Oba Lug Sole Derby (Men)

I got the midnight version of the Armando Cabral Oba. This handsome pair is a round-toe lug sole derby. However, the round toe is subtle enough that they can look pretty dressy. The lug sole sticks out of the back (past the heel counter) a lot more than I would have liked, but they still look attractive when dressed up with their round waxed laces. The outside of the shoe looks simple, except for the Armando Cabral monogram toward the back of the shoe. Some of the detailing on the inside of the shoe, with the insole and lining, look exquisite. The lining is apricot in color, and it can hint itself like piping, giving the shoe some beautiful accents when the shoe is seen from the front. There is no mention of the construction of this shoe anywhere on the marketing material. I had to go to the Cabral Website to see that the Oba is hand-stitched, but this didn't mean much. So I reached out to the Cabral people and asked if the shoe is Goodyear-welted. The answer came back that it's not technically Goodyear-welted, but that it's stitched and can be resoled. Looking at the shoe, I can see that it seems to be welted, as I can see the stitching around the perimeter of the shoe and can even see what looks to be the welt joining. But since there's a rubber lug sole on it, I can't see any stitching on the outsole to determine for sure if it's welted. From the looks of it, it seems to be either storm-welted or split-welted. The stitch rate around the welt on top is low, at only 2 1/2 stitches per inch, so it is possible that the stitching is hand-done on this shoe. If this shoe is, indeed, welted, then the lug sole (specifically a Vibram commando sole) is glued onto the midsole, which is stitched to the welt. My feet measure at an 8 1/2 D for my arch length. When I concurrently bought an Allen Edmonds Park Avenue with lug sole, the Allen Edmonds representative recommended that I get an 8 D and that the shoe would expand to fit around my feet when I broke in the shoe. With that in mind, I bought these Armando Cabrals at an 8, and out of the box, they fit snugly just as the Park Avenues did. However, the Park Avenue expanded a bit and fit my feet OK (a bit looser than I would have liked). But, when I broke in these Armando Cabrals, they expanded a lot more, and my heel kept popping out of the back when I walked. So I had to try to correct this with insole inserts and heel grips. I was really surprised and alarmed at how much these shoes stretched when broken in. The midnight color is beautiful and can be mistaken for black in the shade and a kind of royal blue in the light. However, when I conditioned the shoe for the first time, the dark dye rubbed off in excess onto my cloth. This was extremely alarming, as I didn't know if the shoe was going to lose its color. However, it just seems as though the dark shade of the shoe is an overdye and isn't fast. Even a drop of water on my hand ended up blue when I touched the shoe with it. And after a light conditioning, the shoe seems to be a brighter blue than I had wanted. This was disappointing and will have to be corrected with either a darkening conditioner or a dark shoe polish. Even with all shortcomings, I am still satisfied with these shoes overall. As a fan of the round-toe lug sole derby, I find this silhouette to be a very nice balance between casual and dressy, without getting too formal and without getting into the realm of clown shoes. These Oba shoes seem to be welted, and if they are storm-welted, that would be a bonus as they would provide even more protection from the rain. However, the fit stretched quite a bit when broken in, and it's taking more work than I had expected to try to correct the fitting to be comfortable. The midnight version also has a problem where the dye comes off when in contact with moisture. Those are two big problems if you don't have the time and means to try to correct the fit and color. Otherwise, they are a handsome pair of shoes that you can wear casually and dress up in semi-formal settings.

I was looking for a lug sole blucher, but none of them were exactly what I was looking for… until I found these. The sole is chunky, but not overly so. The one issue I had was the photos are mixed up with the descriptions. When I ordered the black shoe, I received the white ones. I had to order the shoe with the off-white image to receive the black shoes. The descriptions for Milk and Noir are mixed with the photos from the other.