Beckett Simonon Durant Brogue & Dean Oxford Review: Price, Process, & Quality

Finding a budget-friendly shoe that looks good, feels good, and is well-constructed isn’t necessarily an easy task.

Enter Beckett Simonon, a young shoe company that’s been around since 2012. Taking a GMTO (“group made-to-order”) to shoe manufacturing, their claim to fame is that they’re able to craft beautiful, well-made men’s shoes at a much lower cost than traditional retailers.

Unfortunately, they don’t yet offer their shoes in wide so I was unable to sample the shoes myself as my feet are quite large. Nevertheless, this review will provide a detailed overview from two separate experiences of members of the BU team.

What Are Made-To-Order Shoes?

Firstly, let’s take a look at the service offered by Beckett Simonon. Unlike the majority of shoe manufacturers, Beckett Simonon operates from a Group Made-to-Order business model.

In short, you essentially pre-order your shoes before they are manufactured. Manufacturing will then begin after the “campaign” ends or if a certain number of orders has been reached.

The benefits of this process means that Beckett Simonon will be able to produce high-quality footwear with premium techniques while respecting both their ethical vision and competitive pricing.

However, this means that you may have to wait about eight weeks until the campaign ends and your shoes are produced.

No biggie if you already own a bunch of shoes and are just buying them for fun, but if you’re just building a new collection and need shoes quickly, this is a potential snag.

What’s In The Box

The box itself is sturdy, which bodes well. It indicates that the company takes its work seriously and wants to protect the shoes as best as possible during shipping. The box included:

• Shoes (obviously)
• Two branded dust bags (a very nice touch at this price point)
• Extra removable insoles

In addition to this, the shoes were well-stuffed with paper to help them keep their shape.

Beckett Simonon Durant Quarter Brogue Review

Walking the fine line between brogues and Oxfords, the Beckett Simonon Durant are handcrafted from a smooth Argentinian full grain leather. Their stunning mid-brown colour is highlighted by a pale tan Blake stitch around the sole.

Although marketed as Oxfords, the Durant is actually a quarter brogue thanks to the use of perfing and subtle pinking. If you’re unfamiliar with what these mean, you can learn more about these terms with our shoe construction guide.

This renders them particularly versatile and ideal footwear for both professional and more relaxed environments.

Durant Appearance

These shoes look fantastic. The last features a pointed toe, an elegantly handsome silhouette that pairs beautifully with the slim blue suit I wore for this photo shoot. As I’m a tall, slim guy, this works well, but other body types may benefit from differently-shaped shoes.

Note that these could very easily be paired with jeans or casual trousers.

Without further ado, check these puppies out!

As you can see below, the waist of the shoe has a beautiful curve. These are very well-designed from an aesthetic perspective.

I was very impressed overall with how sharp the presentation of these shoes was. Definitely just as good for the office as they are on a date.

Below we see a gentleman’s cut on the heel, which is always a nice feature on a dress shoe.

How Beckett Simonon Shoes Fit

Generally speaking, the shoes fit well and were comfortable. The fit was best in the forepart and around the toe box, but the quarters and heels posed certain issues.

Below on the left, you can see the shoe’s quarters puckering out away from the foot. On the right, you can see there’s quite a bit of space between my own heel and that of the shoe. However, I used the insoles that were supplied with the shoes and these helped somewhat.

Granted, it’s quite possible that my heels are relatively narrow compared to my forefoot; it’s been a long time since I’ve been measured. And in fairness, I’m not faulting Beckett Simonon for this at all. This is simply important information for a potential buyer to be aware of.

Minor Issues

We detected a couple of very minor issues with the leather on the Durant shoes.

• Above Left: There was some peculiar puckering of the leather on the outside of the left heel
• Above Right: Small darkened mark on the outside of the upper on the right shoe

Again, these are very minor issues. Often times this isn’t a result of mishandling, but rather marks that are simply present on the hide that’s used to make the shoes. Furthermore, it appears that this was an isolated incident as there weren’t any issues experienced with the Dean Oxfords below.

Beckett Simon Dean Oxford Review

Black oxfords. A foundation in every wardrobe and a piece I had been in desperate need of replacing. After lamenting to the BU crew about not wanting to drop serious cash on a conservative shoe, Trevor suggested that I give Beckett Simonon a try after his positive experience.

With a price point of $219 for a resoleable Blake stitch construction calfskin leather shoe, it seemed like a great value. So, I ordered a pair of their Dean Oxford in black.

Dean Oxford Appearance

After arrival, I took them for a spin through Philadelphia. One of the best parts of being in your hometown is knowing how it should feel under your feet—and it felt perfect in the Beckett Simonon Dean Oxfords.

Another great part of being in your hometown is that people know how you look. These Beckett’s drew many comments. Admittedly some were due to my uncharacteristically conservative outfit-of-the-day, though most also commented on how expensive these looked.

Dean Oxford Comfort & Fit

Having worn them in the recent summer months, I was delighted to find that the grain leather breathed well in the 95°F heat under the scorching sun.

As for the comfort, the cushion supported the contours of my feet. Meanwhile, they flexed everywhere necessary, and the interior had a nice cushion as I walked.

Having only enjoyed these for a few weeks I will have to wait and see how they age, how they break in, and how well they polish up. I picked these up as a first-time customer for only $176 via their website (Using the code “BU20”), which is crazy if you take a moment to reflect on it.

A Note On Customer Service

We need to take a moment to compliment Beckett Simonon’s customer service. The first pair of shoes we ordered were far too small (we have some big-footed gentlemen here at the office). Once we reached out, we were offered an exchange without any hassle or issues.

Furthermore, they offer a one-year guarantee on their shoes, excluding normal wear and tear. This is quite rare compared to a number of manufacturers and retailers. Therefore, we can feel confident recommending them on this basis alone!

Beckett Simonon Coupon Codes & Special Offers

Currently, you can use the coupon code “BU20” during check-out on BeckettSimonon.com in order to obtain a 20% discount on any Beckett Simonon order!

Final Verdict

As mentioned above, we were happy overall with the shoes we received. The look is amazing, the construction is sound, they felt good, and the customer service we had was excellent. For $199, these are a great investment, especially for a guy on a budget.

Our only issues were the minor scuffs we found and the fit of the heel, which can generally be remedied by a heel gripper or using the additional insoles found in the box.

All things considered, we’re happy to recommend Beckett Simonon. And keep an eye on this space, as a pair of Beckett Simonon boots is up next to be reviewed!

Editor’s Note: Bespoke Unit was not compensated for this review. However, we shall receive a small commission for sales generated within 30 days of clicking a link to the Beckett Simonon website at no extra cost to you.