15 minutes of review should include a shot of the boots on the feet along with your impressions of the fit and shaft width, as this varies a lot from brand to brand. It's more useful for us than naming all the founding members of the company. Thanks for your content.
Hey Kirby, I would just like to correct the statement you made that a welted shoe can lasts six resoles until the end of its lifetime. Unlike Blake-stitched shoes where you are punching new holes into the uppers each time you resole, welted shoes do not get new holes punched into the uppers, only on the welt. The welt (as well as the insole) can be easily replaced by a skilled cobbler or shoemaker, even without the original lasts. Since it is done by hand, the welt gets stitched onto the uppers in the same holes that the previous welt had. The way welted shoes are built allows them to be resoled indefinitely until the uppers are ruined. And leather can last many decades as you know. Thanks for the review.
Old comment. As long as it is done by hand, rewelting doesn't harm the uppers. As I understand it Allen Edmonds when they rewelt they do it by machine, and every pair they recraft gets new welts. That sounds like a deal as your local cobbler will charge you quite a bit more for new welts but it's really not a deal when you figure you can only get a few recrafts out of the uppers like that.
Hey Jerry, you should be making these videos, not Kirby. You’re correct in everything you said. Also he doesn’t know what a whole cut boot looks like. The one he’s showing is a 2 piece. The join is visible below the elastic sides.
Love the detailed review of this shoe. So much information. I understood about 90% of it so I have to rewatch to catch the rest. BTW as a professional photographer and videographer I’d love to see you use soft light rather than hard light. The hard light doesn’t suit the class and quality of the channel. You should put a soft box on your light and soften it up to make the most of your skin tones and that night blue and wood environment.
@@20alphabet been interested and def checking them out, however I think their aesthetic isn't so much geared towards a dress boot like carmina is. To me they're more of a casual styled chelsea, but that's my personal take on them. That being said, I am very curious about their yearling leather comfort.
My grandfather has had shoes for over 60 years. The shoes for his weddings. Resoled about 4 times I believe. Amazing and sad its no longer used in the main stream.
This was a good review of these boots. I have two pairs of these and can attest to everything Kirby said. These are high quality pair. Yes they are narrow but man do they look amazing. A total joy to wear. By the way Richard at the Carmina store in NYC is a great guy
I bought some crockett and Jones Chelsea boots from a charity shop for £6. I would not normally buy second hand shoes, but I could not pass these up. They are in amazing condition, so no repairs was needed. 😊
I'm pro the "what I'm wearing today" ending. Since gentlemen basically have an infinite numbers of combinations they can wear, it's cool to see what products you're wearing, where they can be acquired and combined to make a unique outfit.
Fit and comfort are really subjective. These reviews focus on construction, quality, and style. We send all these back to the manufacturers once we are finished. It would be impossible to wear all of these.
iainc10 promoting Carmina Shoemaker is like promoting clean air and sunshine - this is a public service. You don’t have to be so cynical. You can be. But in this case, you don’t need to be. His “promotion” of Saphir products is similar, these are widely recognized to be superior, you just have to try them to know.
Exactly the case about sizing. I wear Allen Edmonds in 9 and walked out with a pair of black captoe oxfords in 8.5 UK in the Forest last from the NY boutique. My left foot is slightly bigger than my right foot so the gentleman even glued a leather spacer in the left shoe for me! I almost got a Chelsea instead of the oxfords!
Not if it's just a sponsored video like this and doesn't cover their actual comfort at all. They're well made and finished boots but you don't realise just how good they are until you actually put them on.
Hi Kirby i just bought the trafalgar boot cheany lace up. Very beautiful , it arrives in 2-3 weeks. But i felt in love with Chelsea boots and specially in Carmina boots . Thinking in forest Chelsea, are they confortable??? I think most beauty of the shoe more pain... thanks in advance. Anyone who own a pair of this boots feel free to tell me your opinion
Would you ever review White's boots? They are on the more casual side but they have a line called 'Main Street' semi dressy boots made out of French calf.
Great video Kirby! I had the chance this week to be at Carmina’s Madrid store and get a couple of Pairs, amazing shoes and service! they were so kind and supportive during the fitting process. I’d like some videos from you talking about the diferente lasts that Crockett and jones and Carmina have.
Wanted to ask a question unrelated to this video: Saw a pair of shoes that I passed on because there appeared to be edge dressing that made it on to the upper of the shoe. I've read everywhere that the edge dressing is a dye and that there's no way to remove it. Is this true? Would renomat not take care of this? Cheers!
