Dress Shoe suggestions

I am in the market for a new pair of dress (but not too dressy) shoes. I am speaking at a conference in April and using that as an excuse to get a new pair of kicks. Plan to wear then with jeans so they can’t be too dressy. I am really looking for something that I can wear for a while and resole when they wear out. I am assuming that means I need leather soles. Really want a lace up. Been looking at Oxfords and Wingtips.

Is it possible to get a decent pair in the $150-$200 range? I am pretty naive when it comes to quality shoes. Could you guys point me in a the direction of some decent brands.

Here are a few I have found so far…

This pairs a little high

http://www.kennethcole.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12253253

http://www.colehaan.com/colehaan/catalog/product.jsp?catId=100&productId=528678&productGroup=528680

http://www.kennethcole.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12253250&cp=3075190.3075224.3075245

Thanks

J

well those are some pretty drastically different shoes. They are all nice shoes but it really comes down to your personal style. Personally I think that brown shoes look better with jeans and come across more casual, but thats just me.

They all should be resole-able.

I like the perfed Kenneth Coles, cool twist on a classic style.

Dress shoes… in the “Furniture” forum? Well, they are personal furnishings… . :wink:

def the kenneth coles

Sorry Lew. It was late last night and I wasn’t wearing my glasses. Ooops!

I know it’s all about personal style, I am more concerned about the resole piece. I am a bit confused on what can be resoled and what can’t.

J

ok so its a shameless self plug, but i think it fits and also helps you on price. We have prided ourselves that this group of shoes is made every bit as well as the competitive product 25-50% more expensive, and i think the last and materials in ours are great. but its the traditional leather sole men’s shoe construction, cobbler could replace the toplift in the heel and leather sole.

also… what size are you (i might happen to have something laying around, haha)

congnac leather can dress up really well but looks great with jeans too, would be my choice:

brown washed leather gives more of a casual/worn look.

leather/canvas is also a cool look, cat go wrong with any!

as far as your other shoes, i think you have some nice choices, the perf’d kenneth cole are cool, but maybe not as versatile? and the CH’s are nice as well. Bed Stu are a bit much for my taste, boss are just too long in my opinion, and those black KC’s just look overly dressy to me. but its just my opinion, thay are all decent shoes.

let us know what you end up with!

I’d go here:
http://www.colehaan.com/colehaan/catalog/pwp.jsp?l=shop,pwp,c-100/f-10002+70016+4294966454/t-MEN%27S|OXFORDS
Screen shot 2012-02-21 at 10.32.08 AM.png
Screen shot 2012-02-21 at 10.31.52 AM.png
Screen shot 2012-02-21 at 10.31.32 AM.png
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Yo, Now those make a statment!! Don’t know if I could pull those off.

these :slight_smile:
http://www1.qa2codebloomingdales.fds.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=566524&CategoryID=20620

Scb- I’m diggen those.

No one has answered the resole question. What makes a shoe resoleable?

J

For dress shoes and boots, the sole is either glued on or stitched on via a welt (flange for attached sole). A glued on sole can be resoled. A cobbler will just yank it off and glue on a similar sole. For a welted sole, the sole is glued and stitched on. You can see the welt and stitching on the above chukka. To resole, a cobbler will glue and restitch a new sole on. The tricky thing is that cheaper shoes can be made to look like it’s a welted sole. You get what you pay for.

check out this gallery…

http://www.dimitribottier.com/5.aspx?sr=6

In terms of quality I would go for the Kenneth Cole. It’s looks like pretty decent quality for the price. Hugo Boss has some nice shoes as well although I think they focus too much on quantity instead of quality. Some of the other shoes mentioned have too poor leather quality IMO. The thing with some shoes is that they use cheap leather and other materials just to keep the shoe in a certain price range. I try to stay away from those. $200-$250 is not a bad price for a nice dress shoe at all.

@brett_nyc It’s not necessarily a cheap shoe. A cemented dress shoe can be cheaper but it is also used for premium and luxury footwear with the best leathers for the uppers and lining, leather outsole etc. In this case the manufacturer could just as easily opt for a goodyear welted construction but likely they just prefer the flexible and lightweight cemented construction. I think the leather welt on a cemented shoe can really enhance the look. The stitching is indeed decorational and may throw some people off.

If you ask me all the shoes above, Kenneth Cole, Boss, Hush Puppies, Cole Haan, Varvatos, are all cemented.

The HP’s are definitely cement, wont find goodyear welt construction in the prince range he is looking for, except for clearance or markdowns.

some pics of our bozeman to sweeten the deal, they would be resole-able, basically cobbler would just rip off leather sole and cement another one on, the red stitching in the outsole is decorative, not functional, also rear 3/4 sheepskin leather lining and full sheepskin footbed cover, thats an area where you will find other shoes under $200 going textile or only doing skeleton leather linings.:

saw these this am…

It’s like one of those pictures where you either see the old lady or the young girl.
givenchy-wingtip-sneaker-boot-1.jpg

The Hush Puppies, the Kennith Cole, or the Cole Hanna’s or the one’s Yo suggested. (Yo what are the last ones with the celest sole? I need them) Personally with jeans you can make stuff pop with color. I’ve been looking for some wingtips in pink forever. Also Ox blood is always nice with dark denim, and as it wears it looks better and better. I’d like to get some brogue type in an odd color for daily wear.

Those are awesome.

Those are all Cole Haans I posted.

Have you guys seen the Cole Haan wingtips with The Nike Lunar outsoles? I saw a guy with them yesterday, looked sweet.

http://www.nikeblog.com/2012/02/02/cole-haan-lunargrand-wingtip/

These blue soled D&Gs look the business! :open_mouth:

Those D&G’s are hot!