Ace Marks | Restoration & Review 

John Hosford just curious if you have started to use shoe trees after seeing this video?

John Hosford Hi what is the name and color of these shoes? I want a pair of these. Hope you respond. Thanks.

John Hosford , I am glad you commented about these shoes because as I was watching this, I thought: wonder what the owner will think. I personally think the shoes came out beautiful. I loved the style of them.

Opi-Rage He could be lying but what makes you say that he’s lying? Thanks let us know.

Do you ride a motorcycle?

You are the man, John!! 👍🏻 We really appreciate you watching and subscribing! Glad to have you along.

Thank you!

I thought its just me.

my interpretation is that if a boot can be restored to a beautiful and working object then maybe a human can be redeemed as well.

I'd like to hear the answer to this too!

I hope I didn’t throw people for a loop too much. Ace Marks makes nice shoes...primarily their upper leather. Very nice calf skin. Build quality wise, they’re a typical blake stitch. There are some Ace Marks selling for $425, which is craziness...and I’ll throw Magnanni, To Boot NY, etc into that craziness price range as well. For that same money or less, Cobbler Union or J Fitzpatrick are two that come to mind. Amazing quality, Goodyear welted, blind stitching on many styles, calfskin uppers, Spanish made.... Believe it or not, you could also thrown a lot of the Meermin’s in there. We’ve had a lot of them come through our shop, and while many of them are harder to break in, they are making beautiful shoes for around $200...many with JR soles. Again, a pair of Ace Marks should last you for years with care. There are just other brands giving a little more bang for the buck at that $200-$400 price range.

For $300+, I would definitely get a pair custom made. Many super high-end brands take advantage of cheaper overseas mass production (made with Italian leather, but *_made in_* the Philippines, for example). Although this brand doesn't do that, they are still commercially produced at a rate that makes it difficult to ensure top; top quality, and at the very least, consistency depending on which factory or studio worker made them. I guarantee that you can get a much more durable, comfortable, and visually attractive pair of shoes if you go custom. The golden rule is just like if you were to get a tattoo: you'll want to check out the quality of their work before you have it done (first-hand if possible, because you can do wonders with Photoshop these days!). You can get a custom pair of plain-Jane leather shoes starting at around $150 and the price can go up quite a bit depending on the design, style, tooling, and maker. A higher priced shoe-maker doesn't necessarily mean they will craft a better quality pair than a less expensive maker, so do your research and pay attention to materials offered and very especially, the type of stitching they use. Also, for creative inspiration and to see some unique designs (in case you're considering a custom pair) check out paulfredrick.com. They're commercially mass produced overseas; like many other brands; and are overpriced, but you might like some of the ideas. Their designers are very talented, but a good custom maker can make you a pair in any style and particular look you want. I hope this helps! 🙂

@@DC430 For $300+, I would definitely get a pair custom made. Many super high-end brands take advantage of cheaper overseas mass production (made with Italian leather, but *_made in_* the Philippines, for example). Although this brand doesn't do that, they are still commercially produced at a rate that makes it difficult to ensure top; top quality, and at the very least, consistency depending on which factory or studio worker made them. I guarantee that you can get a much more durable, comfortable, and visually attractive pair of shoes if you go custom. The golden rule is just like if you were to get a tattoo: you'll want to check out the quality of their work before you have it done (first-hand if possible, because you can do wonders with Photoshop these days!). You can get a custom pair of plain-Jane leather shoes starting at around $150 and the price can go up quite a bit depending on the design, style, tooling, and maker. A higher priced shoe-maker doesn't necessarily mean they will craft a better quality pair than a less expensive maker, so do your research and pay attention to materials offered and very especially, the type of stitching they use. Also, for creative inspiration and to see some unique designs (in case you're considering a custom pair) check out paulfredrick.com. They're commercially mass produced overseas; like many other brands; and are overpriced, but you might like some of the ideas. Their designers are very talented, but a good custom maker can make you a pair in any style and particular look you want. I hope this helps! 🙂

James H Good idea!

I like how TGV does his Head to Head Watch reviews. Maybe something to look at.

