Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette in our series is it worth it?
Today, we discuss Tod’s driving mocs and if they're worth $495 or not.
For more videos of our Is it worth it? series about iconic menswear items, please take a
look here.
First, let me talk about the history of Tod’s, then about the features of the shoes, the
pros and cons, and last but not least, if I think they're worth it or not.
What is today known as Tod's was founded in Italy in the 1920s by Filippo Della Valle
as a small shoemaking factory.
By the 1950s and 60s, they mostly produced private label shoes for brands including Saks
Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman in the US.
It remained a small family-owned business until the founder's grandson, Diego Della
Valle took over, this was in the 70s and Diego had gone to New York and saw a shoe that he
really liked.
It was a moccasin style construction shoe with rubber pebble nub sole.
The leather wasn't that high quality so he decided to bring it back to Italy, refine
the design, and make it part of their shoe line.
It quickly became their signature model, Il Gommino.
Shortly after the shoe was in production, Diego Della Valle smartly gifted a pair to
Gianni Agnelli which was recognized as a style icon; he liked the shoe and he wore it on
TV which really boosted the sales.
In 1984, Diego Della Valle decided to change the name to make it more anglo-american sounding
and so it became JP Tod's.
The company once again changed their name to just Tod's, dropping the JP in 1997.
In the 80s and 90s, Tod's is particularly getting a reputation for casual driving mocs,
it was their shoe.
Iconic superstar such as Princess Diana helped propelling the brand forward by wearing Tod's
shoes.
Today, unlike many other luxury brands, Tod's owns and maintains all of their manufacturing
facilities that enabled them to withstand going offshore to lower production countries
and it's their way of keeping up the parent promise of made in Italy and quality.
If you look at it from a brand name perspective, they did an excellent job.
The Tod's umbrella includes brands like Hogan, Fay, or Roger Vivier.
Of course, all of their companies produce more than 2 million pairs of shoes a year
and they actually grew throughout the last recession in 2009.
Today, it's a billion dollar company.
Now enough said about Tod's the company, let's take a closer look at the shoe.
The model we have here it's called Laccetto Gommini and it retails for $495 in the US.
It is of course made in Italy but other than the fact that it has some laces, leathers,
and rubber nub sole, there's really not much more information on their website.
Considering, it's almost $500 expensive, I find that quite disappointing personally,
because they don't say anything about the construction really, about the leather that's
used, whether it's cowhide or calf hide, and as a consumer who's educated, I would like
to know that information.
So what about the shoe?
From the outside, it is not a true 100% moccasin construction and you can learn more about
what constitutes a true moccasin in this video here we also talk about driving mocs in general
so it's a good additional video to watch if you watch this one.
The shoe has the characteristic rubber pebble nubs that allow the shoe the same flexibility
as it would be with an all leather sole.
At the same time, it lasts longer than a just leather sole moccasin.
Of course, the lifespan is still shorter compared to a regular men's dress shoe with a leather
sole or rubber sole.
It's a very unstructured shoe, it has no heel cap and no toe cap and is thus very comfortable
to wear.
You can see it's made for driving because the rubber pebbles go up all the way to the
heel because when you drive, that's where you need the grip.
Because $495 is quite a bit of money for just a driving shoe, a lot of men also wear them
as casual shoes, especially during the summer.
The problem is without the structured heel cap and toe cap, they're not ideal for walking.
They get bigger and the leather sole wears out a lot faster.
In my experience, a driving moc with rubber pebble nubs will wear usually within one or
two seasons and then it can't be repaired.
Of course, you might think of adding maybe a rubber sole but then you end up more with
something like a boat shoe and you could buy that from the get-go for a lot less money
than this driving moc.
The one we ordered comes in a nice blue and I think it's made of a shrunken calf leather
or cowhide, again, nothing's mentioned on the website but if you take a closer look,
you can see it has somewhat of a scotch grain texture but it's not achieved by embossing
it but simply by shrinking the leather.
I find it's quite nice and it's also a little more durable than suede leather which is also
something they offer.
I used to have one in red in the past.
The moc seam in the front of the shoe is supposedly done by hand, whenever you do that, taking
the leather and sewing it into something three-dimensional, you getv vertical lines.
Because here we have a shrunken leather, you see even more pronounced lines that are vertical.
The shoe is also leather lined seemingly with an undyed leather that doesn't color off especially
when ypu wear it bare feet during the summer.
It's really nothing special on the inside and for the price, I would have hoped for
a bit more contrast or something interesting.
