A pair of shoes for each business suit, too much?

[Wordsthoughts]

i wear a suit five days a week and I’ve finally acquired enough decent suits to rotate 13 suit 20 dress shirts and 3 ties per suit. I’ve also just started my quality shoe journey and set a goal of 10 good year welted shoes to rotate so that I will only wear my shoes 2 times per month. I’m think of elima the guesswork and buying a few more so I know what shoes to grab each day with each suit. Am I going to far? Anyone else have a similar sy that works?

 

[dieworkwear]

No one needs 10 pairs of shoes, but many people on this forum have ten or more pairs.

If you wear suits five days a week, you will probably want oxfords in black and brown. Most people are fine with just two or three pairs of shoes. Above that is just for your pleasure.

 

[ChasingStyle]

What Derek said, sort of. I'd get 2-3 brown shoes and 1-2 black ones you like and you think look good with at least some of your suits. Some shoes are pretty "universal" wrt business suits. That should be plenty.

 

[Wordsthoughts]

I’m mixing oxfords, derbies in burgund, black and various shades of brown. I get overwhelmed matching and figure maybe I should eliminate the guesswork without sticking with black

 

[dieworkwear]

I’m mixing oxfords, derbies in burgund, black and various shades of brown. I get overwhelmed matching and figure maybe I should eliminate the guesswork without sticking with black

If your suits are navy or grey, you can wear black oxfords with any of them. If you want to add some variety, mid-brown and dark brown oxfords can be worn with any suit except black or charcoal.

 

[Wordsthoughts]

If your suits are navy or grey, you can wear black oxfords with any of them. If you want to add some variety, mid-brown and dark brown oxfords can be worn with any suit except black or charcoal.

I have 7 blue suits of various shades from dark navy through mid blue. I have 6 grey suits, 2 charcoals, 2 darker grey and 2 mid grey.

As far as shoes I have a that I want to keep in rotation I have a Burgundy Wingtip for the navy suits, a cognac wingtip for mid grey, cognac plain toe for mid blue, Black Wingtip for charcoal grey. I have a fifth ave dk chili for lord knows what, because to me it doesn't go with anything well! I love the way they look and fit but haven't found the right combo yet.

I was planning on adding a black pair of Park ave, a pair of cigar colored AE Strands, Park Ave in coffee and lastly a pair of AE Mcallister in walnut.

I have a few cheap black cap toe shoes that I rotate now and want 2 additional burgundy shoes.

It's funny how writing this out and rereading it makes this seem less practical by the moment!

 

[dieworkwear]

I have 7 blue suits of various shades from dark navy through mid blue. I have 6 grey suits, 2 charcoals, 2 darker grey and 2 mid grey.

As far as shoes I have a that I want to keep in rotation I have a Burgundy Wingtip for the navy suits, a cognac wingtip for mid grey, cognac plain toe for mid blue, Black Wingtip for charcoal grey. I have a fifth ave dk chili for lord knows what, because to me it doesn't go with anything well! I love the way they look and fit but haven't found the right combo yet.

I was planning on adding a black pair of Park ave, a pair of cigar colored AE Strands, Park Ave in coffee and lastly a pair of AE Mcallister in walnut.

I have a few cheap black cap toe shoes that I rotate now and want 2 additional burgundy shoes.

It's funny how writing this out and rereading it makes this seem less practical by the moment!

I find walnut to be a hard color to wear because it draws the eye downward. AE's coffee and black leathers can be nice, however.

Personally would be careful of becoming a "shoe collector." It can easily be a money sink and I'm not sure many guys are better off, in terms of their style, with so many shoes.

 

[Panama]

i wear a suit five days a week and I’ve finally acquired enough decent suits to rotate 13 suit 20 dress shirts and 3 ties per suit. I’ve also just started my quality shoe journey and set a goal of 10 good year welted shoes to rotate so that I will only wear my shoes 2 times per month. I’m think of elima the guesswork and buying a few more so I know what shoes to grab each day with each suit. Am I going to far? Anyone else have a similar sy that works?

That's flawed as most working months are 21 days lol.

However, I have 20 or more Goodyear welts so 10 is obviously not enough.

 

[Wordsthoughts]

That's flawed as most working months are 21 days lol.

However, I have 20 or more Goodyear welts so 10 is obviously not enough.

I can see where you're coming from! I originally set a goal of ten suits to rotate and picked out 3 ties per suit so I could go autopilot. Now I have 13 suits and 10 dress shoes but only 5 are keepers. I want to want to pair a shoe for each and grab and go in the mornings.

I've become a shoe care fanatic even with my cheap shoes. Polish, condition and shoe trees.

 

[ValidusLA]

Having a pair of shoes for every suit is an unnecessary goal from any reasonable "need" metric. You could do very well w/ just black and mid or dark brown oxfords.

As dww correctly points out - shoe collecting can be a horrible money sink.

My personal advice, which some may not agree with, is rather than setting out to buy 10 pairs of Allen Edmonds is to find a way to try on some Aldens, Crockett and Jones, or Vass shoes.

I would advise getting 2-3 quality pairs above getting 10+ pairs of Allen Edmonds.

 

[Wordsthoughts]

Y

Having a pair of shoes for every suit is an unnecessary goal from any reasonable "need" metric. You could do very well w/ just black and mid or dark brown oxfords.

As dww correctly points out - shoe collecting can be a horrible money sink.

