Italian vs American Which Dress Shoes Are Superior
[0:00:00] All right gents, we’ve got a five-round
fight between Italian and American shoes.
Are you ready?
Let’s get into it.
In the green, white, and red corner, we’ve got Italian style shoes weighing in at almost
5.6 oz.
These shoes are known throughout the world for their style, for their elegance, for their
[0:00:26][inaudible] which is effortless style that they signal.
Now over in the red, white, and blue corner, we’ve got American style shoes weighing
in at 8 oz.
American style shoes are known for their practicality, their ruggedness, their usefulness.
What’s going on here guys?
We’ve got some unexpected visitors.
Looks like the English are going to be siding with the American; very similar in built and
many of the characteristics.
We are going to find that the English are going to line up right behind the Americans.
All right, gentlemen, let’s have a clean fight.
No water.
No salt and no scuffing below the belt.
Ready?
Let’s get into this.
In round 1, gentlemen, we’re going to focus in on the leather specifically the leather
in the upper part of the shoe.
So let’s see what the Italians bring to the table.
What I see here is a beautiful calf skin, grade 1.
Now grade 1 if you understand grades in comes to cow hides grade 1 is only 13% of the hide.
Grade 2 is going to be 30% of the hide.
So understand grade 1 and grade 2 are the most common for the high end dress shoes and
they are less than half of an entire cow hide.
Now what we’re going to see in grade 1 that’s over in the lower back portion of the cow
hide there are going to be less blemishes.
It’s also going to be some of the most dense, water resistant.
We’re going to see – basically it is the crème of the crop.
It is the best.
Grade 2 we sometimes do see some blemishing in there and definitely in grade 3 and grade
4.
But this right there sets apart.
In addition, it’s a calf skin.
So calf skin versus a fully grown cow.
What we’re going to see is the calf skin is going to have a thinner built, a thinner
leather.
It’s going to also still very dense.
It’s going to be very soft.
So it is highly sought after.
Now let’s talk about the thickness of the upper.
Usually on a calf skin we’re going to see anywhere from 4-6 oz. on the thickness.
That’s’ about 2mm.
Now if they have an inner lining that’s going to be 0.4 mm so about one extra ounce
in here.
Bu generally Italian shoes on the upper are going to be thinner, are going to be basically
very soft and are going to use high quality leather.
Next stop let’s talk about the Americans.
What leather are they bringing into the fight?
All right, we’ve got cow hide right here and this looks like a grade 1, maybe a grade
2 cow hide.
You can’t really tell all the time cause often times a grade 2 its going to have a
few blemishes but on a shoe like this that actually is made up of multiple leather pieces
they can slip a grade 2, which is perfectly fine assuming it doesn’t have any blemishes.
But the grade 2 and the fact it’s going to be from the cow hide sometimes drive down
the price a bit.
So that’s pretty good for the consumer.
Here we’ve got cordovan.
Now cordovan is actually leather from a horse.
This is going to be more dense and both of these leathers are going to be more thick.
So calf hide on the other hand maybe 4-5 oz. weight up on top.
What we’re going to see here is 5 to 6 to7 oz. in terms of the thickness of the upper.
All right, gents, how am I going to call this round?
I’m going to give this one a draw.
There are advantages and disadvantages to each type of leather so you need to find a
leather that’s going to best suit you.
And what do the English do?
Go get in your corner.
You should not be – gosh, darn English, jumping in the fight.
Now before I get too far ahead in this video I want to let you know that all the beautiful
Italian shoes you see in this video are brought to you by Ace Marks guys.
I’m linking to them down in the description.
They’re the paid sponsor today’s video and I love this company because they just
make such beautiful amazing shoes.
And you’re going to find throughout this video I’m going to talk about the beauty
of Italian shoes.
I mean don’t want to spoil what’s coming up here but I will tell you guys if you go
over to Ace Marks website and you look at their new designs, yes they’ve got new designs,
you are going to be blown away.
