Mike Konos Suedes – Long Term Field Test Update

Two Months In:  The Mike Konos Suede Oxford – $99.94 (compare at $250.00)

NOTE:  This is far from an exact science.  The way one person wears a pair of boots, shoes, or jeans, will most likely be different than the way another would wear the same.  These updates are meant only as a broad guide.

Full honesty here.  I haven’t exactly babied these things.  Purchased at the end of April, they’ve seen more wear in different situations than the rest of my shoe lineup combined.  Dressed up, down, socks, sockless, whatever… they’re a workhorse.  At under $100 and made in Italy, it’s no wonder they sold out long ago.

The brand is actually a house brand of DSW, so feel free to ignore the “compare at” verbiage you see tacked on to the entire Mike Konos line.  You won’t find them anywhere other than DSW (aside from eBay maybe?) and they’ve got one of the best style/shape/comfort/durability-to-price ratios on the market.

The Pros

• The crepe soles are showing zero signs of wear
• The suede is minimally dinged up despite a habit of hooking my feet under the rails of pub-style chairs
• The brown color is still plenty rich
• None of the seams show any kind of wear or separation
• The laces and lace-holes aren’t frayed
• They took very little time to break in and continue to be extremely comfortable.

The Cons

• The insole is starting to come up.  But they’ve taken a hard beating from bare feet in hot weather.  Notice the caked in foot powder.  These have seen a lot of work in temps between 80-100.

All that use and just one real nick in the left toe (see lower right pic).  As previously stated, these sold out awhile back.  But if their calf leather dress lace-ups are anywhere similar when it comes to shape, comfort, and design, then those might also be worth looking into.  Even at $140, and certainly worth watching for them to go on sale.

Have experience with the DSW Mike Konos brand?  Leave it all in the comments…