# Meermin



## Orgetorix (May 20, 2005)

Some of you may remember a couple months ago CMDC posted about his trip to Spain, and shoes were mentioned. I couldn't believe the prices, as they seemed like fantastic deals, especially for shells. I decided to order a pair and give them a try.

I ordered some burgundy shell PTBs. They were supposed to be stock shoes, but they turned out to be out of stock and I had to wait for more to be made up. It was originally supposed to be 30 days, but ended up being a little over two months because Meermin said they'd had a delay in receiving shells from the tannery.

They came in yesterday, and I'm not sure what to think about them.

As a bit of background, recently a member at TOF posted pics of his shell norwegians in progress, and it set off some warning bells - or at least question bells - in my head. Anyone who's seen Horween shells before they're made up knows they never have a rough, matte finish like this - they pretty much have the gloss and smoothness of the final product when they send them to the factories. Apparently this Argentinian shell is different, and the finish is applied by Meermin after the shoes are made up.










When mine arrived, they looked okay - the toe of one shoe had a decent shine to it, but the rest of them looked kinda dry. On closer inspection, I started to see some spots around the stitching where the finish didn't cover and that raw, rough stuff was visible.










I tried them on and walked around the office, and immediately they looked like this, very dry and rough-looking in the creases. I rubbed the light spots with my thumb and some of the burgundy finish rubbed off.
























I took them home and worked on them for a while with a brush, some Venetian Cream, and a little Alden cordovan paste wax, and got them back to looking like this:










But when I put them on again, the light creases reappeared, albeit not quite as bad as the first time.

Moral of the story, I guess, is you get what you pay for and there's a reason Horween is so expensive. I may try some Renovateur and see if that makes a difference, but I'm not super impressed with the finish on these and may end up sending them back. It's a disappointment for sure, especially after waiting more than two months for what were supposed to be stock shoes.


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## rwaldron (Jun 22, 2012)

The creases on my Alden 994 are substantially lighter than the un-creased areas. That being said, dye wearing off and unfinished areas on the shoe are completely unacceptable. (Meermin would do well to get the shell prepared before it is cut, even if it is coming from the tannery only partially ready for use).


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## jt2gt (Jun 23, 2011)

+1...alot of the Aldens I've seen look like that after a few wears. Lighter in the creases.


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

^^
Perhaps...but unless the Aldens have a whole lot of years of wear on them, they don't present that "dryed out, rough and raw" look to them! If you are looking for shell cordovan, stick with brands using Horween shells!


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## jannki (Dec 27, 2013)

Dear author of the thread, could you update a bit on the condition of those shoes after a year? I'm just about to buy the exactly same model and would like to avoid a possible mistake. 

btw. Hi  this thread is actually a reason I finally registered.


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## leetpuma (Jan 4, 2014)

I also am in the market for some Meermin shell cordovan. If you still have these shoes could you describe how they fared over time?



Orgetorix said:


> Some of you may remember a couple months ago CMDC posted about his trip to Spain, and shoes were mentioned. I couldn't believe the prices, as they seemed like fantastic deals, especially for shells. I decided to order a pair and give them a try.
> 
> I ordered some burgundy shell PTBs. They were supposed to be stock shoes, but they turned out to be out of stock and I had to wait for more to be made up. It was originally supposed to be 30 days, but ended up being a little over two months because Meermin said they'd had a delay in receiving shells from the tannery.
> 
> ...


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## Orgetorix (May 20, 2005)

I ended up returning the shoes for a refund, which was quite a process in itself given that I had to send them back to Spain. I haven't bought anything else from Meermin. I know a lot of others have had satisfactory experiences, so I'm not altogether closed to the idea of trying them again in the future, but I haven't had the chance to do so yet.


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## leetpuma (Jan 4, 2014)

Thank you for your response and giving us your knowledge.


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## alpinewhite (Jun 10, 2016)

leetpuma said:


> Thank you for your response and giving us your knowledge.


hello i am new to the forum so not sure best place to ask this question; please let me know if there is a better area and i can move this question there.

i am contemplating the following items:

(USD $535)

vs.

(USD $220)

I have never owned a Chelsea boot or purchased from either company previously. From what I've read, Carmina is a step above (possibly?). Compared to inventory available in the US, both are pretty high quality options IMO.

Also from what I've been able to find online, appears the Linea Maestro is the recommended option for Meermin in terms of quality however they only currently offer boots in the Classic line so I'm wondering if there will be noticeable difference in the quality between product by company here?

Anyone own both brands and can shed some light on items to consider and noticeable differences. Trying to gauge if the premium price between the two translates to quality/value.

Thank you in advance


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## alpinewhite (Jun 10, 2016)

alpinewhite said:


> hello i am new to the forum so not sure best place to ask this question; please let me know if there is a better area and i can move this question there.
> 
> i am contemplating the following items:
> 
> ...


i ended up going with the meermin chelsea boots... they are tight as hell on the side (small toe rub + heel rub). I've worn around the house for a few hours and they seem to be loosening very slowly. Meermin customer service says they will stretch out and from what ive read online, goodyear welts can take weeks to full break.

any feedback as to experience from users on this forum?


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