Disclaimer: This pair was sent by Meermin brand for review without charge. I have not taken any kind of benefit except the shoes.
Actually, I unboxed one pair of 101430 already, and this one I requested that my pair must be the same customer will get buying online, nothing should be special, not matter the specification nor quality. Meermin concurred.
With that agreement, let us have a look at this pair.
Unboxing
The best functional and environmentally friendly shoe box I have ever seen.
Information on the side sticker is quite enough, model number 101440, last ROIS, size 5, width E. Single leather sole, and colour Taupe museum calf. This is the first time I saw this colour so I chose it.
Taupe is like this, and I was very curious to know how it looks like on shoes.
Uncover the shoe box and the shoe bag is on top. The sad thing is there was only one shoe bag.
The shoe bag seems made of cotton and it is thick which provides good protection.
The shock absorbing stuff seems messy in the box.
Last
Rois last is my favorite from Meermin as the proportion is wonderful, the toe is round. If I must be very picky, I would say if the toe is rounder and more blunt, I will love more.
Pattern
If 101430 is a copy of Chelsea from Edward Green, 101440, this pair is Berkeley from the same English brand.
Brogue cap toe with swan neck on the quarter.
A small problem on this pair is that the colour Taupe makes swan neck element almost invisible.
Construction
The quality does not seem very good and I think the cause is not about the runway of stitches, but the fudge and finish of the welt. The fudge is blurred, but if you cannot do one thing good, leaving it blank is better.
In theory, all fudges should be vertical to the edge of welt, however this pair says otherwise and they can be freer.
Outsole
Close channel Goodyear, and you can see the slot where stitches sit in. I think this can be hidden better with stronger colour finish.
Leather
The museum calf seems very impressive and understated.
From distance, the colour seems middle to dark brown, not so alike Taupe colour board. When checking closely, especially toe where stretched most, the colour is lighter and right.
Craftsmanship
I found some points can be improved.
The edge of the brogued cap toe is sticking up.
I suspect the seams pressed too much so that the leather is bent.
The colour of leather edge is uneven. The white should be the inner colour of museum, which is also the colour of crust leather. Then the red or pink could be finishing wax onto. I don’t have a preference which one is good, but make it all along.
On the vamp area, where most attention is given, there is a hole on the leather. This is a defect for sure, but whether Meermin takes it as qualified or not, I am not sure.
The leather at the waist seems very strange, I mean maybe the lasting is not so sound.
The waist of sole and the heel both had knife cut wound.
Details
This is where I like Meermin as the sock lining leather is always the upper leather. Great match.
Conclusion
Although I pointed out some unsatisfactory areas, I like this pair very much. Why? Because it is very good looking with wonderful last and interesting leather (colour), I wear them a lot.
