If you've been following along for awhile now, you know that my Vince Blair sneakers (similar here) are my favorite and thus one of my most worn items so far this year (I purchased it in January of this year). Well I haven't mentioned that I've actually had the M.Gemi Cerchio for about 8 months now and it's been worn once and has been languishing in its box ever since. And I would feel remiss if I didn't review these shoes before sending them off to their new home (via eBay).
First a note on sizing, M. Gemi sizing is all over the place so I try to pay attention to their sizing chart every time I order. I got the Cerchio's in a size 38 (and I'm usually a size 7.5 to 8 but with wide feet). They run wide so for me I found them TTS.
So here's my problem with the Cerchio's: they are quite heavy due to the thick rubber soles but the elastic on the top of the foot isn't enough to keep them comfortably on the foot. I end up clomping around. Also the thick rubber soles are quite stiff and inflexible. It's too bad too since I really like the look of the woven leather. They also have good arch supports which is better than the Vince Blairs, which are quite flat.
But here's the nice thing about the Vince Blairs, and what makes them my favorite slip-on sneaker: the Blairs have a thinner and more flexible sole combined with a well-placed, large piece of elastic on both sides of the foot to help the shoe grip the feet better. I seriously walked miles and miles with my Blairs and had zero discomfort from the get-go. Also I found that even though I have a high arch, I had no arch pain either.
As for the Vince Blairs, I got them in 7.5 and found that they fit perfectly. I've seen reviews of these shoes saying they're a tad on the larger side so size down (which to me I guess means take the smaller of my two sizes). You might find that you will have to go down a full size down from your normal size for a better fit.
I wear these slip-on sneakers without socks so yep, it can get a tad smelly inside the mostly-leather interior of the Blairs. So I don't plan to wear these in the summer and will probably go with my Rothy's (reviewed here) or my Everlane Street Sandal (no longer sold). I'll also be looking into a shoe deodorizer like this (though I'm not a fan of the plastic here) or maybe something like this. But I found this to be a perfect California winter shoe with the leather keeping my feet warm but not too hot. And it shows, since I've worn it 52 days so far this year (making it my #2 most worn item) and getting my cost per wear down to $2.11 (I got them at Nordstrom Rack so I paid about $110 for these shoes which normally go for $195). So yes, these might not be an "ethical" pair of shoes but for me they are so worth it!
Anyway onto the giveaway! I've got a bunch of $50 M.Gemi codes lying around and since I'm not really interested in buying anymore shoes from them, I hope some of you guys could put them to good use. I have 9 codes to giveaway and to enter just fill in the form below. Giveaway will end in 1 week and you will be emailed the codes if you win!