Jack Erwin Shoes: Blake Stitched, Made in Portugal, $195.00
Many thanks to David B. for sending in the style tip about this new brand.
A hyper-clean website. The “we save you money by selling direct to you, our customers!” strategy. A two word, crisp but not snooty sounding brand name. It’s pretty familiar. We’ve all seen this before in multiple corners of style related retail.
Or have we?
Jack Erwin shoes appears to have just come on the scene, and without hyperventilating about it, they really might be the next “it” brand in men’s style. Here’s why:
- Impressive styling – Updated & aerodynamic without getting comical.
- Construction – Their shoes are Blake stitched, which is a type of construction that allows for resoling (if you can find the right cobbler) and is often used on lighter-weight, sleeker shoes (Goodyear = bigger & beefier)
- Full-grain calfskin uppers – Nice to know.
- Portuguese made – Or course, country of origin isn’t always an indicator for quality.
- Free Shipping & Free Returns – Your move Meermin.
- In stock and ready to ship – Shoes should arrive to you within 5 days. No pre-ordering/supporting a campaign, then waiting.
- They have a showroom in New York City – So they have at least some on the ground presence in the states.
- Price – Under $200. Still an investment, but accessible for most.
Is anybody else doing all that? That’s a lot of boxes that just got checked. Honest question.
The launch lineup. Five styles, each come in black or one distinct shade of brown.
They’re currently offering just five styles: A wingtip, a cap toe oxford, a single monk strap, a penny loafer, and an ankle boot with a buckle up top. Each style comes in black and a chosen shade of brown, depending on the style. Everything from chestnut on the wingtip, to a very light burnished tan on the monk strap.
GQ has already covered them. So has Aquiremag.com. If these look as good in person as they do on the screen, there’s massive potential here.
Got a couple pairs on the way for review… standby…
Thoughts? Are you intrigued? Does this operation seem unique, in a good way, to you? Leave it all in the comments below.
Whoa those look really great, especially the toe shape. Cant wait for the review/sizing info/showdown vs Meermin.
I like the minimal lineup/site but is it just me or did they make some weird choices? Single monk but no popular double monk? No captoe Strand lookalike? Unusual boot instead of a more accessible style? Loafers seem “old man-ish” and theyre not going to be ordering shoes from the internet.
The Jake would go perfect with my pinky ring.
Free ship and return? Dayum. The leather in the picture looks possibly questionable, but if these things are close to Meermin quality, I’m in for a pair. Possibly more if they add more styles.
Interesting. I need a new pair of shoes….
Smallest size is UK7 ? At least Meemin goes down to UK5.
The Adam looks pretty nice. Not sure I would take a $200 plunge until I see some reviews though.
Let’s see some reviews, these look promising.
Those boots, though. Lolz.
The question I have to ask is: Would you rather pay $200 toward a new brand…OR pay $200 for a discounted shoe from a more well-known established brand with an originally higher price tag and “perceived” higher quality? You can regularly find brands like Allen Edmonds and Magnanni discounted in the $200-$250 range. What gives Meermin an advantage here is the fact they offer more unique offerings and lasts from their RTW at similar prices as Jack Erwin. Not mention MTO offerings.
…one second though LoL those brown penny loafers look especially nice and when you consider you’ll pay about $200 for loafers from places like Massimo Dutti, I think these might be a great deal.
No widths? I guess I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up.
Yeah, I’ll stick to sticking my wide feet in Allen Edmonds E widths.
Blake-stitched? Good luck when it rains. The stitches go straight from the outsole through the insole, so groundwater will probably seep through the sole. Unless you’re planning on only wearing this indoors or in the desert, I’d stick to Goodyear or Blake-Rapid construction.
One of the models I have on the way. Time to find a pinky ring I guess (I do wish they offered it in a darker brown)
Might want to keep in mind the risk of Meermin too. I just haven’t gotten myself over that international shipping hump yet. And returns… did they ever change their policy? Or are they still a major pain?
Loafers look sharp.
Maybe try out the black shoe crème that was suggested for the Stafford boot, to give it a bit more darkening?
I agree that some burnishing would look nice, but that’s kind of expensive to screw around with. The Staffords were a much more affordable risk.
No love for the Jodhpur boots on this site I guess.
And now I have to Google Blake-Rapid construction.
I have three reasons in my closet.
RL Sanderson – 129
RL Saunders – 179
Player’s Shoe – 169
Sorry Jack Erwin, Mercanti Fiorentini and anyone else stepping into the ring. The AE Shoebank just knocked you the fugg out.
Thats my problem also. I have wide feet. I can’t roll the dice at these prices.
it’s basically just a workaround of that exact problem, using two separate stitches instead of 1.
Yep. Both Goodyear and Blake-Rapid use two sets of welt stitches, but the main difference is that the Goodyear creates a void in the insole. In AE shoes, that’s where the cork bedding goes. http://www.theshoesnobblog.com/2011/07/shoes-part-1-construction.html
I got burned on some online ordering before…, but free returns…
Another brand of a much higher quality just launched out of NYC as well, Paul Evans. Like Jack Erwin, we have a small offering to start, but the shoes are made in Italy with higher quality leather and workmanship. In sourcing factories for our production, we cut out the Portuguese makers since they couldn’t match the experience or access to quality leathers as those in Italy. Another 10+ styles will debut later in the winter. Check us out at
http://www.paulevansny.com. Code JACKERWIN will save you $50 on your next
purchase at Paul Evans and will be available through October 23.
Benjamin Earley
Co-founder & Head of Business Development
Paul Evans | New York, NY
http://www.paulevansny.com
Ben@paulevansny.com