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With summer on its way, I decided to get a pair of double monk dress shoes. Since I’m not a fan of loafers, I reasoned that brown double monks are a little easier to dress down than my other dress shoes (both Oxfords).
After searching online, I found this pair of lightly-used Saint double monk shoes from Thursday Boots on eBay for $75.
After cleaning them up, I’ve worn quite a bit over the past few months.
Here’s my review:
QUICK TAKE
The Saint from Thursday Boots is an excellent double monk for the man on a budget, coming in at under $200 new.
While the construction doesn’t seem to be of the highest quality, they are Goodyear welted, made from full grain calfskin, and have an elegant silhouette.
CONSTRUCTION & HARDWARE
Comfortably in the low-mid price range for dress shoes, the Thursday Saint is surprisingly well constructed.
It has a Goodyear welt, something which many other comparably-priced dress shoes don’t have. A Goodyear welt not only helps keep out moisture, it also allows for shoes to be resoled instead of tossed when the bottoms get worn.
Speaking of bottoms, the Saint has a studded leather sole which gives better traction on slick streets than leather alone.
The buckles are solid and work well. At first, it was a little difficult to get the buckle pin to go through the holes in the straps.
However, after a few tries this got easier as the leather started to wear in.
The buckles are attached to the shoe with small elastic loops that are stitched into the upper. If anything, these elastics appear to be the shoes’ weak points.
THURSDAY SAINT LEATHER
The leather of these shoes is full grain, which is a huge plus because that means that they will “wear in” long before they wear out. Full grain leather tends to become more comfortable over time and ages much more gracefully than cheap, bonded leather.
The shoes’ insides are fully leather-lined, something I made sure of before buying used. (Shoes with fabric linings are much harder to clean and disinfect).
One important thing to mention — these shoes’ leather upper doesn’t feel as nice (or as thick) as my Allen Edmonds.
We’ll have to see how that translates to the shoes’ longevity, but I imagine that my double monks will last a long time.
THURSDAY SAINT SIZING / COMFORT
Just as leather quality isn’t quite as high as Allen Edmonds’, my Saints feel all-around cheaper than my AE’s.
It’s hard to explain, just as it’s hard to explain how a canvassed suit feels better than a fused one.
I discovered one possible source for this feeling of cheapness when I noticed a small tear on the shoe lining of the right shoe where the flap closure meets the base of the tongue. The tear exposes a layer between the lining and the upper where I can see some sort of white fabric.
Perhaps this layer has something to do with the feeling, though I’m not sure.
The first time I wore these shoes they weren’t very comfortable. I felt rubbing in the heel and toe box areas.
However, after experimenting with buckle adjustments and storing the shoes with a shoe tree, now they are comfortable to wear.
I ordered a size 10, the same size I wear in Thursday’s Scout chukka.