Brilliant idea. Companies can even pay you to use your rating on their sites. I don't know but it's great for everyone in the end. If you get views and we get info we all win.

A Doug score

@@uniaguilar my thought exactly when I read the original comment!

Anxious to get our hands on some. We’ve heard they’re very well-made.

Good to know. I live a bit west of ATL and my long time cobbler passed away.

Trenton & Heath my cu whole cuts are the best shoes I own. Sub 500 I do not think you can beat CU. Even beat out many 500-1000 shoes

Brett Patrick We’ve been impressed with BS, particularly with what you’re getting at $200. As far as the wrinkles go, we probably could have gotten a lot of them out by wetting the shoes down completely, putting in some shoe trees and working the wrinkles out as they dry. Too much work for this video. A deer bone works better on shell cordovan.

Ace Marks soles aren't completely rubber, just the toplifts and even then it's usually combination. The reason they do that is because having a 100% leather sole can be really slippery--entirely leather soles, including the toplifts, are sometimes called "suicide soles". It's actually a thoughtful touch.

Matyas Gembala We really appreciate it! Yes, we’ll try to start discussing the welt material, etc as well. If we can get our hands on a pair of those, we’ll definitely do it. Thanks again!

D Thanks!

Bilal Mahmood Couple of ways to get these kinds of creases out. 1) always use shoe trees. I don’t believe the owner of these does. 2) put shoe trees in the shoes and then heat up the leather with a hair dryer and work the creases our 3) get the shoes completely wet, dry them off, put in shoe trees and then work the creases out as they dry.

Can't go wrong with Allen Edmonds IMO. Wear them around the house a few times to break them in before your wedding and you will fall in love with them. I like that when I buy Allen Edmonds I know i'm providing jobs for fellow Americans. You can watch factory tour videos on youtube and see how they are being hand stitched and made here in the US. I think in terms of price vs quality its very hard to beat Allen Edmonds, especially if you can catch one of their seasonal sales. You can also send them back to the factory to get resoled/refurbished if properly cared for its entirely possible for your son to wear the same pair of shoes at his wedding. After I bought my first pair of properly made dress shoes I'm sad I missed out all of those years. I'd suggest finding a local AE store to try on a few pairs.

I would like to know that as well

Akan Uwa Very true!

Raphael Rapi After watching this video, I’m thinking you can easily do better with Allen Edmonds, Meermin or heck, even Thursday Boot Co.

I agree. QUALITY wise, we would also say Meermin, Thursday, Allen Edmonds, Cobbler Union and J Fitzpatrick. These last two are around $395, but AMAZING quickly and beautiful shoes. Ace Marks appeared to be nice looking, but for the long haul and best bang for your buck, these brands will last longer.

For $300, I would definitely get a pair custom made. Many super high-end brands take advantage of cheaper overseas mass production (made with Italian leather, but *_made in_* the Philippines, for example). Although this brand doesn't do that, they are still commercially produced at a rate that makes it difficult to ensure top; top quality, and at the very least, consistency depending on which factory or studio worker made them. I guarantee that you can get a much more durable, comfortable, and visually attractive pair of shoes if you go custom. The golden rule is just like if you were to get a tattoo: you'll want to check out the quality of their work before you have it done (first-hand if possible, because you can do wonders with Photoshop these days!). You can get a custom pair of plain-Jane leather shoes starting at around $150 and the price can go up quite a bit depending on the design, style, tooling, and maker. A higher priced shoe-maker doesn't necessarily mean they will craft a better quality pair than a less expensive maker, so do your research and pay attention to materials offered and very especially, the type of stitching they use. Also, for creative inspiration and to see some unique designs (in case you're considering a custom pair) check out paulfredrick.com. They're commercially mass produced overseas; like many other brands; and are overpriced, but you might like some of the ideas. Their designers are very talented, but a good custom maker can make you a pair in any style and particular look you want. I hope this helps! 🙂

@@TrentonHeath which shoes you recommended is high quality can be easy to work as a cobbler?