So I have a dillema with Chelsea boots. Everybody highlights the fact, that the boots are very comfortable. Maybe its just me, and I only had 2 pairs of medium price Chelseas, but they never stood out to me as comfortable. Stylish, beautiful - yes. But after wearing them for about 2 hours - my feet (mainly my pinky toe) was in agony. The elastic bands never make the boot hug my feet as do laces on other boots and this cause my feet to some what slide to the front in the shoe and bash my toes. So I wanted to ask the community, do you come to the same problem? Am I just unlucky in finding a perfect fit?
I have a question about the Video. Could you please explain the difference between "360º Bench Welted" from Allen Edmonds and "Goodyear welted"? Thank you for your beautifully made and very informative Videos.
They are both goodyear welts. AE uses 360 degree because it's easier and cheaper. As mentioned in the video, if you do 360 degree welting, then the heel doesn't sit as well as there is extra material that lifts it up. Some higher quality shoes and the one here do not welt the heel. Goodyear is goodyear, don't be fooled by the names :) (however pay attention to the methods used, hence your question is a good one!)
Carmina shoes are too narrow. I went into their Mallorca shop and I could not get my foot into any of their shoes. If this last is narrow, I cannot imagine how anyone could fit into it. This is unfortunate as their shoes are beautifully finished. I think the best Chelsea boots are RM Williams. The quality is brilliant and their lasts have narrow waists.
Hi Kirby I love your video's! Can you do a review on a pair of Carmina suede Chelsea boots with Rain or Simpson last? I find shoes and boots can look totally different even when they are the same style when choosing suede over calf leather or vice versa.
Perhaps, the info is still helpful and interesting. A smart consumer would see information from multiple sources before pulling the trigger. There are other channels that do try on, 1yr, 2yr review updates, cut in half, re-crafting. It's on the consumer to research, try, and experiment. Only now do more people have more exposure to brands thanks to content creators. 6 yrs ago, one had to be aware of blogs and Reddit and other niche forums and word of mouth (all great resources). So, if content creators are sponsored and get a kick back, I don't see the problem. Not everyone can buy products out of pocket to review for the masses for free. If one got a lame product based on 1 reviewer the final decision is still on the consumer. If there is some other format that you'd like to see from a trusted content creator, comment or reach out to them. If it helps their channel, it helps their pocket. At the end of the day it's all data. It's on the consumer to determine if the data provides useful information to their purchasing decisions.
@@pattgsm thanks pattgsm, I'm very much aware of the pluses and minuses. I tend to visit this site for reviews; not advertising. I do appreciate the advertising but; not as much as the reviews. Thanks for the feedback; very much appreciated..
What you’ve got there is not a whole cut boot. The 2 pieces are joined below the elastic sides. Check out the R.M. Williams if you want to see what a REAL whole cut boot looks like.
Probably my most unpopular opinion. But I think that Carmina occupies the worst priced position in the shoe market at $400-500 it's too crowded of a market. Allen Edmonds, Cobbler Union, Carlos Santos, etc. already occupy this range. I think Carmina should move to the $600 range improving on quality. Though I'd still save up for a Vass shoe. Just my two cents.
Brad Le I agree about the $400-$500 market being too crowded but Allen Edmonds go on sale so often that I don’t consider them $400-$500 and more like $250-$400 (with some exceptions).
Sadly though, Carmina has serious quality control issues. I ordered from them twice and found out, that the skin used in the making, had scarves and scratches. Something unacceptable in a 400$ shoe. I wouldn’t mention it, if the customer care would have been great, but it wasn’t. Look up the styleforum and see how many customers still have this kind of issu. I wouldn’t recommend buying of them.
I own three pairs of Carmina shoes and I couldn't disagree with any more.. Now it's been bought through retailers so no direct communication with Carmina themselves, but its absolutely exceptional quality for price, compared to for example Crocket and jones. Any scuffs and scratches are a part of owning leather shoes can just be polished over without any issues, and is absolutely not uncommon to find when bringing home new shoes, even in higher price ranges like Edward Green og St. Crispin. Its usually because of customers trying them on and not the state of how they're sent from the factory.
RMs are nice but nowhere near as dressy, also recent products have begun to slip in quality here and there since the takeover by LVMH. I currently own 2 pairs and nice as they are, they are no dress boot.
15 minutes of review should include a shot of the boots on the feet along with your impressions of the fit and shaft width, as this varies a lot from brand to brand. It's more useful for us than naming all the founding members of the company. Thanks for your content.
