The Meermin MTO Adventure Reaches a Fruitful Conclusion

As some of you may know, I have been waiting on a pair of Meermin MTO shoes that I worked on with the proprietor of the brand, Pepe Albaladejo for a number of months now. Happily, this process came to an end over the holiday season, and I received my custom pair of navy suede, side-buckle monk strap shoes from Meermin’s Linea Maestro. They are fantastic.

For those of you interested in the details, these shoes are goodyear welted with a stacked heel and triple nail pattern. The double leather sole is channeled and the waist is slightly beveled, both of which are nice aesthetic touches. As part of the custom work, I requested a forest green insole and my initials on the inside - these smaller details are great in the sense that they provide specific utility to the wearer. No one sees the insoles of the shoes, but knowing that the brand in question took the time to add these components is a testament to their quality and willingness to really customize. You’d expect this of a pair of bespoke shoes, but for made to measure, it’s definitely a nice touch. I chose navy suede as it’s casual but reserved and fairly versatile. For practical purposes I added flush metal toe taps as well, as I tend to wear down the ends of my shoes quite quickly. Finally, I chose a medallion for the toe box, just to give them a little bit of added character.

I’m sure many of you have already experienced Meermin’s shoes by now, so I won’t prattle on about all the elements that make them great. They use some of the finest upper materials you can find, and the suede in this instance is no different. It feels soft and durable, and the color is a rich dark navy, more akin to the photo of the back of the shoes above. The other shots are a bit lighter so you can all see the nuances. The soles are gorgeous and all the customization is fantastic. I really like the double leather soles, as they feel substantial and look it too. My only two gripes with these shoes are issues that have come up before in other reviews I’ve perused. First off, the finishing could use a little work. One shoe came with a slight chip near the heel on top of the sole - not a huge issue at all and something I’ve seen on Aldens I own as well. The one other issue is very petty, but I wish they had punched more than one hole on the strap - something that can be easily fixed at the cobbler, but it would have been nice to be able to adjust them a bit.

All in all, these shoes are superb and came out looking absolutely stunning in my mind. The Hiro last fits well and has a very nice shape to it. I cannot wait to break these in, as I imagine they will only get more and more comfortable. A huge thanks to Pepe and his team for all their help throughout this process - it was well worth the wait. If you are looking for relatively inexpensive made to order shoes, I would look no further than Meermin Mallorca.