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M.Gemi Review: Handcrafted Italian Shoes

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Reviewed by Amanda Hitchcock

Last Updated January 2022

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Purchasing luxury shoes can get pretty pricey. Luckily, M.Gemi makes affordable, handcrafted, luxury Italian shoes to last a lifetime.

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The M.Gemi Felize Black Suede are the most popular moccasins they carry. This particular style comes in a few different finishes for added diversity. The hand-stitched moccasin construction leans towards a snug, sock-like fit to begin with. But, after a few wears they will fit your foot perfectly. The pegs on the bottom and back of these shoes are designed for added support and comfort.

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Ministry of Supply About Company
Ministry of Supply About Company

Pros

  • Stylish
  • Surprisingly comfortable
  • Good fit
  • Handcrafted in Italy
  • Free shipping
  • Hassle-free exchanges
  • Quick shipping

Cons

  • Can dye the skin around the ankle initially
  • Suede options need to be cleaned regularly
  • A bit pricey for some consumers

Ratings Breakdown

QUALITY

★★★★★
M.Gemi shoes are handmade and hand stitched in Italy for longevity and quality.

VALUE

★★★★
M.Gemi produces high quality products to last a lot longer than most other shoes. This creates a high value product, even though it’s a slightly higher price point than some may be comfortable with.

CUSTOMER
EXPERIENCE

★★★★★
M.Gemi shoes are built solidly for comfort, pain reduction, and great traction when walking.

BRAND

★★★★★
This brand offers free shipping, a good return policy, handcrafted shoes, supports women owned businesses, and has partnered with different Cancer organizations to help raise awareness.

Who is M.Gemi?

M.Gemi was founded in 2015 by Maria Gangemi, Cheryl Kaplan, and Ben Fischman. Maria grew up in Sicily and loved to see what new shoes the artisanal shoemaker’s came out with each week in the little shops. As she got older, she realized that this art was beginning to fade away. Her passion for shoes and her culture drove the desire to keep this artform alive.

Her dream became a reality when met Cheryl Kaplan and Ben Fischman. The former two entrepreneurs had already teamed up together on other ventures in the past that had been successful. So, when they met Maria, they knew it could be a good fit because of her passion for something the retail market was lacking.

Ministry of Supply About Company

A huge part of the reason M.Gemi exists in the first place is to keep artisanal shoemakers alive. Therefore, they only work with smaller family workshops across Italy to create their luxury shoes. These workshops are dedicated to passing the craft along to future generations so that it doesn’t fade away with society’s love of mass consumerism.

This isn’t the only great thing about M.Gemi though. They also partner with other companies focused on reducing, eliminating, and.or educating about Cancer. During the month of October, M.Gemi partners with the National Breast Cancer Foundation to increase awareness. They also donate 10% of all proceeds on specific pre-designated products during that month to the foundation.

Ministry of Supply About Company

Another company M.Gemi has partnered with is Fuck Cancer. They created an M.Gemi original Fuck Cancer specialty sneaker for this non-profit. Each pair of these sneakers purchased benefits the organization to further the reach of Cancer awareness before, during, and after treatment. It’s hard not to buy from a brand with this much social responsibility.

M.Gemi Shoes Comfort & Performance

When it comes to comfort and performance of the M.Gemi shoes, I was pleasantly surprised. As someone who typically buys second hand footwear, this was a huge splurge for me. But, I’m really glad I made the choice to give them a try.

I decided to go with the most popular M.Gemi Felize Black Suede and wait 7 business days to receive them. The packaging they came in was fairly minimal and easy to open. I was really excited to try them on as soon as I took them out of the package.

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The first thing I noticed were the little rubber grips on the bottom and back of the shoe. I figured these would make the shoe less stable for me, but it was quite the opposite. They appeared to assist with my stability and added some additional comfort to the shoe.

I was also concerned about the initial breaking in period that usually comes with all shoes. So I was really surprised to not have any of that at all with these shoes. That has never happened to me with any shoes before!

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I only noticed a couple of things that I wasn’t so sure of to begin with. At first my new M.Gemi shoes squeaked when I walked around. But I had chosen not to wear socks with them initially. As soon as I put on a pair of no show socks, the squeak went away.

I also noticed that the shoes got dirtier than I anticipated. But this was probably due to the fact that I chose the M.Gemi Felizee in black suede. Cleaning them was very quick and simple with a dry cloth though.

Kinetic Pants Zipper Problem

The last thing I noticed, albeit very minor in the grand scheme of things, was that one of the shoes had a different colored stitch. My guess is that something happened during manufacturing and they didn’t have the correct color thread to fix it. However, I didn’t notice it during the returns window. So, it will just be one of those things that makes my pair of M.Gemi’s even more unique.

Ultimately, I couldn’t be happier with my purchase and plan to wear them as often as possible.

M.Gemi Coupons & Discounts

The first place you can save with M.Gemi is by signing up for their email list. They offer all new subscribers $50 off their first order. Plus, they’ll send emails with specials and new lines regularly.

Freqently Asked Questions

Purchasing higher end luxury shoes can be a big purchase for a lot of consumers. So, here are some of the most common questions asked prior to a purchase from M.Gemi.

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M.Gemi Shoes Summary

Overall, if you’ve been considering embarking upon the luxury Italian shoe market, M.Gemi may just be what you’ve been looking for. This shoe company focuses on keeping the art of shoemaking alive for generations.

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Plus, they partner with different philanthropies to continue worldwide awareness in the Cancer arena. The fact that the look, feel, and quality of these shoes is hard to beat doesn’t hurt either.

M.Gemi Exclusive Offers

Kinetic Blazer

M.Gemi
The Felize Suede

$198

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Women's Velocity Blazer

M.Gemi
The Sacca

$195 $248

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Women’s Luxe Touch Tank

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The Piero

$248

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Women’s Carbon Neutral Shirt

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The Grado

$128

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Women’s Hybrid Seersucker Dress

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The Colette

$328

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