Beautiful shoes guys.
If you want to see them, go check out Ace Marks and guys go check out their accessories.
Look at things like this, a lasted shoe trees.
The difference between all the other shoe trees out there and a lasted shoe tree is
this is made specifically to fit into these shoes.
So if you get them wet, it’s going to fit right there and it’s going to work to reshape
the shoe exactly to where it was.
If you want to go buy a shoe, well guess what.
You can actually buy a matching belt that goes perfectly with it.
So guys a wide variety of style.
Overall a great company.
I’m proud to bring them to you because they are also a great deal.
Go check them out.
Again I’m linking to Ace Marks down in the description.
Awesome company.
Highly recommended.
Round 2 gentlemen and we’re going to talking about shoe construction.
How the shoes are made.
Now let’s talk about when you are spending good money on a pair of shoes like at least
$200.
Look at the bottom and you want to make sure that it’s got stitching right in there.
If you can’t see stitching then most likely that shoe has been glued together.
Glued shoes in general I’m not going to recommend.
[0:05:05] Now I understand if you’re spending under
$100 that’s probably what you’re going to get.
And if you’re just starting off and you find something you really like the look of,
go for it.
I want you guys to start dressing better.
But if you’re going to be spending more than $200, more $300 you want to make sure
you’re getting your money’s worth and you want to make sure it is stitched together.
Shoes are stitched together are simply going to hold together longer and they can be resoled.
That’s a big one.
This could last you 10, 20, 30 years and you can just resole this 10-20 times.
Now let’s talk about the Blake stitch.
This right here is a Blake stitch.
When I look at this I can immediately tell because when I go around here I do not see
any stitching.
It’s just not visible.
Yet I can see the stitching down here at the bottom.
It’s very tight.
It’s a very elegant look.
That is when I look at the construction of the Blake stitch is its very simple.
It works, and it simply they’ve done the stitching on the inside of the shoe.
So what’s the advantage of this is when you look at it overall it’s just very simple
and it works.
It can be resoled.
Now let’s look over here at Goodyear welt.
The big thing we’re going to notice immediately with the Goodyear welt is that I can see the
stitching on the outside.
The reason I can do that is because there’s an additional what’s called the welt.
So there’s two attachments on this one.
Now what’s the advantage to this?
Now it used that it was easier simply to resole.
Now most cobblers they’re going to have access to something that can do a Blake stitch
so that’s not always true and sometimes the materials were a little bit more expensive
for a Goodyear welt so I always thought it kind of even out.
Some people will say it’s going to be water resistant, the Goodyear welt.
But if you are walking through puddles on purpose, you know you lived in a place where
its slushy and snowy most of the year and you’re wearing your best shoe to commute
to and from work all the time, don’t do that.
Keep your great looking shoes at home.
Again, water salt damage.
The best way to prevent it from damaging your shoes is to avoid it.
But to me, these two different types of construction I don’t know.
Again, what am I going to do here?
You guys aren’t going to like to hear this.
I’m going to give it a draw because there are advantages and disadvantages to both.
So for this particular fight, guys we’ve got a draw.
Round 3 gentlemen.
Let’s talk about comfort.
So when it comes to the upper of the Italian shoes like I’ve talked about its going to
be thinner.
It’s usually going to be made from calf skin, therefore, it’s going to be more softer,
more supple, and it’s easier to break in than any of the heavier leathers out there.
Now when it comes to the Italian shoes construction of the insole, of the outsole we are often
times not going to see a really thick – no big steel shank or anything like that.
We’re just going to see is they use a very dense leather on the outsole, on the insole
put it together and that is it.
Now with the American style what we’re going to see is a steel shank.
A steel shank is going to run if you can imagine right up in here and basically it allows the
shoe to bounce back.
So also with the outsole, with the insole, you’ll sees sometimes a cork lining put
in there to basically fill in around the shank and you’ll sometimes going to see the outer
and the inner sole be a bit higher.