For $280-450, I would definitely get a pair custom made. Many super high-end brands take advantage of cheaper overseas mass production (made with Italian leather, but *_made in_* the Philippines, for example). Although this brand doesn't do that, they are still commercially produced at a rate that makes it difficult to ensure top; top quality, and at the very least, consistency depending on which factory or studio worker made them. I guarantee that you can get a much more durable, comfortable, and visually attractive pair of shoes if you go custom. The golden rule is just like if you were to get a tattoo: you'll want to check out the quality of their work before you have it done (first-hand if possible, because you can do wonders with Photoshop these days!). You can get a custom pair of plain-Jane leather shoes starting at around $150 and the price can go up quite a bit depending on the design, style, tooling, and maker. A higher priced shoe-maker doesn't necessarily mean they will craft a better quality pair than a less expensive maker, so do your research and pay attention to materials offered and very especially, the type of stitching they use. Also, for creative inspiration and to see some unique designs (in case you're considering a custom pair) check out paulfredrick.com. They're commercially mass produced overseas; like many other brands; and are overpriced, but you might like some of the ideas. Their designers are very talented, but a good custom maker can make you a pair in any style and particular look you want. I hope this helps! 🙂

Don MacArthur The owner doesn’t appear to use shoe trees. We’ve found that most guys don’t. We probably could have worked some of these out, but we’ll save that for another video.

@@TrentonHeath I was thinking the same. I saw a restoration that the guy deep them in water then uses a shoe tree and that shoes came like new. Don't take me wrong but those creases had to go... You should do something about it. But what you did, you did it good. Cheers

Dylan Ratliff Haha...thanks! I use both Pete & Pedro putty and Suavecito pomade.

@@TrentonHeath Personally..... I'm more of a Dapper Dan man.

Bacon 😁

I know this is a year late However, I am in the same situation.Woodlore has a shoe stretcher. I have never used it, however that may work for you. I just ordered it.

Look at Allen Edmonds on sale. They make all kinds of size and width combinations from very narrow to very wide.

Department store junk, bad materials, bad construction, basically disposable, the end

Mayank Goyal We get this question often. The reason we don’t spend time getting rid of the wear lines on shoes is because we’re doing this as a business, unlike The Elegant Oxford who is doing shoe upper refurbishment for fun, and then often donating them. Every week we have a couple hundred shoes needing repairs. We simply do not have the time to spend getting the wear lines out of shoes for the videos, especially when the customers did not pay us for it. Time is money. Sometimes we’ll do “extras” for videos, but we can’t go overboard. Thanks for watching though! Glad you’re enjoying them.

True, looks like they weren't being well maintained

apparently he wore them everyday he could for about two years.

@@sjuvanet if I had the style to wear them I'd do it all the time too.

thought the same thing...looked like he'd been wading thru puddles lol

Joshua French Not yet. We’ll have to look into those. Thanks!

Omar Sharif It was hard to say, as it appeared to be on the same line as many other brands out there...Beckett Simonon, etc. It was just a chrome dyed leather.

@@TrentonHeath I find it quite durable compared to other brands.

This hits hard and close to home

These shoe videos popped into my feed 3 days ago and I have now learned so much more than I ever wanted about dress shoes and will probably be searching on ebay for a pair of allan edmonds then talking them to a cobler or whatever theyre called to have them repaired.

I feel seen! Louisiana Creole woman here....no pants as often as I can 😂😂😂😂

adam anthoni ford Didn’t it? Pants are so unnecessary 😂

@@504CreoleCrystal "I wear no pants, I wear no pants, I wear no, wear no, wear no, wear no..."

67spankadelik Haha...thank you!

MadddSkillzzz Good catch! You’re right. Magnanni’s, build and quality wise, are still very, very similar to these Ace Marks and many other Italian, Portuguese and Spanish made shoes.

Well the uppers are made in China I believe. They are assembled in Mallorca.

@@opulenceluxury8548 Carminas are also made in Mallorca.

Raphael Thank you very much! We really appreciate you watching.

Now that you’ve had a year to make money, what do you wear

smitty1952 - You’ve been watching the Elegant Oxford I assume? 🍻🍻