A few months ago I wrote about Beckett Simonon’s upcoming “premium” line of dress shoes – a project they got off the ground with a successful Kickstarter campaign.

After a lot of waiting, I finally got my hands on a pair of the Beckett Simonon Premium Oxford Brogue dress shoes, and I’m excited to share the details with you.

EDIT: Now, take 20% off your order with our exclusive promo code PRAKTICALA20!

Background

I’ve already reviewed a couple of Beckett Simonon’s previous shoes, and each time they’ve made incremental changes and improvements over the last.

I first checked out their Caine oxfords after discovering them online as a more affordable alternative to high-quality but normally expensive shoes (with full-grain leather uppers, leather outsoles, and Goodyear welts being notable features).

Next, I picked up a pair of Cohen loafers, which made some improvements in the fit and finish of their construction, as well as a transition from the Goodyear welt to the Blake stitch.

Now, I have a cool new pair of “premium oxford brogues” (model unnamed) and I’m stoked to give them a whirl!

What you get

The new premium oxford comes in the same red box as the Cohens did. Along with the “thank you” card, dust bag, and extra laces, the package now also includes foam inserts, in case you need some extra padding in your shoes, and rubber sole protectors, which you can either glue on yourself or take to your local cobbler for installation (helpful instructions are also included). I was pleased to see this, since as much as I love leather soles, rubber really makes a difference in wet weather, and also greatly extends the life of the sole.

Oddly, Beckett Simonon again omitted the plastic shoehorn they included with the original Caine oxfords. I’m not sure why, since can’t possibly cost more than a buck or two and would have been a nice touch. Oh well.

The shoes

My first impression was that Beckett Simonon finally got their leather done right. The Caine oxfords looked good but creased easily; the Cohens held up better, but the burnishing was a bit “harsh” and unnatural-looking.

Here, the leather has that “depth” I always look for in dress shoes, with natural variations in the color and burnishing that give the shoes character. Very nice job!

As with all their shoes, the leather is full-grain, which is probably the single most important difference between a quality shoe and a total piece of crap. Full-grain leather will withstand a lifetime of wear and develop a beautiful patina; anything else (including “genuine” and “top-grain” leather) will give you a year (at best) of daily wear before falling to pieces, and will look cheap in the meantime.

I should note that the leather seems thinner than on some other shoes I’ve reviewed (such as the Carter wingtip boots from Jack Erwin or the similar-looking Clarence brogues from Charles Tyrwhitt); that’s not necessarily a knock, as these feel flexible and broken-in right out of the box.

Beckett Simonon seems to be sticking with the Blake stitch; while not as durable as the Goodyear welt, it’s still resoleable and provides a low-profile, lightweight shoe. Indeed, these new shoes are the lightest so far, even lighter than the Cohen loafers.

The details have also been improved since last time – from the solid inking around the outsole to the decoration on the rubber heel to the cool patterned insole.

Still, they’ve left some room for improvement with minor elements that can be cleaned up for next time: for example, the heels still had some rubber flashing left over, and the stitch one the back of one of the shoes was slightly off center (see pictures). Nothing worth griping about, but they are nevertheless (small) inconsistencies that you likely would not find on a well-known high-end shoe.

Customer experience

A key differentiation for Beckett Simonon is their pricing – much lower than traditional brand name shoes with similar characteristics and construction. Most of their men’s shoes hover in the $150 range, which is a killer deal for a long-lasting, great-looking pair of shoes.

Customer service has, in my experience, always been first-rate, and shipping is free both ways. If they don’t fit, exchanging for another size is simple and easy.

Regarding sizing: Both the Caine oxfords and the Cohen loafers fit me in size 9 (my normal dress shoe size), but the new premium shoes were noticeably tighter fitting, although externally they are almost exactly the same size.

I asked Santiago in customer service about this and he said they made some minor adjustments to sizing, but the new shoes break in much more easily.

Because Beckett Simonon now operates on a pre-order business model, the styles of shoes available are constantly changing. Keep checking the site to see what is available for order now. You can browse the men’s selection here, or the women’s selection here.

EDIT: Now, take 20% off your order with our exclusive promo code PRAKTICALA20!

Let us know about your experience with Beckett Simonon – leave a comment below!