My personal advice, which some may not agree with, is rather than setting out to buy 10 pairs of Allen Edmonds is to find a way to try on some Aldens, Crockett and Jones, or Vass shoes.

I would advise getting 2-3 quality pairs above getting 10+ pairs of Allen Edmonds.

ou both make great points and you're probably right about 10 being over kill. Do you wear suits/shoes everyday? I believe that Aldens are not an option because they don't offer size 14 for most of their shoes. I love the Vass Shoes I've seen before and will explore it. maybe I'll settle on 6 or seven quality shoes instead of 10-12 entry level good year welts.

Are you a fan of Allen Edmonds?

 

[ValidusLA]

You both make great points and you're probably right about 10 being over kill. Do you wear suits/shoes everyday? I believe that Aldens are not an option because they don't offer size 14 for most of their shoes. I love the Vass Shoes I've seen before and will explore it. maybe I'll settle on 6 or seven quality shoes instead of 10-12 entry level good year welts.

Are you a fan of Allen Edmonds?

Whoa yah, 14 might make it hard! Hmmmm.

I definitely wouldn't buy either C+J or Vass without trying on first.

Here are my general thoughts on AE:
Firstly before I say anything negative I would point out that they are a generally "good" shoe in my opinion.
My reservations mostly stem from a few things:
1) Hard to say but a perceived degradation of quality, especially over the last decade. Part of this has to do with company being purchased. I haven't bought a pair in almost 3 years, but the latest pair does not seem to be of the quality of the first pair I bought.
2) The company was changing up their packaging for a while in a way that really irked me. I don't even know where they are right now. The last pair I bought came with no shoe bags included and in a cheap black box which tore in shipping. I believe they went back to including shoe bags after receiving complaints.
3) I dislike the constantly on sale model. They have what feels like a sale all the time, even on a staple like the Park Avenues sometimes. If sometime is on sale multiple times a year, even a staple item that leads their line, its sale price is its real price.
4) They have see-sawed their prices in a weird way that bothers me. For example, the last pair I bought it now $35 cheaper base, whereas Park Avenues are $10 more than they were when I bought my last pair in 2015. But they raised prices and then dropped them a couple times. I generally am wary of that much price seesaw.

Overall my impression has been of a company that is making a lot of pricing and other decisions that in no way reflect a commitment to quality that the brand used to have.

None of this is like....objective truth per say.

Size 14 US makes it really hard, and I'm not 100% sure what to advise at that size.

 

[Wordsthoughts]

Whoa yah, 14 might make it hard! Hmmmm.

I definitely wouldn't buy either C+J or Vass without trying on first.

Here are my general thoughts on AE:
Firstly before I say anything negative I would point out that they are a generally "good" shoe in my opinion.
My reservations mostly stem from a few things:
1) Hard to say but a perceived degradation of quality, especially over the last decade. Part of this has to do with company being purchased. I haven't bought a pair in almost 3 years, but the latest pair does not seem to be of the quality of the first pair I bought.
2) The company was changing up their packaging for a while in a way that really irked me. I don't even know where they are right now. The last pair I bought came with no shoe bags included and in a cheap black box which tore in shipping. I believe they went back to including shoe bags after receiving complaints.
3) I dislike the constantly on sale model. They have what feels like a sale all the time, even on a staple like the Park Avenues sometimes. If sometime is on sale multiple times a year, even a staple item that leads their line, its sale price is its real price.
4) They have see-sawed their prices in a weird way that bothers me. For example, the last pair I bought it now $35 cheaper base, whereas Park Avenues are $10 more than they were when I bought my last pair in 2015. But they raised prices and then dropped them a couple times. I generally am wary of that much price seesaw.

Overall my impression has been of a company that is making a lot of pricing and other decisions that in no way reflect a commitment to quality that the brand used to have.

None of this is like....objective truth per say.

Size 14 US makes it really hard, and I'm not 100% sure what to advise at that size.

As a person who's witnessed all those changes to the brand and packaging I can understand your stance. I'm brand new to the brand and knowing about the shoe bag situation a head of time, I ordered a few when I bought my fifth avenue.

I can't compare those to older models quality wise, but mine did have 1 defect despite not being seconds. My heel on one of my shoes isn't round. However with polish and shining it's not noticeable. The leather though is really beautiful and after conditioning them it was so soft. I've only worn them twice and love the way they hug my foot and truly felt better as the day wore on. If that's the Allen Edmonds typical experience I think I'll become a repeat buyer.

I do agree with you on variety and I don't want to be a mindless fanboy of any brand because I want to mix and match my shoe styles and at the bare minimum not wear any of my shoes more than once per week. I'd like to to not wear my shoes more than 2 times a month as a goal. I'll be researching Vass more because they carry 14s. C&J look beautiful but stop at 12.5 and I don't want to cut off part of my big toe.

 

[ValidusLA]

Some good news on that front. I actually have Crockett and Jones Retail Catalog in front of me (2020 - though I doubt they've dropped a size). Not ALL of the shoes come in expanded sizes, but many do.

Remember that UK 11 = US 12, UK 13 = US 14. Now, fit is still dependent on last.

Many many of the Main line go up to UK 13. Most of the handgrade do not (which is a shame), but the Audley and the Belgrave (which are in my opinion some of their most handsome) both do,

Where are you located?

 

[Wordsthoughts]

I wasn't aware that UK 13= Us 14. I'm in the US south eastern PA. I'll revisit the site again, Thanks for the info!!