I wouldn’t buy these in full price: Grenson Fred Review
Grenson Fred is a boot version of Grenson Archie. They are brogue boots with the same brogue patterns and the last (Which decides the shape). But it offers a completely different style and vibe. Fred V boots are with Vibram soles. Vibram soles make the boots more flexible and light to wear, giving more casual style. Of course you can wear it with suits like Nick Wooster and still look sexy.
Grenson is a British shoemaker that was founded in 1866 in Northampton England. Grenson was founded by William Green, who then passed away and when his sons took the business changed the name to Grenson. Grenson has over 150 years of history like many other shoemakers located in North Hampton. Grenson is currently owned by Tim Little. He is a shoe designer. If you can look at Grenson shoes made before the company was bought by Tim back in 2011, they don’t look great. The reason why I am saying this, is because, despite the fact that I think the quality is subpar (I will explain more later), I think that the design is amazing and looks beautiful. .
Grenson Fred Sizing
- Size UK 11
- Last 201, G fitting
- But I would recommend you to go with Boots size smaller than your normal sneaker size
I wear UK 11 with Grenson Fred, which is the same as my sneakers size. That is a whole size different from Grenson Archie that I own. But, I put insoles in Grenson Fred to help my arches. I feel like the leather is too soft to actually create any support for my slightly flat feet. So if you have normal feet, I would recommend going half a size down or full size down for these boots.
Grenson Fred is made with last 201 and width/fitting is G. (That means it’s wider than the normal UK width size, which is F. The last 201 is a slightly voluminous last that will be comfortable if you have a normal to wide size feet. But not if you have very narrow feet.
Grenson Fred Leather
The leather used is tan coloured calf leather. But Grenson makes Fred in a wide range of different leather types and colours. So you can go and check them out. The Grenson Fred in Tan calf leather is one of Grenson’s most popular models. The leather is very smooth and flexible, you don’t need to break them in. They are very comfortable right out of the box.
Disappointing part is that the leather is very thin. The leather is thinner than my other boots and scuffs easily. Also, Grenson Fred has hard toes but it’s very weak. I was moving some tables around while wearing these Grenson Freds and I bumped the table into my boots and the toe box was dented. It just went inside. I pushed it out from the inside and now it looks fine. As you can see from the photo, it’s not very noticeable. It is very disappointing to see this kind of construction from boots at this price point though. At $450, or around 300 you can get boots with better construction and materials.
My Grenson Archies have better toe boxes, so it could be that my Grenson Freds are just defects.
It would be worth it if you are just trying to wear them just for fashion. But don’t move any heavy tables while wearing these.
Grenson Fred Soles
The soles on my Grenson Fred V are Goodyear storm welted, lightweight vibram wedge soles. made of a very light material and they are from Vibram. Just like the different leather types, Grenson offers a variety of different soles. Grenson has this tan model in leather and dainite soles. So if you are not a big fan of wedged soles, go check them out.
But the Vibram soles are very light and comfortable. It feels like I am wearing sneakers. I bet I can run miles in these boots and no problem. Haven’t tried yet, but it’s that light and comfortable. It’s good to give your feet a break from other uncomfortable soles.
Grenson Fred Pattern
The pattern on Grenson Fred is the same as Archie except that they have extra leather on the ankle. I love brogues and how they look.
Check out my video about brogues or go check out my Grenson Archies.
Are they worth the price?
In my personal opinion, no. They are not. These are from the G:two production line which is
made in India. I am not saying that the craftsmanship in India is poor, but the quality is lesser than other made in England brands. If I can, I would spend a bit more money and buy other brands.
One thing you also need to know is that Grenson often goes into massive sales and they are sold with many retailers. Sometimes the price goes lower than half of their original price. In that case, Yes! they are much more worth it. I would be willing to pay at least $ 300 for these. Better, if lower.
