Which country are Mason Shoes made in? The US. Really, does the US only has Alden and Allen Edmonds making Goodyear welted shoes?
Clearly, the answer is not only those two, and comparing to its glorious era with tens of great shoe brands, the current good ones are too few. Mason was one of them which went out of business for many years.
Unboxing
Don’t be mistaken, this is not a postal box but the shoe box! The strong vintage feeling may not be suitable for exquisite brands, but for some casual brands, it inspires a lot.
As I don’t live in the US, the information on the box is not recognized.
The trademark logo and brand slogan are on the side. Brand name is Mason Shoes, and the location is Chippewa Falls. If I don’t remember wrong, a casual boots brand and leather care brand originated here as well. There is even the exact street number of the factory.
The logo is very complicate, a man sitting on the bench and working on a shoe.
Remove the cover, the yellow paper is so rare to see. This paper may be not very environmental friendly, but quite tough.
Uncover the print paper, shoes are present without any shoe bag or anything.
I have to say the package is really practical.
Pattern
Although Americans had great models since its golden era, the several models still seen and loved are not so many, one of them, or should we say the most iconic one, is Longwing.
Still this pair exhibits some exquisite element which tells a good story about when American made great shoes, which is the well executed and fine medallion.
The contrast between this tender medallion and beast like pattern at the back is interesting.
Upper Stitches
The criteria is quite simple, dense and straight mean good. This pair is good.
The chain saw edge of wingtip is also quality.
Welt
In Goodyear shoes domain, welt is the focal point, the only peer may be waist.
This pair is not merely Goodyear welted, but Storm welted. In the meantime, the stitches precisely match the fudge which is almost unbelievable on a pair of machine made shoes. And it does not stop there, the final touch or feeling it gives it this shoe can last forever.
Sole
Not many notice that real Longwing has double leather sole by default. And the outmost leather is quite thick which we can be very confident that this pair can wear you for years.
The bottom looks so American, open channel stitches and big square waist.
I also notice most American brands like to use full rubber top lift and I don’t recognize the brand of this one.
Details
I am not sure how many collections Mason had, but this one is the highest, Executive Imperial. Every American brand uses/used Imperial for its premium collection. The logo is a guard with a cannon, not bad at all.
The lining says size infomation, and I guess 524 is the model number. Upper is leather and others are manmade material. But I feel the sock lining is leather, not to mention the sole is leather. So I am puzzled by this description.
The heel is very rough and cheap, layer is few and last rubber is very thick but does not seem very abrasive resistant. And the heel was not well grind.
Conclusion
The playfulness of American shoes is not on par with European shoes, but this one I feel will become my workhorse for a while, a real while.