramatic price increase.

In the last few years, this double and worrisome turn has been compounded by a problem that tends to worsen and that all Berluti owners have sadly experienced at some point. The shoes are extremely fragile and, most importantly, tend to take in water under the slightest rain (I am not talking about downpours, but a slightly damp ground).

Recently, friends told me that they had adapted a widespread French saying to reflect the water vs. Berluti paradigm. As soon as the weather lets the slightest spit, they say that “this is no weather to go out in your Berlutis”.

Having myself had to deal with the horrendous feeling of soaking my feet in 1,500 euros shoes, I wonder what explains Berluti’s lack of action to resolve a recurrent problem that is causing a number of amateurs (including some that are deeply attached to the label) to find dry ground somewhere else."

The saddest in this is the spineless explanation provided by shop salesmen (including on Saint-Germain). They explain, with great aplomb, that this is due to the exceptional quality of untreated leather before the customized patina. This is not a waterproof explanation by any stretch of the imagination for a problem probably brought on by the Blake assembly and that has nothing to do with leather…

Yet again, I continue to very much respect Berluti’s work and its impact in the appreciation of masculine shoe. But frankly, such an obvious drop in quality and reliability is simply incomprehensible."

IIRC, they are now made in China...

What? Berlutis made in China?

I believe that they are made in China and finished in Italy (including the patina). The latter allows them to keep the "made in Italy" tag. Other expensive brands, e.g. Canali, use the same trick.

http://www.lvmh.com/the-group/lvmh-comp … ds/berluti

LVMH owns Berluti.  They HAD made their shoes in a factory in Italy.  I have not heard of the switch to China.  I HOPE this is not true.

isshinryu101 wrote:

Marc Grayson wrote:

Bishop of Briggs wrote:

Nonsense. Berluti sells shoes not paintings! They should not let in rainwater.

You're unhinged because shoes get wet in the rain?  Where does it say that well-made shoes don't get wet in the rain?

For the $2k US price tag, blake stitched is totally unacceptable.  Not so much an issue of whether they can stand a rainstorm, but the point is that if they can't handle stepping in a single puddle for a second, they will not last.  Good shoes get better with age, and some may argue that the 1 decade mark is when they start to really get nice.  Berluti's ALSO seem to use thinner & less durable leather... thus the major vamp creasing I see in relatively new models.

The rtw Artioli shoes in Oz are blake stitched and some pairs are $2,800 ASD (about $3,000 U.S).

Bishop of Briggs wrote:

Marc Grayson wrote:

Bishop of Briggs wrote:

Nonsense. Berluti sells shoes not paintings! They should not let in rainwater.

You're unhinged because shoes get wet in the rain?  Where does it say that well-made shoes don't get wet in the rain?

Unhinged? I did not say that they should not get wet, just that they should not let water in.

Note to self: Don't wear expensive shoes in the rain.