This clown makes these videos to sell himself. Everything else is secondary.
Hey Kirby, I would just like to correct the statement you made that a welted shoe can lasts six resoles until the end of its lifetime. Unlike Blake-stitched shoes where you are punching new holes into the uppers each time you resole, welted shoes do not get new holes punched into the uppers, only on the welt. The welt (as well as the insole) can be easily replaced by a skilled cobbler or shoemaker, even without the original lasts. Since it is done by hand, the welt gets stitched onto the uppers in the same holes that the previous welt had. The way welted shoes are built allows them to be resoled indefinitely until the uppers are ruined. And leather can last many decades as you know. Thanks for the review.
Great information! Thanks.
Great added info
GREAT INFO. THANKS .
Old comment. As long as it is done by hand, rewelting doesn't harm the uppers. As I understand it Allen Edmonds when they rewelt they do it by machine, and every pair they recraft gets new welts. That sounds like a deal as your local cobbler will charge you quite a bit more for new welts but it's really not a deal when you figure you can only get a few recrafts out of the uppers like that.
Hey Jerry, you should be making these videos, not Kirby. You’re correct in everything you said.
Also he doesn’t know what a whole cut boot looks like.
The one he’s showing is a 2 piece. The join is visible below the elastic sides.
I'd love to see you putting them on Kirby, also in any upcoming shoe review so that we could get a better idea of how the shoes really look
+1
(Much like sneakerheads do when they review shoes)
Love the detailed review of this shoe. So much information. I understood about 90% of it so I have to rewatch to catch the rest.
BTW as a professional photographer and videographer I’d love to see you use soft light rather than hard light. The hard light doesn’t suit the class and quality of the channel. You should put a soft box on your light and soften it up to make the most of your skin tones and that night blue and wood environment.
Michael Ryan wonderful comment I second what Michael said
My children got them for me for Father’s Day. Beautiful beautiful boots.
I have a pair of Carmina
Chelsea boots in the Inca last and love them. Hands down the best boot I’ve ever owned
RM Williams is by far the best.
20alphabet have never had a pair of them so I can’t compare.
@@TheShoeEnthusiast
Get a pair! You won'tregret it!
20alphabet definitely on my list!
@@20alphabet been interested and def checking them out, however I think their aesthetic isn't so much geared towards a dress boot like carmina is. To me they're more of a casual styled chelsea, but that's my personal take on them. That being said, I am very curious about their yearling leather comfort.
My grandfather has had shoes for over 60 years. The shoes for his weddings. Resoled about 4 times I believe. Amazing and sad its no longer used in the main stream.
I always go for Australian RM Williams boots.
He should review some RMs
Good advice. I have 8 pairs. Very comfortable and true whole cut boots, unlike the one he claims is a whole cut.
This was a good review of these boots. I have two pairs of these and can attest to everything Kirby said. These are high quality pair. Yes they are narrow but man do they look amazing. A total joy to wear. By the way Richard at the Carmina store in NYC is a great guy
Do you enjoy walking or suffer?? Are they comfortable or you thank god when take off at home??
This dude really loves his shoes!
You should do a review on a pair of RM Williams
I bought some crockett and Jones Chelsea boots from a charity shop for £6. I would not normally buy second hand shoes, but I could not pass these up. They are in amazing condition, so no repairs was needed. 😊
Kirby, you could sell snow to an Eskimo. ❄️
I'm pro the "what I'm wearing today" ending. Since gentlemen basically have an infinite numbers of combinations they can wear, it's cool to see what products you're wearing, where they can be acquired and combined to make a unique outfit.
you mentioned "whole cut", I was under the assumption that implied that it would not have a lateral seam below the elastic ( single panel)?
Great video. I would like to suggest you produce a similar video for the John Lobb ‘Lawry’ leather sole Chelsea boot.
I love how he reviews a pair of shoes without even wearing them and telling us how they feel...
Fit and comfort are really subjective. These reviews focus on construction, quality, and style. We send all these back to the manufacturers once we are finished. It would be impossible to wear all of these.
Kirby Allison Do you receive payment from the manufacturer for publishing this review?
@@iainc10 if I recall correctly, no he does not and does not keep the shoes
iainc10 promoting Carmina Shoemaker is like promoting clean air and sunshine - this is a public service. You don’t have to be so cynical. You can be. But in this case, you don’t need to be. His “promotion” of Saphir products is similar, these are widely recognized to be superior, you just have to try them to know.
