Best belts and shoes for the money

[francisco_bt]

Im looking for some captoe balmorals to wear them with a suit for work. Are Bostonians crap? I saw a pair on sale from $150 to $80. Is it better to spend more and get these (keep in mind I don't have a big budget):

http://www.allenedmonds.com/aeonline...ategory=120552

I've been reading people around here like to spend more on shoes than on other accessories, why is that? Whats the difference between an average $100 shoe and a a nice one?

 

[emptym]

Nice is relative. There are many differences among shoes. And spending more doesn't necessarily get you a better shoe. You could spend $600 for a shoe that's basically the same as a $100 shoe.

That said, the main difference between your typical $100-250 shoe and a better one is that the better shoe will be made of full grain leather that will last longer and be more beautiful than the cheaper shoe's main material which at best will be some kind of leather with a layer of plastic sprayed on top of it -- this is what is called "corrected grain" and it's found on $100 shoes or even $600 designer shoes (by Gucci, Prada, etc.).

For about $250 you could get a pair of full-grained English shoes shipped to the US (Alfred Sargent Premier range from Pediwear for example). For about $400 you could buy a pair of US-made Aldens or AE's.

With some luck, you could get a good shoe for about $100. Try eBay. You just need to know your size, which can be difficult given the multiplicity of lasts offered by each maker.

If you want to spend about two to three times the price of AEs, you will get shoes that entirely made of leather (no plastic on the inside either), such as Alfred Sargent Handgrades and Vass, or custom shoes by DWFII.