The Velasca Shoe Review

I was approached a few months back by the good people at Velasca because they were interested in a Velasca shoe review appearing on this here blog.  At the time, I had only recently heard of the brand, and I had never seen the shoes in person before.  Which I now know is because they do not have a physical presence here in the US.  Furthermore, they are also a young brand and do not have much presence on social media and other blogs.  So as we all know by now, I love reviewing and talking about new brands; so I obliged.

Velasca launched in May of 2013 by two friends, Fabian Matteo and Enrico Casati.  The young gentlemen grew up together in Italy and have, over time, developed a love for shoes; especially those made in Italy.  The goal of Velasca is to deliver Italian made shoes to consumers at a good price and value, which in this case, involves a direct to consumer business model.  In dollar terms this means you are getting a Good Year welted shoe for around $250.  Which puts them up against the likes of Jack Erwin and Meermin.  So this leaves us with the obvious question, are the shoes worth it?

Enrico was nice enough to let me choose the shoe I wanted to review.  Although many of the shoes caught my eye (they have a lot of colored suede, which I tend to favor) I settled on the El Selvadegh (The Wild One).  I ordered a size 42 which fits me well.  For reference, I typically wear a size US10 and UK9.  El Selvadegh is a gray suede cap toe oxford (check out my thoughts on How To Wear Gray Shoes, which serves as a preface of sorts to this review) with the sole and welting stained black, which keeps the look simple and also allows the shoe to be easily worn.

When all is said and done I do quite like the El Selvadegh.  I think Enrico and Fabian were wise to keep the design simple and classic when using a unique leather like gray suede.  Although the shoe is a little voluminous for my tastes it does fit my foot well and has been comfortable to wear; which is obviously very important.  However, this may not be an issue for you if you prefer more voluminous looking shoes.  With that said, the shoes have gotten some good usage so far I expect them to continue to be worked into the regular rotation.

So should you buy shoes from Velasca?  That depends.  If you are looking for a slimmer and sleeker shoe then Velasca would not be for you.  Or if you are looking for a brand that has a really diverse product catalogue you may also want to look elsewhere.  but Velasca is still a very young brand so I expect their offerings will increase.  But if you like the style of Velasca’s shoes and you want shoes that were made in Italy then Velasca is great option for you if your budget is around $250.  For the price the shoes are well made, so there is a good value on that front.  Velasca is also a great option for people looking to get dress shoes in rare colors, like gray suede (they also have attractive models in green and light blue suede).  So like all products, it is up to you to decide if Velasca’s shoes fit with your style.  Head to the comments section if you have any questions, comments or experience with Velasca shoes that you want to share.

–JLJ

Note: FYGblog did receive these shoes for the purpose of this review.  As always, the utmost effort was taken to maintain an unbiased stance in reviewing them.