Double Blake McKay Unboxing - DSW vs DTC Models ($99-$175)

Blake McKay: thekavalier.reviews/blake885f4
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For reference, I am 6’4 usually 170lb. Typical sizes of clothing:
T-shirts: S
Long sleeve shirts/button downs: M
Dress Shirts: 15.5 x 35
Pants: 30 x 34
Dress Shoes: 12
This video is not sponsored, I am unboxing on camera because I love the brand and want to share better menswear with the world. This video probably contains affiliate links which support the channel. Have a product you would like me to review? Comment below or email [e-mail]
The Kavalier is an independent review network presented by Jon Shanahan for men’s lifestyle products from online only retailers including Everlane, Beckett and Simonon, Frank and Oak, Bonobos, Five Four Club, Mizzen and Main, Trunk Club, Fashion Stork, Bombfell, threads for gents, bespoke post, Jack Erwin, Foremost Edition, Dollar Shave Club, Mack Weldon, MeUndies, Satchel and Page, Dapper Classics, Hall and Madden, Suitable, Indochino, and Gustin. Including products from companies from Casper & Leesa Mattresses, Calvin Klein, Ledbury, Burberry, Banana Republic, Charles Tyrwhitt, J Crew, Marine Layer, Stitch Fix, Barbour, Orvis, Baxter of California, and more! Suggestions for products and companies are always appreciated- Comment below

[@OGustus]

I am always amazed by the quality of unbiased information and straight to the point approach you take in your videos. Thanks for your service.

[@robo3174]

Great review! I have a few pairs of Blake McKay shoes and yes, the Italian made line is definitely of higher quality. DSW only carries a small portion of the Blake McKay shoes. However they do actually have a couple of the Made In Italy pairs, which cost less when they have their sales. As always Jon’s reviews on spot on!

[@darbymckilkannoncaid3279]

videos like this one are why i sub to your channel, keep them coming!

[@rlgwoody8966]

Thanks so much. This unique review was very informative and helpful.

[@clint7312]

Very interesting approach. This video really does make a good point that if you do find the shoe cheaper somewhere.....look deeper because there’s probably a reason.

[@kaisersikder3398]

Good reviews 👍

[@dt7603]

The self control is strong. I can't open new leather shoes without jamming my nose into them.

[@jackross876]

Ahh! That was very informative. I just would have assumed I was getting the exact same shoe but for a cheaper price. A+ reporting 👍

[@chedelirio6984]

On this specific brand -- alas, 3+ years down the road, the mass market has prevailed. What is left available in their online store are mostly $145 versions that are closer to what appears in this video as the DSW version -- synthetic cup sole, foam insole (and the liner kind of not well attached), easily creased uppers.

[@alvinprettyman1802]

thanks for posting

[@martinkrasovec7155]

hey Jon, first off I want to say that I appreciate your videos very much. You basically sift through the brands for us, so we know what to expect when we buy things - saving us viewers tons of money. So thank you! I have noticed that many of the brands you review are of the lower grade, and many times brands that are meant for the younger, label oriented and social media influenced crowd. I think many of us viewers would appreciate if you would test and compare brands that are more of a mid price range, quality oriented brands with heritage, that are not yet considered luxury. For example for shoes - brands that actually make quality shoes that last for years and can be bought by an average man if he saves a bit: Carmina, Vass, Yanko, Carlos santos, Crockett and jones, Alfred Sargent, Allen edmonds, Antonio meccariello, J. Fitzpatrick, Cobbler Union etc. I think that featuring such brands would really take the videos to another level. Thank you , MK.

[@The_Kavalier]

Hi Martin, each of those brands is definitely on my list. I am just starting to get into that level of footwear (Bought Carminas on my recent NYC trip) so I definitely want to cover those. After getting all of these shoes I am really looking forward to helping make a guide to help people decide. That's the long term goal, until then I truly appreciate everyone coming along for the ride and making A+ recommendations like this one. I've had my eye on Crockett and Jones for years....

[@MassarS1]

Please do a video where you polish a pair of shoes. :)

[@fanculture]

FYI the T6i in Chestnut is currently on sale for $99

[@primegoalkeepertime9618]

Hey love your channel! I wanted to ask what your thoughts on Johnston and Murphy Italian crafted line I have quite a few pairs of them with my Allen Edmonds thanks!

[@ooVAPRoo]

Blake McKay has shoes that are in the low 100s too.

[@stefpix]

Thank you. I bought a pair of black Oxford Blake McKay on sale ($80) for a wedding. but I also purchased a used pair of Allen Edmonds McAllister for the same price. What is your take on used shoes? The ones I got look very clean inside, little wear, just a scuff, scratch on the tip i can polish. I am thinking of returning the Blakes. After all people rent ski boots, wear bowling shoes and ice skating boots worn by many other people. I do not wear formal wear often enough to justify, and I usually wear minimalist Adidas running shoes.

[@goaztecs7549]

Great review as usual. I was wondering if you might consider comparing Alden and Allen Edmonds. They appear very similar in construction and both use Horween leather yet there is a considerable price difference. Although I love my AE's I'll admit there is the occasional QC issue. Otherwise, I'm curious as to what are the other distinguishing characteristics of these brands. Thanks again and keep up the great work. I love seeing that subscriber count growing!

