R: Okay last but not least, we have a brand called
Ace Marks. If you followed our channel, we've
mentioned them before. We've worked with them together on our videos
so I actually have like 10 pairs of those so and I've had them over
a little while so I've had a chance to test them out. I think they're adding
some other stuff now, this is kind of their classic line
and its retail price is 299. They often the Kickstarters and that's
how they started and at that point they're like under 200.
My slogan was always, "Are these the best shoe in the world?"
Absolutely not, but at under $200 they were a good value.
Very similar to kind of Velasca or Scarosso
right, made in Italy, same kind of I mean you look inside the shoe it looks very
similar; has that kind of suede part in the back that's supposed to keep the
heel in. I think what they do well like first
impression is always that their patinas are nice.
It's like they add like some handwork to it and
just like Undandy who offered these like really elaborate patinas,
you can also get that from Ace Marks.
Leather's calf, I think the shoe that they sent you
was a little different, right? P: Yes. You'll notice
that I don't actually have one here today I do have one pair of Ace Marks
shoes but the one that they had sent me when
we coordinated was it was a hand-painted model,it was a
Wholecut Oxford, sort of one of their higher-end
ranges and I believe the price point for that
was $425. R: Got it. P: So outside of the price range
we're working with here today which is why I don't have it with me
but some of the other similar wholecuts that are not hand-painted
retail for closer to what's in this range, I think about $325.
R: Yeah and we'll cover that in another video
but overall, leather quality it's like it's box calf,
it has a nice patina, I'm pretty sure it's Italian leather because
that's what they do, it has kind of a shiny finish
and because of that, sometimes it can seem like it crackles a little more than
other leathers do but I don't think it's because of an
inferior leather quality it has kind of a medium
between softness and stiffness, stiffer than like the Velasca leather
and Scarosso, but definitely softer than like the Meermin or some
English leathers like Loake, I'd say. They have some colorful models that I
don't care for that much. They have some classic styles and if you
compare to the Scarosso or Velasca, it's a much more Italian style. I look at
this shoe and I immediately think that's an Italian style. It's slightly
more elongated, it's still round, the last fits me very
well personally, so it always it's a plus
right, if it fits your foot very well. There's not too much room but
I have enough. This is Blake Rapid, they now also have more expensive ones which
Goodyear welted, workmanship is decent, the broguing is, you know, in the middle,
there's nothing off, the medallion is on there,
nothing to really complain about, I think. Yeah, I've warned them
they're holding up now it's just the pricing right, I mean if you get them at
a kickstarter price you'll have to wait for them.
It's similar to like Beckett Simonon right, where you
you have that part in there where they don't have to pre-finance it and stock
it, I think then they're really a good deal.
That being said though looking at Velasca for example, I think
they're very comparable, very similar, but Velasca stocks them so you don't have
to wait. That is pretty neat, the styling is very
different, if you like traditional styling I think the Velasca is better,
if you like a more Italian style I think this is better. They're very similar to
Scarosso in a way and Scarosso is also priced like 250
to 300 and the patina overall isn't as exciting
but Ace Marks doesn't have the woven leather for example, so it just depends
on what you want. P: right R: and what you can find. P: yeah I will
say that in my case the pair of Ace Mark shoes that I do have,
I really, I was very impressed with them.
The comfort was great right out of the box, they fit me
perfectly, so I guess we're similarly lucky in that their lasts are
good for our feet, but I had no fit issues with the pair that I do have. They,
as I said, their hand-painted, they had a more extreme patina, it was really
more than an oxblood, it was almost kind of a red
color that darkened toward the toe and when I first got them
my first impressions is that they were too bold,
and that I probably wouldn't wear them but since then, I've actually worn them
four or five times already with different outfits. They've paired very
well with some red and blue shadow striped socks from
Fort Belvedere, for example, R: nice P: I've gotten several compliments
actually, on that pair of shoes, they've been very well received by people. R: I mean
they stand out in a way and I think something they really focus on is like
that it's soft and it doesn't require any
breaking time. So like my father-in-law has
arthritis and he got a pair and he liked them because they were just out
of the box wearable. Now, I mean we had the others
here, right? Scarosso, also I think are pretty much comparable.
Velasca, sole slightly thicker so I'd say at like
full price 299 I'd rate him more like a three and a half probably
especially compared to the Meermin I think at $300 there is nothing that
beats the Meermin or comes even close. Ace Marks it doesn't also, if they're
less expensive you get them for 200 I think they're on par with the
Velasca and then I would say Velasca got four out of five then it just
comes down to styling and personal preference.
P: Yeah. my pair again, not really in this price range so it might not
be a totally fair comparison but I like those enough that I would give them a
four out of five. If I were to get something more in
this price range who knows what my ranking would be but
overall I was impressed with the pair of Ace
Marks that I got.