MB Shoedoc

Unboxing and review of some stunning Wholecut Oxfords with hand dyed patina from Elegal Shoemaker.
Goodyear welted, hand dyed and hand finished, full grain Annonay crust leather, soft fiddleback sole and a beautiful sleek refined last. All for an unheard of value $250. I think this small brand represents the new value leader in mens footwear. Check out the video and enjoy some of the images.

https://youtu.be/B093JNK1N1E?si=ttLg9Rghl0KFjF8H

Ok Gentlemen....what I have for you today is a cautionary tale.
You may have seen (as I have) a number of posts from Barre & Brunel Footwear. They "appear" to be high quality Goodyear welted shoes made in Spain. They "appear" to have refined lasts, high quality full grain leather and really attractive patina work.
I ordered a pair for review and what came is absolutely nothing like what is pictured.
The images online have a sleek chiseled last shape with a defined edge along the sides. What arrived was a rounded toe model with average patina work, cheap leather and a fake welt. They came with a cheap generic box that was severely damaged and cheap paper shoe bags. No branding on the box, the bags, the soles, insoles or lining of the shoes. Absolutely nothing about what arrived matches with the online description or images. It is cheap replica of what is advertised.
Now here is the real kicker...the invoice that arrived shows Country of Origin as Pakistan....not Spain.
As I dig further here are some of the telltale signs. The one reddit review is from 2017-2018. The reviews on their page are all 2017-2018 range. Then they seem to have dissapeared around then only to suddenly re-emerge this year where they are appearing all over FB, instagram etc. My guess is that they went out of business around 2018 and someone purchased the domain name and website etc and are now selling cheap made in Pakistan shoes and using the high quality made in Spain images. I doubt the original owners are involved.
I also noticed some of their posts using which was a scam brand using stolen internet images. Peter hawke was kicked out of some Facebook shoe enthusiast groups and not sure what their conection with B and B is but its all very fishy.
Anyone that has any more information or has experience with the brand please share.
Here are some images from the website... Note the Last shape, the quality leather and patina, and the box.
Images of what arrived...note the round shape, the generic last, the blake stitch not GYW and the terrible packaging.
Forgive my rant,
MB Shoedoc

Happy Casual Friday Gents! I went for a smart casual and comfortable combo today.
Strandmok is a fantastic brogue that develops a great distressed style patina over time. Excellent with jeans but went with Chambray trousers as a slightly more dressed up option.
Herringbone Socks are super comfortable bamboo from ...love these!
How do you like the look?

Today is the last day to participate in the $500 giveaway!! Like what you see here...the graphite Tuscan wingtip! You could get the same or any other great pair from the Martin Dingman collection.
The rules are simple:
Follow me
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Comment on this post or the previous post and tag two friends. That's it!
Winner will be announced tonight!
Merry Christmas and good luck to you all!!
🎄

I just posted this custom marble patina to YouTube. Definitely check out my channel under MB Shoedoc to see the entire process.
Not gonna lie...this one made me nervous. Taking acetone and dye to a brand new $1,000 pair of shoes isn't for the faint of heart. This is the iconic St. James II Adelaide by . Originally in their beautiful vintage cherry but the client wanted a one of a kind pair and was inspired by some marble patina examples. We were both thrilled with the outcome but what do you think??!!

Happy my friends! If you haven't done so already, check out the restoration video of these Carlyle....MB SHOEDOC on YouTube.
I stripped and dyed them with a mirror shine but I also steam shrunk the shoes onto these lasted shoe trees from . It completely re-shaped the uppers and helped to minimize the heavy creasing they had.