Rag & Bone Newbury Vs Vince Camuto Hadley

As you know from the last post, I have purchased both a pair of the Rag & Bone Newbury boots and the Vince Camuto Hadley boots, which are an imitation of the Rag & Bone Newburys. As someone on the Vogue Forums told me when I was debating the real versus the steal (having already shelled out megabucks for the Acne Pistols only a few weeks ago), I would probably end up getting the real thing in the end anyway, which I did do before the steals even arrived! And besides, how could I not have a pair of boots named after one of my favourite places in the world? (Being Newbury Street in Boston, oh how I miss that place!).

I have worn the Vince Camuto Hadleys to work for the day but I have not yet worn the Rag & Bone Newburys as they only arrived yesterday. Although the VC Hadleys are probably the best knock off version of the Newburys I have seen online, I have noticed some differences. And so I present to you my review of the real V steal, the Newbury V Hadleys:

Hadleys (in sand nubuck) box and Newburys (in deep brown leather) box.

The shoes in their boxes. The inside of the Vince Camuto box is pretty cool, with the hot pink lining. The Hadleys came incredibly well packaged - each shoe in its own plastic bag, and each shoe stuffed with paper and plastic shape holders and foam padding. The Newburys came with no internal packaging or shape holders, but do have a dust bag.

Standing up straight, the Newburys are slightly taller than the Hadleys. The half seam around the toe is slightly further from the toe on the Newburys than the Hadleys. 

From the back, you start to notice the differences. The Newburys have a slightly higher heel (which is a noticeable difference when wearing them), and they also have a concealed zipper whereas the Hadleys zippers are completely exposed. 

The Hadley heel is more an unfinished heel - it is rough to the touch and has a pebbly look. 

The Newbury heel, however, is more finished and glossy and is smooth to the touch.

If you look carefully, the Hadleys have a bit of a buckling/bulging on the sole where the shoe is stitched together along the vertical line. The Newburys don't have this buckling.

The sole of the Hadley (left) is a non-slip synthetic sole, whereas the sole of the Newbury is leather. 

The inside of the Hadley is non-leather, and you can see that after only one day the insole is starting to peel off the heel of the shoe. For the price, I would expect better.

The inside of the Newbury is leather lined. Hopefully after a day of wear the insole doesn't peel off the heel!

Zipped up, it is easier to spot the exposed and concealed zippers, (Hadleys have a Vince Camuto logo on the zipper pull and Newburys have a Rag & Bone button on the leather tab of the zipper pull). This is the most noticeable difference between the real versus the steal.

On, there is enough room so your legs aren't being cut into. These are all taken with a thin sock but I think leggings or thin jeans should get inside, especially if you have skinnier calves.

VC Hadleys on. The material is really soft!

On, the Newburys seem to have a similar shaft circumference as the Hadleys. Possibly marginally smaller, but not noticeable. Certainly more roomy than the Acne Pistols!

I think the buckling in the leather around the front of the foot there is just because they're new and stretching.

Verdict
-I am happy that I purchased the nubuck suede ones in the cheaper Vince Camuto brand (and have learned that Vince Camuto is the original owner and creator of Nine West, one of my longest favourite shoe brands and I find their quality very good), as this type of material can get ruined quicker than regular leather. I purchased the VC Hadleys off vincecamuto.com for around $160 with shipping (they retail for $159 USD but I found a code for 20% off which effectively negated my shipping costs to Australia) and I purchased the R&B Newburys off Shopbop for $495USD and free shipping. Both arrived within a week and both were well packaged in their shipping boxes.

-The Newburys look and feel a bit more high quality and sturdy, from the materials used to make them to some of the construction details. I was disappointed the insole of the Hadleys had peeled away after one wear.

-The Newburys seem to run a little small. I am always an 8 in shoes and these were bordering on short in length around the heel, however once on and standing it is not noticeable. I had a mini panic attack yesterday when I tried them on with thicker socks and they were a little difficult to zip up as my heel was hitting the back of the boot! However, walking around the house I'm not sure I would want the 38.5 as I think I would be slipping around inside the boot. The front of the foot of the Newbury is a little tight, however I think it will stretch after a couple of wears.

-I love the colour of both pairs of boots. The Hadleys might transition better to Spring, however worn under jeans they can look a little country and western. The deep brown of the Newburys is really unusual and a different take from your regular mid or tan brown boots, or black boots - since I already have the Pistols in black, I thought it would be silly to get the Newburys in black too!

-The heel height mat be a little high if you are planning on wearing them around for a day on your feet at work, especially if you regularly wear flat shoes to work (as I do, since I work in a casual environment). There is a real noticeable height difference between these and the Pistols, which are definitely manageable for a day on your feet whereas these a day is about enough. Doable, but about the limit.

-The Hadleys are a pretty good knockoff in terms of style however I think in the long run the Newburys will give more comfort and hold out longer.

-Shop around for shipping costs and discount codes! The Hadleys come in around 3-4 different colours whereas the Newburys come in well over 15 different colour and material combinations. Watch the falling Aussie dollar and shop smart - it seems as though if you want to purchase something from the US, you're best to do it before the dollar falls even more!

Let me know if you have either of these boots or like them. Do you prefer ankle or calf/knee high boots? How do you wear your ankle boots?