decent shoes in San Fran

Wilkes Bashford has nice shoes but may not have Carminas

Neiman's, saks and Barneys are good too.

Don't forget the Alden Shop.

High-end non-discontinued shoes almost never go on sale.

Wilkes Bashford might still be having their final clearance. Neimans just finished theirs. I noticed Paul Smith just landed a new line of C&J shoes (I believe they are calling it their British collection), but have an extremely limited selection. Also, their markup on them seems enough to just go Edward Green to me.

Also Ralph Lauren has some Aldens and I believe they use C&J for their non PL 'Made in England' shoes, but I wouldn't count on the salespeople to be authoritative on who makes what if you ask them.

Barney's in SF has like only 2-3 model of C&J in stock, yet they carry a decent line of Berluti shoes. Allen Edmonds and Alden are in close proximity to each other. Your best bet would be Wilkes Bashford. They carry some of the nicer stuff that you see and read about on SF. Neiman Marcus San Francisco s*cks ass, unless you're only interested in common Ferragamo and Gucci shoes. Neiman's John Lobbs shoes aren't goodyear welted. You may want to check out Hermes on Grant Street as they also carry JL.

Definitively hit up Wilkes Bashford. The store is set up fantastically and is great fun just to browse.

Another vote for Wilkes Bashford. They had a great selection in your price range (including Gravati, etc)

Barneys and neimans will order shoes for you. Barneys has a huge selection nationwide and neimans does kiton and custom John lobb. Don't like lobb though.

Why? They are excellent shoes and probably use the finest skins anywhere.

Wilkes does do the up-down look thing as you go in, but if you don't let it intimidate you (regardless of your dress), they warm up. In my experience, their Palo Alto store is a bit more friendly, but my guess is because their SF shop is set up right in the middle of Union Square, they get a lot of tourists and others who don't 'get' what kind of a store it is.

I might be there tomorrow -- look for a pair of blue Santoni's!

Never had that experience. I'm 24, sometimes looking like a schlubb, and I'm always treated just fine.