Oak Street Bootmakers

[Jodhpurs]

Has anyone tried their country loafer? I am thinking of getting one for a sockless summer shoe here in Australia. How is the sizing?

Country Loafer - Natural Chromexcel

Simple Stitchdown 360° Construction. Unlined Horween® Chromexcel® Leather Upper. Vibram® 2060 Morflex® Compound Sole with Hand-Stained Leather Midsole. Leather Footbed. Natural Stitching. Antique Brass Buckle.

oakstreetbootmakers.com

I have their Camp Moc that I bought half a size down based on the website recommendation and it is pretty tight. Hoping it opens up a bit with time.
Hoping to avoid that mistake with this one. Any guidance would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[thatboyo]

That's just aurora middle english shoes. TTS assuming they are on same last.

Search: 36 results found for "middle english"

The Aurora Shoe Company produces shoes using American materials. Hand Crafted in the USA. Made to Last.

www.aurorashoeco.com

 

[Jodhpurs]

That's just aurora middle english shoes. TTS assuming they are on same last.

Search: 36 results found for "middle english"

The Aurora Shoe Company produces shoes using American materials. Hand Crafted in the USA. Made to Last.

www.aurorashoeco.com

Cool..didn’t know about those. I guess Oak Street is offering a different colour than Aurora. Otherwise, looks like the same shoe. Thanks. Learn something new everyday. Do you have any experience with the sizing?

 

[thatboyo]

It’s in my post, tts. I wear same as brannock

 

[Jodhpurs]

It’s in my post, tts. I wear same as brannock

Ok. Apologies. Not up on the acronyms

 

[JohnE]

Penny Moc 4 Month Review

I came across the Oak Street Bootmakers Penny Moc after searching for a high quality loafer that could easily transition between casual and business casual clothing. I live in a hot, tropical climate and work in an in-person office on the informal end of business casual. Many people wear jeans and even sneakers to work—I wanted to look more polished without being overly formal/out of place. I also walk back and forth from my home to the office and knew that the shoes would need to be comfortable in action. On weekends I wanted to be able to wear the same loafers with shorts—to slide into them sockless to take the dog for a walk, or run after my daughter at the park. This seemed like a tall list of things to find in a single pair of loafers… but the Penny Moc turned out to be exactly what I was looking for.

I have now had these shoes in brown Chromexcel for over 4 months. For work days or a night out, they look great with chinos or nice jeans and a button-down shirt. On the weekend they look amazing with shorts and a t-shirt. This summer I did an extended trip with the Penny Mocs as one of just two pairs of shoes (the other was a pair of running shoes for exercise). It's hard to imagine a more versatile design. Their main limitation is that you probably wouldn't want to wear these with tailoring. That being said, I wear a sports coat for work meetings 4-5 times a year. I wear a suit maybe once or twice a year—if at all. A smart casual loafer, in my context, actually gets way more mileage than a more formal model.

If there was one element about the design that makes this a great fit for shorts, jeans, or chinos—but not for tailoring—its the flat rubber camp moc sole. Very comfortable for walking or standing for longer periods, good traction. A relaxed look while also presentable.

My one complaint for the Penny Moc is about fit/sizing. OSB recommends that you order a full size down from your Brannock size. I am a 9.5 in Nikes, 9 on Brannock, so I ordered an 8 after reconfirming the recommendation with customer service. When these arrived, I quickly realized that the 8 was painfully small. Toes were totally crunched and it felt so tight that it actually activated sciatic nerve pain in the 30 minutes I wore them around the house. Round 2 I ordered an 8.5. These continued to feel a bit on the small side, but given that Chromexcel stretches, I figured that this had to be it. The reality is that although the shoes have definitely stretched over the last few months, I still feel at times like they squeeze my toes and the ball of my foot a bit. I can now fit a finger behind my heel when sockless—so I don’t think that the length is the issue. I think its more a feature of the last, in that when I walk my foot tends to move towards the narrow front of the shoe and my toes actually push against the leather. This can occasionally get annoying after walking in the heat/as my feet swell. They are still very comfortable probably 95% of the time, and the other 5% it makes me wonder whether a different size or last might have been better (the challenges of purchasing shoes online!).

View attachment 2238319

I've had mine a bit less time than you have, but I'd say my experience is fairly similar. I usually wear a 10 or 10.5 for shoes/boots, but I got the Beefrolls and the penny loafers in 9 after a visit to their HQ in Chicago (I didn't realize it was just the corporate office and not a retail outlet. They were incredibly nice and let me try on shoes anyway). The loafers were a huge pain to get on the first 6-7 times I wore them, but now I can slip them on without bending over in bare feet. They are very comfortable, but I sometimes notice myself curling my toes a bit because they're pushing up against the front of the shoe. I probably have less room behind the heel than you do. No such issue with the toes in the beefrolls, but I didn't realize how loudly they'd click clack while walking. Not the end of the world, but I end up feeling kind of self-conscious about how loud they are being a more "casual" shoe.

 

[JohnE]

Also, if anyone is interested in a pair of Bit Mocs in size 9 natural CXL I'll let mine go for $200 plus shipping from MO. Never worn. They're going for $262 new right now.

My wife has a similar pair and I didn't want to end up wearing matching shoes so I got the Penny Moc lol.

 

[Johknee]

Has anyone tried their country loafer? I am thinking of getting one for a sockless summer shoe here in Australia. How is the sizing?

Country Loafer - Natural Chromexcel

Simple Stitchdown 360° Construction. Unlined Horween® Chromexcel® Leather Upper. Vibram® 2060 Morflex® Compound Sole with Hand-Stained Leather Midsole. Leather Footbed. Natural Stitching. Antique Brass Buckle.

oakstreetbootmakers.com

I have their Camp Moc that I bought half a size down based on the website recommendation and it is pretty tight. Hoping it opens up a bit with time.
Hoping to avoid that mistake with this one. Any guidance would be appreciated. Thanks

Hi Jodhpurs,

Can you tell me about the fit of your Camp Mocs?
I'm in Australia and I'd like to order a pair, but I'm reluctant to order based on OSB's size recommendation. Do you know your US brannock size and/or width? I have a high instep and it's near impossible to find shoes that fit.

Thank you!

 

[Jodhpurs]

Hi Jodhpurs,

Can you tell me about the fit of your Camp Mocs?
I'm in Australia and I'd like to order a pair, but I'm reluctant to order based on OSB's size recommendation. Do you know your US brannock size and/or width? I have a high instep and it's near impossible to find shoes that fit.

Thank you!

I usually wear a 8.5 UK so I ordered their size 8 (which they suggest is 7.5 UK) as suggested. It was very tight and uncomfortable, especially on top of my foot where the laces are tied. I took some 8.5 UK shoe trees from Meermin (they have very little give to them and are quite heavy) and shoved them in the camp mocs and left them in there for about two weeks. That made a big difference. Even now, they are uncomfortable after a couple of hours of wearing. I think they will eventually get to a point where they are meant to be but will take time. If I had to do it again, I would go half a size down instead of a full size down as OSB suggested. It is interesting that their website now suggests to go half-a-size down. I believe they were previously suggesting to go a full size down or maybe I read it wrong.

In summary, go half a size down and you should be fine. If you don’t want to spend too much time getting them to strech then just order your usual size. I ordered the Camp Moc in roughout suede.
Hope that helps.