Exactly the case about sizing. I wear Allen Edmonds in 9 and walked out with a pair of black captoe oxfords in 8.5 UK in the Forest last from the NY boutique. My left foot is slightly bigger than my right foot so the gentleman even glued a leather spacer in the left shoe for me! I almost got a Chelsea instead of the oxfords!
Would love your take on some of R.M. Williams Chelsea Boots!
Not if it's just a sponsored video like this and doesn't cover their actual comfort at all. They're well made and finished boots but you don't realise just how good they are until you actually put them on.
Hi Kirby i just bought the trafalgar boot cheany lace up. Very beautiful , it arrives in 2-3 weeks. But i felt in love with Chelsea boots and specially in Carmina boots . Thinking in forest Chelsea, are they confortable??? I think most beauty of the shoe more pain... thanks in advance. Anyone who own a pair of this boots feel free to tell me your opinion
Would you ever review White's boots? They are on the more casual side but they have a line called 'Main Street' semi dressy boots made out of French calf.
Can you do a shoe care video for Chelsea boots? There aren't any that I can find from such great channels like yours or the elegant Oxford.
Great video Kirby! I had the chance this week to be at Carmina’s Madrid store and get a couple of
Pairs, amazing shoes and service! they were so kind and supportive during the fitting process. I’d like some videos from you talking about the diferente lasts that Crockett and jones and Carmina have.
these are fire
Gold medal 4 those boots❗thanks Kirby 🙏🏻
Beautiful pair with correct chelsea silhouette
Would you reccommend this boot over a Ferragamo boot? Basically is Carmina a better quality product than Ferragamo?
Wanted to ask a question unrelated to this video: Saw a pair of shoes that I passed on because there appeared to be edge dressing that made it on to the upper of the shoe. I've read everywhere that the edge dressing is a dye and that there's no way to remove it. Is this true? Would renomat not take care of this?
Cheers!
Love Carmina! Unrelated question: where did the ‘burgundy’ standard originate for shell cordovan footwear?
Trey Huie good question 👍🏻
So I have a dillema with Chelsea boots. Everybody highlights the fact, that the boots are very comfortable. Maybe its just me, and I only had 2 pairs of medium price Chelseas, but they never stood out to me as comfortable. Stylish, beautiful - yes. But after wearing them for about 2 hours - my feet (mainly my pinky toe) was in agony. The elastic bands never make the boot hug my feet as do laces on other boots and this cause my feet to some what slide to the front in the shoe and bash my toes. So I wanted to ask the community, do you come to the same problem? Am I just unlucky in finding a perfect fit?
I bought an "inexpensive" Ted Baker pair, my skin on my achilles are always chaffing, quite annoying
Try R.M.Williams boots.
Hey Kirby, THESE are the chelsea boots that I want. Which Last would you say goes best with the Chelsea, in your opinion?
Would you use neutral polish on these to preserve the museum finish or would a brown saphir polish be fine?
I have a question about the Video.
Could you please explain the difference between "360º Bench Welted" from Allen Edmonds and "Goodyear welted"?
Thank you for your beautifully made and very informative Videos.
They are both goodyear welts. AE uses 360 degree because it's easier and cheaper. As mentioned in the video, if you do 360 degree welting, then the heel doesn't sit as well as there is extra material that lifts it up. Some higher quality shoes and the one here do not welt the heel. Goodyear is goodyear, don't be fooled by the names :) (however pay attention to the methods used, hence your question is a good one!)
@@zewill87 Thank you for the explanation
Carmina shoes are too narrow. I went into their Mallorca shop and I could not get my foot into any of their shoes. If this last is narrow, I cannot imagine how anyone could fit into it. This is unfortunate as their shoes are beautifully finished.
I think the best Chelsea boots are RM Williams. The quality is brilliant and their lasts have narrow waists.
This is not a review. It's a commercial!
Hi Kirby, I have this exact chelsea, which color of Saphir creme polish do you recommend I should use? Thanks
Hi Kirby I love your video's! Can you do a review on a pair of Carmina suede Chelsea boots with Rain or Simpson last? I find shoes and boots can look totally different even when they are the same style when choosing suede over calf leather or vice versa.
Yeah, this is a Carmina advertisement thinly disguised as a Carmina review.
