Review of Church's Balmoral in Walnut Nevada Calf Leather

Dear readers, once again it has been many a month since there has been a post to this blog. The curation of items worth reviewing here on The Watch Post has reached a point where I no longer review everything that comes into my possession, instead I choose to review select pieces which I have spent a considerable amount of time appreciating and discerning.

Today, we have just the item that fits the criteria of being post-worthy. Ladies and gentlemen, I present the Church's Balmoral in Walnut Nevada Calf leather.

So yummeh

Now I think it's important for me to substantiate on how this pair of shoes came to be in my possession. Church's regularly go for 500 EUR at their regular retail price (RRP), and I'm not one who enjoys spending such sums of money, especially on material possessions. Naturally, I got this pair for a price far lower than the RRP, at about 150 EUR before VAT refund. I consider that to be a rather good price for a handcrafted, Goodyear welted shoe.

If you ever pop by the Space Prada outlet at Montevarchi in Italy, make sure you try your luck at the shoe clearance section because that's where I got this pair of Church's for 150 EUR! I think I was unbelievably lucky to find this gem hidden in the further discount section as this was the only pair of Church's there (everything at the outlet is already discounted but this is the further discount section) and the other shoes in this section were unimaginably tacky (there were some Prada shoes which were supposed to be formal, but it looked like they had mated a basketball shoe with an Oxford).

This shoe is a UK 7.5 in G width which fits me snugly though I am usually an UK 8 in other shoes, and an US 8 in Red Wings. So my experience with Church's thus far is; size down may be necessary, though I believe it might've been the G width that made it possible for me to fit in this pair comfortably.

The somewhat obvious discoloration of the captoe or: the reason this pair was going for 150 EUR

It ain't all a bed of roses with this shoe though, there is a reason for this deeply discounted price. This was probably a pair which didn't pass QC and it shows. First, if you would bring your attention to the toe cap area, there is a noticeable discoloration there. I would say this is the most obvious defect. Second, the shoe has been creasing quite strangely as well, which I suspect is due to it being slightly undersized for my feet therefore leading it to crease at the wrong area. The left side however seems to be creasing normally and it's just the right side that is creasing strangely. Abnormal creasing is usually indicative of shoes that have been fitted to the wrong size of feet, though I'm not so sure in this scenario as one side seems to be normal and the other side isn't.

Notice the odd creasing on the right side

Perhaps the most striking thing about a pair of quality leather shoes is the smell. I've read that real good quality leather should have a woody/fleshy smell and since I've never really owned any shoe/boot of such a caliber, I never knew what woody/fleshy meant. That is, until I opened the box with this pair inside; you will instantly know what the smell of quality leather should be like. I am unaware of the tannery which Church's uses, all I know is that this shoe is constructed of leather leagues above anything else I own (Thorogood, Diemme) and it is quite apparent.

Admittedly, this shoe doesn't have the sleekest silhouette, which I think in no small part is due to it being G width, but also probably has something to do with the 73 last (according to Herring Shoes). It has a rounded captoe and overall, has a nice and simple design which I like.

The inside of the shoe is completely lined with leather, a first for me as I've only had unlined shoes or shoes lined with drill vamp lining. A leather insole which will slowly conform to your feet with each wear meant that my first few wears were rather uncomfortable as the shoes were very stiff, but by now (at about ten wears in), they've already begun to break-in nicely and are getting more comfortable with each wear.

Mine looked similar to this, less the 'Custom Grade' markings and the Church's logo at the rubber portion of the heel before it was topied

This may be a sight of sheer horror to people who insist on authenticity but to me, I'm more of a 'a topy a day keeps a resole away' kind of guy

The sole is beautifully adorned with an debossed Church's logo, which I unfortunately am unable to provide actual photos of as I had them topied with Vibram right out of the box. You will find stitching all around the sole, less the heel area and I chose to topy them as replacing a topy sole is far cheaper than sending this pair all the way back to Northampton for a resole. I am aware that some shoemakers will not work on your shoe if they have been modified by some third party. While I am of the opinion that that is absolutely ridiculous (and what I think is a underhanded attempt to gain additional revenue on something that is rather frequent in nature considering leather soles are not very lasting), that is a discussion for another time. With Church's, I guess it remains to be seen as I won't be sending this pair back for a resole for a very long time (as long as possible till topys can't get the job done).

Yep, it's Church's alright

Overall, at EUR 150, I am absolutely elated to own a pair of Church's. I think I got a great deal on this pair and that makes me a very happy owner. It is my first pair of high-end shoes and I think that it'll be my only pair for a long time to come as I'm not willing to blow a small fortune for a pair of Edward Greens or Crockett & Jones. For the price of a Meermin, I have a handcrafted and Goodyear welted shoe. So understandably, this hasn't been much a review but more of a sharing of experience, which I do apologize for but I don't have anything in a similar class to compare to.

In closing, would I pay the full RRP for this pair if money wasn't an issue to me and I had more than enough disposable income to have a cupboard full of handcrafted shoes? My personal belief is that once you get past a certain level in footwear, the differences are minute enough that only savants will be able to appreciate the differences and I do not possess such a level of zeal when it comes to footwear. I would probably be hard-pressed in finding the differences between this pair of Church's and a Meermin (of which I'm sure there are plenty if you are a person with a wardrobe full of $500+ MTO and bespoked shoes). In other words, and to make a long story short, the answer is no, I wouldn't spend the kind of money that Church's is asking for at RRP simply because I don't value shoes so much in my life, but I do appreciate something which I know is a fine piece of work, and this pair of Church's is a fine piece of work alright.