Product Review: Camden Two-Tone Brogues

Camden Two-Tone Brogues
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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:

...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.

"Thanks!" again to socialscientist for her great review of the Camden Two-Tone Brogues!

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?