[@The_Kavalier]

That's an excellent idea. Putting that high on the list

[@adamharris8389]

Thanks for the videos! I bought a pair of the Blake McKay Italian series T1i derby. There is a lot to like about these shoes. The leather seems higher quality than my Beckett Simonon in that it doesn't crease right away and seems more substantial in general. These shoes are very comfortable to wear all day to work, and they look good with that burnished toe finish. Here are a couple of the negatives on these shoes. First, they 'clack' when I walk down the hall at work or on any hard surface. I sound like a girl :-). When I tried to communicate this to Blake Mckay, their customer service seems non-existant. I called the 800 number on their site and had to leave a voice mail. I tried emailing customer service but received no reply. The other negative to mention is the clacking heel seems to be wearing down quickly, especially compared to my Beckett Simonons, which I wear much more often, but the heal hardly shows any wear at all. Overall, I like the T1i even with the drawbacks, but I'm not in a hurry to buy again from Blake McKay.

[@Jeebus0143]

Who makes the shirt u r wearing?

[@stevedapirate5]

You should do a buyer's guide for leather jackets.

[@aaron___6014]

A deep drive on two

[@TheMensch]

had a similar experience buying wolverine 100 mile boots in DSW a few years ago before i got into boots. I knew 1000 mile were supposedly good so bought them for $100 (retail said $200 from DSW) . Later on realized these were made in china also with cheap leather and a cheap insole and was utterly disappointed. Still have em, dont wear em. But you live and learn!

[@matthewfalls3421]

Well I did it. Heard your review on shoes while listening to the Buttoned Up Podcast. Especially interesting because I'm looking for new dress shoes brand. Blake McKay peaked my interest. I then came across this podcast. Just made a purchase - from the website, not DSW. Here's to hoping 🍸

[@matthewfalls3421]

Ugh...so the model I ordered from the Blake McKay website are definitely the same ones sold at DSW. Annoying. I was definitely under the impression that the inferior shoe was not sold directly by Blake McKay.

[@chedelirio6984]

@@matthewfalls3421 they do seem to have fallen into the de-contenting spiral. Oh well...

[@juanjosefermin3682]

Have always the eggs and bacon picture, please! :)

[@therealmichaelw]

I'd still get Thursday Shoes over these, but good to see there are other options

[@danielhakimi]

I mean, that's a difficult thing to say from a video, without knowing leather quality, comfort, et cetera.

[@therealmichaelw]

@@danielhakimi Leather quality seems to be less, as he said. Blake stitch vs. good year welt, I hate the blue sole, and the Thursdays are built to be comfy (carbon comfort shank, cork midsole, etc.)

[@The_Kavalier]

The Thursdays definitely have the more comfortable footbed

[@neckroteddy]

The shoes look very nice with that outfit.

[@The_Kavalier]

Thank you Ian!

[@neilschulman9198]

Love your reviews. I am looking at a chukka boot on sale on the blake mckay website that looks pretty nice and is only 59.99. Is this a dsw shoe or FTC shoe from Blake mckay?

[@The_Kavalier]

If it says Blake construction it’s the better model. Otherwise it’s the cheap one

[@jonathanlouie517]

What are anyone’s thoughts on To Boot New York shoes? I’ve had a pair of oxfords from them that I’ve worn well for the past 2 years, but wondering if their construction and build quality are aligned with their general price point of $300-$400.

[@The_Kavalier]

Unboxing a pair next week 😏

[@Parker_Miller_M.S.]

Not sure if you saw my comment on a previous video but toecap.com has shoes under 120 bucks that have full grain leather uppers sourced from spain but cemented construction. I think it would be interesting to see a vid on them for people with a low budget

[@therealmichaelw]

Don't trust combatant gentlemen

[@edo3297]

How can we spot a good leather when we have the shoes in our hands? I mean, not always there is the description of the construction, or the type of leather. In that case, how can we do? It could be an interesting video!

[@The_Kavalier]

Yes I am trying to make sure I have all of my bases covered to make that video. Having 50 pairs of shoes in front of me really helps ;-)

[@jonadol]

Such an adorable face

[@guerreiroitaliano6952]

Tome like !

[@kongmw]

sooooo early!

[@The_Kavalier]

First!

[@danielhakimi]

The sole on the cheap one might be a fake stitch, I'd imagine they're cemented.

[@thomasmargolis3313]

so you'll do an 'honest' review of BRICKELL MENS SKIN CARE ? You purchase the products at regular price too. Not one more paid review, right?

[@thew60]

Personally I think this company sold their soul to the devil to be doing something like this. He would never see this coming from even Beckett Simonon or Thursday. I certainly not from the likes of Allen Edmonds. This territory is very well covered by the lakes of Rockport and Cole Haan who both happen to be very good in that territory if that’s what you’re looking for

[@dylanschang6386]

I’m sorry but they don’t look like leather... they look like plastic

[@peterthepayne]

they are still ugly shoes though. If you want a lower price that's well constructed, that means goodyear welted not blake stitched. (blake stitched is a far worse construction method than goodyear) then I would look no further than Meermin. they use a beautiful hidden channel goodyear welted construction and styling that actually has some kind of though put in to them. A load of the popular entry level shoes you have reviewed recently literally look identical to basically any bottom shelf synthetic leather £10 shoes from shozone.

[@The_Kavalier]

Goodyear welt is not always better than blake stitching. Thursday and Meermin get away with lower priced shoes by reducing leather quality to hit a price point. I'd rather have 1 Paul Evans shoe than 2 Thursday Boots shoes IMHO

[@peterthepayne]

The Kavalier please give me one scenario where Blake is a superior construction method?..... IMHO there isn’t one. Goodyear is stronger, easier to resole and more water resistant. Why do you think a lot of these companies are adding faux stitches on a fake welt to make them look like Goodyear. As far as Paul Evans is concerned, the styling and construction pales in comparison to pretty much every British shoe manufacturer out there such as loake, Barker or Joseph cheaney who all produce shoes at a similar price point.