Dress shoes to go with my suit?

Hey folks, first time posting. I recently replaced my suit and this forum has been quite helpful in the process.

I wanted to get some opinion on what sort of dress shoes I should be looking at given my suit. Some background info:

The suit I have is a charcoal Z Zegna with faint stripes. I know people here don't care too much for Z Zegna but I really liked the look and fit of it. Granted, I don't know that much about fit, but after trying on about a dozen suits at least, this one and another Z Zegna fit very nicely (without looking at the brand prior to trying them on). I purchased the suit at Harry Rosen (again, people don't seem to like it so much, but given my somewhat limited knowledge in suits, I was reluctant to go to a small independent shop). I'm not sure how Zegna officially classifies their suits in terms of fit, but it's a more modern fit, yet not too slim. Not going to discuss price because I don't want to get torched . I knew what I was getting into, and quite frankly I was willing to pay a premium for their service (also didn't want to wait for the sale, as I had a couple of weddings coming up)

I've read some discussions on Z Zegna not being the most durable, partially due to its fused construction. However, I am not intending on wearing this everyday. Once I start my new job, I will have to wear a suit every day, but I'd imagine I will be purchasing other suits for that purpose.

Anyhow, I don't know much about dress shoe brands, but given my budget, I had been looking at Hugo Boss, Allen Edmonds, and Cole Haan. I can see that people here have no respect for Hugo Boss, and many say Cole Haan's quality has deteriorated in recent years. The general consensus around the forum seems positive for Allen Edmonds. So right now, I'm leaning towards the Allen Edmonds Park Avenue.

While I will be getting new suits for work, I want to get a pair of shoes that I can wear now, but also for work (I understand that I'll probably have to get at least another pair anyway if I wear a suit every day). So, like the charcoal suit, I'm looking for shoes that are versatile. By versatile, I don't mean shoes that I can wear with jeans, just shoes that are appropriate for a wide variety of settings where I'd be wearing a suit (work, weddings, certain social events, funerals?). Is the Park Avenue a decent pair considering what I'm looking for and the suit I have?

If so, I want to discuss price. I see someone posted another thread a little over a year ago, asking if $220 was a good price and people seemed to agree it was, indeed, a very good price. At Harry Rosen, this pair goes for $355. Is this unreasonably expensive? I was willing to pay a premium for my suit, because I needed extensive help (the salesperson helped me exclusively for about two hours, despite the store being quite busy) and the free lifetime alterations, but for shoes I don't really feel like paying much of a premium. Keep in mind that this is Canada, so we pay a premium (relative to other countries) on everything but igloos and polar bears.

This turned out quite long somehow, but I would appreciate any feedback (on shoes, no "dude you got ripped off on your suit"), including suggestions for other shoes or places (in Canada) I could go to get the type of shoes I need.

Thanks in advance.

The Park Avenue sounds like the right choice, but not for $355. If Harry Rosen has your size in stock, try it on there to make sure the fit is good, ask if it will be going on sale soon, and if told no, order online. Even with import duty, the money saved should be significant.

Unless my eyes were deceiving me, Hudsons Bay (formerly known as The Bay) at Yorkdale Mall actually carries Allen Edmonds, and I did see the Park Avenue. Can’t exactly remember what the price was, but I would think it’s cheaper than Harry Rosen.

I'm in Canada as well and have had trouble acquiring AEs at a reasonable price – Harry Rosen carries them but I've never seen them go on sale there. Ordering direct from AE results in a shipping charge of around $40USD, and factoring in whatever customs/duty they apply at the border, it's probably cheaper to get them at HR even if they're on sale from AE.

My advice is to try them on at HR and determine you size, and then find that size on eBay. If anyone other Canadians have a better approach I'd love to hear it.

For what it's worth, I own 3 Z Zegnas of various vintages within the past decade, and they have all held up very well. I actually wore through the elbow on one which is why it's retired, but the fusing didn't cause any problems. The City cut worked really well for me.

Alternatively, you can take your chances with eBay so long as you know what size you are, and the last it's on. I made the mistake of assuming that anything 11D will fit, but different models will be constructed on different lasts, making some a bit narrower than others and so forth. AE is great in providing a breakdown of which models are built on what lasts.

I would just order up a set of meermin. You will save you 100 bucks and they will look better with a sleeker looking suit. Slim lapels and round toe shoes just look out of place.

if you are a 10 or 10.5 though let me know, I think I have 1 or 2 pairs of black AE's park ave's kicking around in like new shape.



Cliff Huxtable said:

I'm in Canada as well and have had trouble acquiring AEs at a reasonable price – Harry Rosen carries them but I've never seen them go on sale there. Ordering direct from AE results in a shipping charge of around $40USD, and factoring in whatever customs/duty they apply at the border, it's probably cheaper to get them at HR even if they're on sale from AE. 

My advice is to try them on at HR and determine you size, and then find that size on eBay. If anyone other Canadians have a better approach I'd love to hear it.

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No arguing that, but he could order from an American seller that isn't Allen Edmonds. Which one depends on finding the shoes in his size on sale from a company that ships to Canada.

Wayward said:

For what it's worth, I own 3 Z Zegnas of various vintages within the past decade, and they have all held up very well. I actually wore through the elbow on one which is why it's retired, but the fusing didn't cause any problems. The City cut worked really well for me.

Alternatively, you can take your chances with eBay so long as you know what size you are, and the last it's on. I made the mistake of assuming that anything 11D will fit, but different models will be constructed on different lasts, making some a bit narrower than others and so forth. AE is great in providing a breakdown of which models are built on what lasts.

Click to expand...

That's good to hear. For every few posts that speak of Z Zegna's poor durability, there's one that says it's not bad at all. Either way, I'm happy with the suit, but obviously I'm hoping it'll last.

table21 said:

I would just order up a set of meermin. You will save you 100 bucks and they will look better with a sleeker looking suit. Slim lapels and round toe shoes just look out of place.

if you are a 10 or 10.5 though let me know, I think I have 1 or 2 pairs of black AE's park ave's kicking around in like new shape.

Click to expand...

Haven't heard of Meermin, but will definitely look into them. I normally wear size 10s for sneakers but I think I'm 9.5, I could maybe go 10, but 10.5 would be big.

SFA said:

Unless my eyes were deceiving me, Hudsons Bay (formerly known as The Bay) at Yorkdale Mall actually carries Allen Edmonds, and I did see the Park Avenue. Can’t exactly remember what the price was, but I would think it’s cheaper than Harry Rosen.

Click to expand...

Will check out the Bay, don't recall ever seeing it, but I seldom pay much attention to the shoes there.

Cliff Huxtable said:

I'm in Canada as well and have had trouble acquiring AEs at a reasonable price – Harry Rosen carries them but I've never seen them go on sale there. Ordering direct from AE results in a shipping charge of around $40USD, and factoring in whatever customs/duty they apply at the border, it's probably cheaper to get them at HR even if they're on sale from AE.

My advice is to try them on at HR and determine you size, and then find that size on eBay. If anyone other Canadians have a better approach I'd love to hear it.

Click to expand...

I'm inclined to agree with this. I've always had trouble whenever I shop for luxury goods online from American retailers (granted, not that often), hardly any of them seem willing to ship to Canada and even fewer at a reasonable price. The duty is also quite excessive on many luxury goods. For example, Nordstrom is one of the very few places I found over the years that ship to Canada (pretty recent practice if I recall), but the Park Avenues go for 360 or 365 Canadian, before shipping and duties. But then again, Nordstrom being a high-end store, maybe their prices are on the higher end in the States, much like Harry Rosen in Canada.