And some people argue that gives you a bit more cushion.
Some people don’t really like it because again it makes the shoe looked more bulky.
Now let’s talk about the upper.
Again, cordovan.
Cow hides.
What we’re going to see with those is they’re going to take longer to basically get accustomed
to.
They are not going to be as flexible.
Some people love this.
Other people they don’t like it.
So it really comes down to personal opinion.
All right gents, I’m going to be really subjective here but I’m going to give round
3 for comfort to the Italians.
Round 4 we’re talking about durability.
Fight.
Hey, hey, keep the scuffs above the waist.
So talking about durability.
Any shoe gentlemen that you don’t take care of, you don’t condition, you don’t clean,
you don’t polish, it’s going to be destroyed by inclement weather.
So take care of your shoes.
It doesn’t matter how durable it says it is, you will destroy it early.
But looking at the Italian style shoes I’ve talked about this.
The outsole, the insole, the upper is all going to be made of a thinner more delicate
leather.
Now a lot of people like this cause it looks great.
It overall has a great feel, very elegant, very slick.
But if you want something that’s possibly going to last longer and again assuming that
all things are the same you will probably see that with the American shoes especially
ones that use a cordovan on top, a horse hide leather.
That is going to outlast a cow hide.
It’s also going to be about $100 on average more expensive.
Also what we’ll see with a Goodyear welt because it’s got that excess material in
here with the welt, sometimes though used also a thicker outer sole.
We can’t see the sole last a bit longer.
Round 4 I’ve got to give it to the American shoes.
Round 5.
Let’s talk about style.
Fight.
So style is totally subjective.
But when you see a pair of shoes like this I mean it’s just like wow.
I mean I love the suede with the leather right there, with a bit of broguing with the really
tight stitching just the overall look are beautiful.
This is a very hard one.
[0:10:00] I would say that when you go over to Italia
what you’re going to find you’re going to find fourth generation cobblers who are
building and making amazing footwear.
One of the advantages of shoes being made in Italy is they’ve got the Mediterranean
climate.
This is something that they can be a little bit fun.
They’re not so much worried about inclement weather.
Now let’s talk about the American style.
So the American style has always been about getting the job done, about practicality.
Style is nice to have but not if the shoes simply aren’t going to get the job done.
Now this is a Chukka boots.
It’s using a suede right here.
But the Chukka boot comes out of World War II.
It was developed specifically by British officers who wanted a shoe for their troops and for
themselves that could provide more support when they were in this desert rocky environment.
Now when you look at the shoe right here, I can see the stitching.
I can see this right here is a very simple shoe but there’s something elegant about
simplicity.
Round 5 gentlemen, I’m going to give to the Italians.
That is it.
Today’s fight is probably going to be contested for years and years.
The Italians are going to say that I definitely gave it to them but I can see where the English
and the Americans are coming from.
They’re like we’ve got artisans in our countries that are making amazingly stylish
shoes.
We should have won that last round and I agree that it’s very subjective.
Remember gents at the end of the day, you need to buy the right pair of shoes for you
and I advocate you spend a little bit more to get exactly what you want that you love.
So that when you wear it, you feel like a million bucks.
Now understand gents, you don’t have to spend a million bucks to get a great pair
of quality made shoes.
Use all the details I’ve talked about in this video to find the right pair for you
and go check out Ace Marks.
I’m linking to them down in the description, a great company.
I remember when they first came out on Kickstarter I sent them to you as I talked about them
and to this day they still continue to produce amazing Italian made shoes.
So go check them out guys.
I mean this pair right here is brand new.
They’ve got a whole new line.
Go check out their lasted shoe trees.
These things I mean it’s awesome that they actually make a product that fits in there
and will reshape the shoe every time.
What do you guys think?
I thought that was kind of fun video.
Let me know in the comments.
I always appreciate you, learning from your guys and the community we built here at Real
Men Real Style.
Take care.
I’ll see you in the next video
[0:12:13] End of Audio