Review on FRASOICUS Men'S Dress Shoes Leather Classic Lace Up Oxford Formal Shoes For Men by Brian Henley

I am an Attorney and Businessman - Whether I like it or not (and I do ;) ) I NEED NICE SHOES.I've have steadily upgrading my wardrobe, including suits, shirts, colognes, socks, shoes, etc. So, when I need to replace an item, I do a tremendous amount of research, and I make a different kind of purchase. I buy the best of what I can, applying what I have learned.Over the past few months, I am finally wearing down through my last few pairs of Johnston & Murphy shoes. When I bought these, I wasn't sure what was a good shoe or bad shoe, I just knew they had a good reputation, were extremely comfortable, and they looked good. Now that I have gotten the most out of these shoes over the past 5 years, I am ready to purchase 4 to 5 new pairs of very high quality new shoes through the end of the year.HOWEVER, buying high end shoes isn't as easy as it sounds. Many high-end brands don't have shops and mostly everything is online. Usually direct to customer. So, I have purchased, tried on, returned, waited for refunds, etc. for dress shoes and dress boots several times. The hard part is not even knowing what size I wear with these different brands. This has put me in a place where I need something NOW, so I am not barefoot. Hence, FRASOICUS!The style of the Frasoicus Oxford is traditional and classy. I did not want a Derby (search YouTube). I wanted something very classic, yet modern. So, I bought three black oxfords, 8.5, 9, and 9.5, tried them on, and I was pretty much spot on with my normal U.S. Size, 9. I just returned the two extras and kept the 9.BUT NOW: THE REVIEW:I have researched many YouTube channels, learning about high-end shoes and the qualities to look for. Examples include "Kirby Allison," and "Sartorial Talks." I have learned SO MUCH. Including the key points of what makes a high-end shoe so special. This includes both CONSTRUCTION and MATERIALS. Additionally, I learned that many retailers and manufacturers are importing shoes from Italy, Portugal, Spain, and even CHINA , but they are able to maintain high standards in construction methods. Additionally, part of the reason the shoes are able to be so affordable is because they are often direct to consumer: No retail shop middle man. And this is where Frasoicus comes in.NOW, I do NOT know much of anything about this brand, the construction methods, the materials, nor the origin. There is very little information listed; however, I will share with you what I can detect:* The shoe appears to be constructed VERY WELL.* The materials appear OK - but it is only a $100 shoe.1. Handmade Qualities: Even some of the high-end shoe manufacturers use a combination of machine and hand construction methods, it appears that Frasoicus uses some hand fitting. The body of the shoe is shapely and sharp looking. It has plenty of curves and tucks in around the foot - and this is a good sign. From the pictures of the Dark Brown, you can see that the shoe seems to have been hand-fitted around a Last (shoe mold) during construction, because the leather tucks in very nicely underneath the arch. It appears to almost wrap around the foot.2. Narrow Fiddle-Back: Additionally, the "Fiddle-Back" of the shoe is just underneath the arch. Here, it is shaped to a soft center line. This is a high-end feature and very elegant.3. Fudging: The part of the sole that sticks out just past the edge of the shoe has many little notches the flow around the show. The more little indentations the smoother the look. Again, this is a high-end feature.4. Black-Stitched: I am NOT sure, but it appears that the shoe is put together with Black-Stitched construction. This is exceptional for $100! Although the sole is rubber (orange/red portion just coloring), you can resole Black-Stitched shoes. Rather than being purely glued to the leather of the shoe, they are held together by stitching (and some glue), which means the sole can be taken off and replaced. So, these shoes might not be completely disposable, if you take care of them.5. Brass Nails: WOW. The shoes even use Brass Nails (it appears) in the heel. Brass nails are a very high-end feature. Brass nails wear down at the same speed as the leather/rubber in the heel. Using steel nails sounds like a good idea, but that would be dangerous because they would start to stick out as the heel around the nails wear down faster.6. Leather: It appears OK. It is thin, BUT, I wear my shoes all day, and this is excellent for me. I still do not have enough wear (only two days) to share my long-term experience. But, again, it is only $100. And if you do your part conditioning, polishing, AND USING A SHOE TREE, your shoes should last. The shoes are tremendously light, and because of the lightness and the shapely glove like fit, the shoe truly does fit like a glove. It will stretch slightly, so if it is a little snug, that is OK. I wore them for 12 hours the first day, and the little slight rub against my little toe on my left foot has completely disappeared. It just wraps around that part of my foot now so nicely.BTW:I do NOT have narrow feet. They are a little larger around the ball of my foot, BUT, the slight tapering of the modern fit works well. There will be slightly a little extra room in front of the toes, but that is on purpose because of the more modern design. And the squarish toe is not too square. Coupled with the medallion on the front cap toe, it is excellent.NOTE: I am not saying all the materials in this shoe are high-end. It is leather, likely nothing special (cow leather v. softer calf leather), BUT the EXECUTION of this shoe is easily worth the $100. Time will tell how they hold up. Specifically, I will tell soon enough whether the leather is quality of falls apart. BUT, they look beautiful and honestly do appear to be well made. Additionally, they have some high-end features.BOTTOM LINE: Why am I writing this review? Because I want the Seller to know that these shoes are a welcome addition to Revain. I have looked for several hours at ALL of the other options on Revain, and these work beautifully. Additionally, I have looked all over the internet for a brand of shoes I can buy for the mean time that are decently made and look beautiful. As for Frasoicus, I need them to buy myself some time over the next few months, until I can invest in higher-end shoes. Likely, the shoes I buy will be in the $300 -$400 range. But, those type of shoes are not what Frasoicus is competing against. So, they serve their function beautifully.TAKE AWAY: If you can't afford expensive shoes , buy these. If you can, but need some time, buy these.Joe