The insole is covered with one piece of leather lining and underneath, you can find a rubber
wedge that is a little more cushy and more comfortable to stand in them.
At the same time, it's not made all of leather like the most high-quality men's dress shoes,
for example.
In terms of sizing, I usually wear a size 11 US or 10.5 UK in a medium width last.
For the Tod's, I had to size down and go with a 10 so keep in mind it's a large shoe and
it's one that will stretch out over time so you always want to go rather with a more snugly
fitting shoe than with something that is too wide.
Each pair of Tod's mocs is made out of 35 pieces in a hundred steps and while that sounds
like a lot, if you compare to a Goodyear welted or Blake stitched men's dress shoe, that is
actually quite little because Goodyear welt is a lot more complex, requires more parts
and time.
So the big question, are Tod's mocs worth it?
First, let's look at the cons.
To me, one of the biggest cons is that it's not a shoe
that will last me 15 or 20 years if I regularly wear it because it has this leather sole with
the rubber pebbles which is super flexible but it also wears out very quickly if I use
it in everyday wear and because of that, it can't be repaired because once there's a hole
in your sole, it's not like you can fix it.Essentially, it makes it a disposable shoe and if you just
use it as a driving shoe, it's quite expensive on its own.
Also, it's not a shoe you want to wear when it's wet outside because the water will go
right through the leather up onto your socks and feet which is quite uncomfortable.
Frankly, if you live in a cooler climate with lots of snow and rain, this is not a shoe
I would ever invest in.
Maybe if you're in Italy or in a warmer climate and you like casual summer shoes, it's something
to think about.
At the end of the day, buying Tod's driving mocs is still mostly a brand buy.
Fortunately, the Tod's branding is not obnoxious.
They have a little Tod's logo at the bottom sole as well as at the top right corner of
the shoe, it's very subtle, tone in tone yet most people will recognize it as a Tod's simply
because they have very vibrant colors and a very unique style.
Looking at the shoe, the construction method, the materials that go into it, I think it
should retail more at a 200 to 250 dollar price range and not at a 500 dollar price
range.
But of course, when it comes to pricing, branding is everything and Tod's does a fantastic job
in positioning their brand and maintaining high prices.
So what are the pros?
Even though the shoe can wear out pretty quickly, the style itself is rather timeless and you'll
be able to wear it in 10 or 20 years down the line.
Even though you would assume other brands can simply replicate the style, I still think
Tod's has an edge when it comes to their styling versus other brands in the market.
One of the biggest pros of Tod's mocs is probably that they come in a large number of colors
in different leathers including suede and exotic skins such as crocodile.
To my knowledge, there is no other brand that offers such a wide range.
If you are just interested in black or brown mocs, that's not that big of a deal but if
you want something maybe in blue in red and yellow in green, Tod's definitely has the
widest selection.
On top of that, they have various additions that change throughout the seasons; sometimes
with fabric, or velvet, you call it!
Probably there's a Tod's moc out there that has the material that you're looking for.
So ultimately, are they worth it to me?
I have to say no they're not because if I just want a driving shoe and that's what the
Tod's mocs are, I can just buy a regular boat shoe, maybe a pair of Sperrys and it costs
me $100 or less and they essentially do the same job.
On top of that, I can wear them in a casual setting and they will last a lot longer because
they have a solid rubber sole.
If I wear the Tod's mocs, otherwise, they wear out quickly and become a disposable item.
Also, I think you find better value with other brands.
For example, let's look at Rancourt which are handmade in Maine in the US;. they offer
their driving mocs with a pebble grain sole for $295.
Again, they have a more limited color spectrum off the rack but they have different styles
such as a penny style or maybe a regular leather lace style.
Now if you really want a colorful shoe, Rancourt who offers a made-to-order program where you
can pick the exact sole configuration the style, as well as the leather, and you can
even mix and match so you can create spectators and to truly create a unique shoe for you
for $395 which is twenty percent less than the Tod's.
If you enjoyed this guide make sure to check out our other videos on items like a Moncler
jacket or maybe a Burberry trench coat or Mont Blanc fountain pen and you can see all
the videos of our is it worth series here in today's video I'm wearing a smart casual
combination consisting of a turtleneck sweater in wool with a tweed coat some light blue
chinos that work well with my light blue and gray socks from Fort Belvedere as well as
my Fort Belvedere pocket square in light blue with paisley patterns the shoes are of course
Tod's driving mocs in that blue shrunken calf style and of course it's the Gommino shoe
as mentioned before during the warmer times of the year i could also wear it barefoot.