Camden Two-Tone BroguesClick here for product page
Item 28441
Regular: $250.00
These throw-back-to-the-classic shoes are described by J.Crew as the following:
A truly handsome (and seasonless) borrowed-from-the-boys style crafted of rich Italian leather, with a two-tone design for classic flair. Leather lining and sole. 7/8" stacked heel. Made in Italy. Catalog/jcrew.com only.Honestly, they are handsome! There is something absolutely stunning about the two-tone version too. I can easily see them being worn with a pair of broken-in boyfriend jeans and a black tee. Move over ballet flats, you got some serious competition!
"Thanks!" to socialscientist (in this post) who shared her great review of these shoes for us:
"Thanks!" again to socialscientist for her great review of the Camden Two-Tone Brogues!...The leather is also surprisingly soft and supple. There are also just nice additional details that seem fitting of J.Crew. The (wooden?) sole is beveled where it meets the bottom of the shoe so the sole slants diagonally (in cross-section) through the several millimeters of its width. Also the insole is leather as well, not synthetic.
They're a little bit narrower looking in person than they seemed in pictures, at least toward the tip. Or maybe this is because I've gotten used to seeing them from the front, foreshortened. In any case, I looked at the picture in the July catalog again and it does look like the two-toned one visually appears narrower at the tip due to the two color blocks and the black. The narrowness looks slightly odd because I feel as a shoe, it should look wider and flatter. Instead it has somewhat of a tubular look; I keep thinking of various tubular vegetables for some reason. Chili peppers? Carrots? Or maybe some sort of pointy dance shoe. It could also be that my feet are kind of narrow - I sized up from a 5/5.5 to a 6 in these because 6 was the smallest size offered.Other than that, I'm quite happy with them. I tried them on with a few outfits, inspired by the catalogs, and they look great. One thing though, since the insole is leather they'll squeak if you wear them barefoot. So slipper socks may be a good idea. Yeah my main issue is that they look slightly tubular and narrow, but that should be less of a problem with the solid colors. I may start a blog and put up pictures later.
What are your thoughts on the Camden Two-Tone Brogues? Have you seen or own these shoes? If so, what is your review of the fit & style? Would you recommend it to another fellow JCA?
Thanks socialscientist for your review.
ReplyDeleteI bought these in the solid, light ginger color. Although I have other oxfords and wing-tips, these are cut slightly lower and are more feminine. I think the "tubular"-ness makes them less flat and prettier, if that makes any sense. As Alexis mentioned, ballet flats have some competition, I definitely prefer the brogues. They are really cute with skirts, cropped jeans and even shorts. Nice to have a J.Crew shoe with leather lining and sole too!
No problem, and thanks Alexis for the mention! I actually saw the Elsbeth Oxfords from last year on Ebay, and was curious about those. However, the two-toned color was definitely important to me so these were a no-brainer. I'm curious to see how they look in the other colors! I will definitely be wearing these with anything shorter or cropped, and maybe skinny jeans/pants as well.
ReplyDeleteI'll be putting up some pics of the shoes and also outfits tonight; I'll post again when that happens!
Ok! I got some pics up of the shoes and some outfits I styled with them. Check them out here!
ReplyDeleteI don't own them, but I really like them. The price is a bit off-putting for me since there are so many other similar shoes available at a much more reasonable price.
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely considering them for fall. I personally don't care for the two-tone colour, but love the light ginger and dark brown.
ReplyDeleteCan anyone comment on the fit? I bought Elsbeths last year in my regular 8.5 and they were huge.
ReplyDeleteI love these shoes. Can anyone comment on the comfort? If I pay full price, I expect more than from the ballet flats!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Heidi!
ReplyDeleteSocialscientist can you share the name of the buyer you purchased your oxfords from? Thanks.
ReplyDeletenancy323323 - I got them from cairparavel08; it looks like this seller has sold several of these with good reviews too. However it seems many of the other sellers must be getting the shoes from the same source as they all mention the line through the logo to prevent store returns. I would try contacting some of the other buyers who've bought from the sellers!
ReplyDeleteKate - I'd say they're fairly comfortable, but you wouldn't want to walk several miles in a day in them. The insole isn't very padded but I actually don't think that makes it too uncomfortable. Another thing to look out for is possible heel rubbing, which I experienced slightly, but which may have just been because I was doing all sorts of things (eg, adding an extra insole) to get my size 6's to fit on my size 5.5 feet. I found this was solved with some heel pads. Also I wore them walking around for a few miles today and noticed that the place where the shoe bends at the toes when you walk was digging in slightly. I hadn't experienced this before on my previous more moderate walking days so I guess the solution is to just not treat these as walking shoes!
HTH!
Thanks socialscientist...p.s. they look fab on you!
ReplyDeleteThanks socialscientist for the review and comments on comfort. They are so cute... tempting=)
ReplyDeleteThe line through the logo could mean the seller bought them at a warehouse sale. I have bought several pairs of shoes from the warehouse sales with the same marking. I was not lucky enough to snatch the camden brogues there, however! Great find!