I have several pairs of Santoni, which I think I have right to tell how good and bad it is.
Santoni is very different animals in separate markets.
In China, it is piece of shit as it entered too early that very few appreciate its quality and the distributor had to dump all the stock, the end result? Santoni price is only 150 USD comparing to its offcial price 1000 USD.
US market is where Santoni truly stands straight and makes a lot of money, where it firmly occupies the premium to luxury brand image, and Americans love Italian shoes, sleek and elongated.
Although Europe is where Santoni was born, the sad fact is the competition is just too fierce and even within Italy, Santoni cannot claim to be the king.
Enough for the background information, let us have a look at the shoes.
Pattern
A pair of Full Brogue Wingtip Oxford.
The pattern is very classic and needs no explanation. But we can see how Italian injects innovation and design into the shoes.
The perforation of medallion is very small holes, while the holes on the cap toe is much more pronounced. The contrast sparks beauty and pleasure.
Last
If you only look at the toe shape, you may be misled that this is a very elegant English last, but if you check the length of the shoes, especially how distant the toe tip with the instep, you will know this is Italian as it is elongated.
Outsole
Santoni is very good at making shoes, no matter what construction it is. But for its most known and commonly seen FAM (Fatte A Mano) line, Blake is the cornerstone. Goodyear construction is not very universal for Santoni. But the sole looks very good from every perspective. It is really good quality.
Welt
The welt stitches are very solid and well into the welt, both give a sturdy feeling.
Where the welt connects cannot be seen, which is a fine job.
As a pair of Italian shoes, I think the welt looks not sleek or soft at all.
Leather
Italy has a lot of great tanneries, so leather is never a shortage for any shoemaker in this country, but still many Italian shoes see bad and disgusting leathers, which I came across on a.testoni. Santoni never fails on this point, every pair I own is with great leather!
Outfit
I cannot say I find the best outfit for this pair of shoes, it is light tan and leans to cream. I tried pairing them with Oatmeal suits, pastel green suits, each seems good but not perfect.
Model name and size information
Santoni uses letters F, G and H for its width. F is the same as E of John Lobb or Edward Green. This pair is 5F. I have many shoes and am confident I am 5E from John Lobb or Crockett & Jones, but Santoni size is always half size bigger.
The model name is marked 8150 in the lining, but when I bought them, GARRICK is on the box. But now I search Garrick, there is nothing found in the official website.
That is what I dislike about Italian shoe brands as they regard everything is a fashion and no need to stick to anything. And its English peers treat differently that we can find the model you bought many years ago and make another purchase for substitue.
These full brogue has been discontinued and a variant cap toe is there with the model name Leather Lace-Ups, do you really call this a model name? WHAT A SHAME.
Conclusion
If you have time to browse Santoni website, you will see big signs of Benz AMG, IWC watch and interior designer Rubelli.
How much focus is put on shoes, your call.