Perhaps, the info is still helpful and interesting. A smart consumer would see information from multiple sources before pulling the trigger. There are other channels that do try on, 1yr, 2yr review updates, cut in half, re-crafting. It's on the consumer to research, try, and experiment. Only now do more people have more exposure to brands thanks to content creators. 6 yrs ago, one had to be aware of blogs and Reddit and other niche forums and word of mouth (all great resources). So, if content creators are sponsored and get a kick back, I don't see the problem. Not everyone can buy products out of pocket to review for the masses for free. If one got a lame product based on 1 reviewer the final decision is still on the consumer. If there is some other format that you'd like to see from a trusted content creator, comment or reach out to them. If it helps their channel, it helps their pocket. At the end of the day it's all data. It's on the consumer to determine if the data provides useful information to their purchasing decisions.
@@pattgsm thanks pattgsm, I'm very much aware of the pluses and minuses. I tend to visit this site for reviews; not advertising. I do appreciate the advertising but; not as much as the reviews. Thanks for the feedback; very much appreciated..
Is there also a way to get the elastic bands replaced? Thank you in advance!
What you’ve got there is not a whole cut boot. The 2 pieces are joined below the elastic sides.
Check out the R.M. Williams if you want to see what a REAL whole cut boot looks like.
Kirby - What are your thoughts on Wolf and Shepherd shoes?
Does carmina use cork at all in their chelseas?
Why does Kirby refer to all shoes that aren’t bespoke as ‘factory made’? Aren’t bespoke shoes made in a factory?
@@MindbodyMedic I thought that was a rhetorical question.
Most bespoke are workshop made.
Can they be until the knee or mid calf?
Probably my most unpopular opinion. But I think that Carmina occupies the worst priced position in the shoe market at $400-500 it's too crowded of a market. Allen Edmonds, Cobbler Union, Carlos Santos, etc. already occupy this range. I think Carmina should move to the $600 range improving on quality. Though I'd still save up for a Vass shoe. Just my two cents.
Brad Le I agree about the $400-$500 market being too crowded but Allen Edmonds go on sale so often that I don’t consider them $400-$500 and more like $250-$400 (with some exceptions).
Thanks!
This brown suit looks amazing !
Very underrated suit colour, lovely cut and shape to Kirbys jacket 👏
What is “sovereign grade?”
John Auer It’s Kirby’s brand.
:/ felt I watched a 15 min add
T M That’s because you did.
Give me a thumbs up if you'd like to see Kirby Allison rock some Chelsea boots with a suit...
Молодец, а нас кризис, денег нет.
RM Williams is by far superior.
#first Yet another great video, Kirby.
Sadly though, Carmina has serious quality control issues. I ordered from them twice and found out, that the skin used in the making, had scarves and scratches. Something unacceptable in a 400$ shoe. I wouldn’t mention it, if the customer care would have been great, but it wasn’t.
Look up the styleforum and see how many customers still have this kind of issu. I wouldn’t recommend buying of them.
I own three pairs of Carmina shoes and I couldn't disagree with any more.. Now it's been bought through retailers so no direct communication with Carmina themselves, but its absolutely exceptional quality for price, compared to for example Crocket and jones.
Any scuffs and scratches are a part of owning leather shoes can just be polished over without any issues, and is absolutely not uncommon to find when bringing home new shoes, even in higher price ranges like Edward Green og St. Crispin. Its usually because of customers trying them on and not the state of how they're sent from the factory.
why not showing waring em lol wtf . . .
Do your self a favour buy your self a pair of RM Williams, the top is one piece of leather not three stitched together and can be rebuilt for ever. 🇦🇺
RMs are nice but nowhere near as dressy, also recent products have begun to slip in quality here and there since the takeover by LVMH. I currently own 2 pairs and nice as they are, they are no dress boot.
Chris B worst shoes sub par leather terrible shape and terrible execution sums up R M Williams
great shoe maker, but I hate chelsea boots
Salam qiymati
Noooo,carmina not good shoes,John Lobb is best shoes in the world😊👍
And John Lobb costs 2-3 times as much. Carmina is the best value for price (along with J.Fitzpatrick).
@@YacDiesel how much?
Алексей Иванов Carmina or J.Fitzpatrick?
@@YacDiesel Carmina
RM Williams is better.
I'm definitely not knocking you or Carmina. But Chelsea boots, that big wodge of elastic is too ugly.
If you want to wear a pair of boots that are gonna last get you a pair of men’s boots like redwings. Stop wearing these girly sissy looking boots.
I guess people going to wear red wings to their Job at Merrill Lynch? 🤔