Did Magnanni get better?

[RDiaz]

Well, if they're Blake, they are charging way too much for the shoes... I could get them in the past for €170, but right now, they're €350-400 which is crazy...
They used to sell "exclusive" models at the El Corte Ingles department store in Spain, which is where I've seen them. Maybe they were Goodyear. Or maybe they fooled me!

 

[Shiner]

Well, if they're Blake, they are charging way too much for the shoes... I could get them in the past for €170, but right now, they're €350-400 which is crazy...
They used to sell "exclusive" models at the El Corte Ingles department store in Spain, which is where I've seen them. Maybe they were Goodyear. Or maybe they fooled me!

Just because the bologna construction uses a Blake stitch, does not mean the shoes are cheap. Magnanni uses very good calfskin and it wraps around your foot. That stuff is not cheap. I have had this construction wear very well over time.

 

[RDiaz]

Sure, but they were already making Bologna shoes for half the current price just 3-4 years ago... I like them a lot, and actually own a few, but I believe they've gone crazy with the prices. They are actually made just a few km away from here, and even Meermin (made in Spain too) is about half the price...

 

[ReddyMade]

Magnanni seems to be moving more towards the fashion end given their prices and styling. I still love my magnannis and would put them over my Edmonds given their sweet looks and great comfort. The leather feels and looks nice but doesn't seem as good as other brands at it a price point. One of my pairs is starting to crack after a few years and I regularily condition them.

 

[Shiner]

Sure, but they were already making Bologna shoes for half the current price just 3-4 years ago... I like them a lot, and actually own a few, but I believe they've gone crazy with the prices. They are actually made just a few km away from here, and even Meermin (made in Spain too) is about half the price...

What is very strange is that they are not as pricy around here in the states. I have paid less than $200 for each of my pairs. The only pair I paid more for was the Artesano sole. That shoe has a look.

 

[Shiner]

Magnanni seems to be moving more towards the fashion end given their prices and styling. I still love my magnannis and would put them over my Edmonds given their sweet looks and great comfort. The leather feels and looks nice but doesn't seem as good as other brands at it a price point. One of my pairs is starting to crack after a few years and I regularily condition them.

I love my Magnanni's, they are a little bit more fashion forward but still have classic looks. They are not out in fashion left field though. I have passed on some Mezlan's and Donald Pilner because some of those styles are just too far off the path for me.

 

[RDiaz]

What is very strange is that they are not as pricy around here in the states. I have paid less than $200 for each of my pairs. The only pair I paid more for was the Artesano sole. That shoe has a look.

This might just confirm that the models I saw were "exclusive" to the department store and perhaps higher end, maybe even welted somehow. They certainly looked so. And very nice indeed. They were 60% off anyway, but the high retail price was quite a surprise...

 

[RapPaganini]

I recently ordered a pair of Magnanni Acilino in Tabaco.

The color and finish are absolutely gorgeous. The last also has the elegence that I'm a looking for but fail to find in American made shoes, like Allen Edmonds and Alden, which are all very bulky and clunky. Magnanni shoes are mostly Bologna constructed, so they are super comfy. Their more conservative models just work perfect for me, i.e. Can still wear at work but has just enough fashion forward and sleekness to make you stand out from the other average guys.

 

[Leaves]

You should ask them what their definition of "Bologna" is. As far as I know, this company uses the Blake construction.

 

[Patek14]

You should ask them what their definition of "Bologna" is. As far as I know, this company uses the Blake construction.

Blake or Blake Rapid? Big difference in my mind

 

[Leaves]

Blake or Blake Rapid? Big difference in my mind

All I heard is they do Blake, never heard Blake Rapid but this does not mean it's not. First establish if it's really a proper Bologna construction, also sometimes know as sacchetto. Maybe it actually is.

Bologna can also be done by hand (as Scafora) or by machine, which will be the case if Magnanni actually does a bag construction.

 

[Masry]

All I heard is they do Blake, never heard Blake Rapid but this does not mean it's not. First establish if it's really a proper Bologna construction, also sometimes know as sacchetto. Maybe it actually is.

Bologna can also be done by hand (as Scafora) or by machine, which will be the case if Magnanni actually does a bag construction.

I have owned a large number of Magnanni shoes in the past and still own about 6. A few pairs, which I've since parted with, were definitely that machine-stitched "bag" construction method of Bologna. Everything else was pure Blake construction. This is what they use for their boots, for their higher-end models (i.e. the Seleccion line and for items of Seleccion-quality made for others like Bergdorf Goodman).

I've always been happy with them but parted with some because everything they make is about half a size too large. I just don't think I would ever pay full retail for Magnanni. The quality of the leather is simply too hit-or-miss and there are frequent wide disparities in quality even between the right and left shoes of a single pair. Second, the use of artificial insoles means that, in my experience, they never get more comfortable over time as do shoes with proper leather insoles. The cruddy, rubbery removable insole they use in their boots is dreadful; I toss them out and put in something else.

All in all, I love the pairs I have (all of them very conservative by Magnanni's fashion-forward standards) but I put their value right at the price I paid for them (between $65 and $266 at places like 6PM, Nordstrom Rack and eBay). If buying at the Rack or other discount retailers like Last Call, be aware that the company dumps items there that are often well below the quality of even their standard lines. I was just at the Rack in Chicago and it was filled with models you'd never see elsewhere with cheap rubber soles and poor quality leather. That's not to say you can't find mainline stuff at discounters, if you're lucky.

 

[sforum1]

Did Maganni get better?

NO. Don't waste your money. Garbage.

 

[PhilKenSebben]

This is some good necro-poasting

 

[sforum1]

I felt this was my obligation and duty toward the unsuspected people who at times pay up to $500+ to buy a pair of garbage. I honestly don't think there are worse shoes you can buy in the >$100 category.