After writing this post back in February where I considered giving the Everlane Day Glove a second chance or trying out the original glove shoe from Martiniano, I could not get the Martiniano ones out of my mind. I flirted with the idea of trying them out before, but seriously couldn’t stomach the $435-$500+ price tag of these shoes (I have no problems splurging on bags but I have trouble splurging on shoes). But even if I were to score this on the secondhand market (I’m currently stalking TheRealReal), I don’t know what my size would be in these flats. And a quick internet search for Martiniano Glove Shoe reviews, pretty much came up with nothing (though I did find this article from Fashionista about them and learned that they started getting popular around 2015—boy am I late to this party lol). So I decided I had to just see for myself what the hype was all about when it came to the Martiniano Glove shoe, and since I wanted to give an accurate comparison I reordered the Everlane Day Glove as well (my original review of it here)
So what did I think?
Let me put it this way, if I were to liken these shoes to cars, the Everlane Day Glove is like a Honda while the Martiniano Glove is like a Rolls Royce.
Everlane at top, Martiniano at bottom
But let me get specific. The biggest difference between the two, as you can see from the pictures alone is the kind of leather they use for the shoe. The Martiniano’s are handmade (in Argentina) from a beautiful, supple, slightly shiny and totally malleable Italian kid leather. It really does feel like one of those luxurious thin leather gloves that’s normally worn on your hands. In comparison the leather of the Everlane Day Glove is much thicker, stiffer, and duller (they say buttery soft in their product description but that is a lie when compared to the Martinianos).
The difference in the leather leads to a difference in fit. I had trouble with the Everlane Day Glove (read all about it here) and even with a week of consistent wear, wasn’t able to break them in. And instead I got a blister on the heel and a few pain points at the top of my foot. I’ve been wearing the Martinianos around the house and have had zero issues and there is no breaking in period because the leather is so soft and malleable. The top of the shoe neither digs in, nor do I have any rubbing at the heel. This is truly a dream of a shoe to wear.
The Martiniano shoes run true to size and I got my usual size 8 (or in this case a 38 and fyi I’m the same size for Everlane as well) and it fit perfectly. The Martiniano glove shoes are made from all leather, including the sole, except for the stacked heel which is made out of wood. In comparison, the Everlane Day Glove has a rubber bottom that cannot be resoled and is slightly more inflexible than the leather soles. However, the leather soles of the Martinianos does mean the bottom is quite slippery and some Martiniano owners have highly recommended adding a rubber sole to the shoe. This means that the with the proper upkeep, you can resole your Martinianos for years to come.
So which one did I keep?
Neither >.<
Ok before I lose all credibility here, I had every intention of keeping the Martiniano Glove shoes but when Totokaelo (where I bought these shoes from) gave me a 15% off coupon for messing up my order I decided that I would send them back repurchase them to get $65 off (that’s nothing to sneeze at). But I decided to hold off on repurchasing because I’m not too sure where these shoes will fit in with my new mommy lifestyle (yes they’re still practical flats that are uber comfy, but really am I going to be caring about my shoes when I’m in full mommy-mode? Will I fret about getting vomit or food on the beautiful leather tops? Will I even care about shoes when I’m sleep deprived? I don’t know so I have to see before spending $400 on shoes). Also I would go over my quota of one closet addition per month if I had kept these shoes (though there’s nothing that says I can’t buy them in the future as an addition for another month). And finally, if I do re-buy these Martiniano flats, I kind of want them in a color other than black (these burgundy ones are super dreamy though I wouldn’t be getting a discount so I don’t know, we’ll see. Or I’ll wait until Totokaelo comes up with other colors—they just released an orange one that I’m not a fan of).
But here’s my final advice for people who are trying to decide between the Everlane ones and the Martiniano glove shoes: if you’re looking for a practical flat that doesn’t break the bank, you have normal to narrow feet with a low profile and/or you’re willing to do the work to break them in then I think you should definitely go for the Everlane ones. At almost 1/4th the price of the Martiniano shoes, the Everlane one is a great value and essentially does the same thing in a similar looking shoe: gets you from A to B (I guess this is the same argument you can make when deciding between a Honda and a Rolls Royce lol). But of course if you have the funds to indulge, the commitment to keep them up, and want a shoe that’ll last and last then the Martiniano glove shoe is the luxury shoe for you.
P.S. If you’re feeling lucky, sometimes TheRealReal has a preowned Martiniano glove shoe. Check here if they currently have any in your size (I’ve been seriously stalking this feed for months and so far no size 38s have shown up, though I’ve seen 37s and 39s!).
P.P.S I snagged a pair of the heeled Martiniano Glove shoes on eBay (for $95!!) so I’ll be reviewing those too (though I still really want a pair of these flats as well).