How do these casual shoes compare to the aforementioned brands and are they in fact worth 150 dollars.
The styles are really different, so it's difficult to compare them. Campers have a sort of underdog charm, with a appeal similar to that of Clark's Wallabees, and are a lot more stylish than lowbrow Kenneth Coles or Steve Maddens, in my opinion. I wore Camper shoes exclusively about 2 years ago, but I think that the look is a little played out now, and they are appearing regularly at Shoe Pavilion and similar discounters certainly. I ultimately abandoned Campers because they just weren't as versatile as say, a pair of Puma Temos, and yet were significantly more expensive. If you decide to get a pair, there is a small selection of styles available at Shoe Pavilion, and a considerably wider range of styles available at Bluefly. I certainly wouldn't pay retail for them at this point.
US$150? That's pretty pricey. In Europe they're more than 30% less. As for Campers in general, though, they're not bad for the money. I would say that Docs are slightly better, quality-wise. (Be they the US$100 Doc Marten version, or the 4x as expensive but identical Yohji Yamamoto version.) Still, they're definitely a step up from that Kenneth Cole dross. Still, only get them if you want to wear the same shoes that literally every four of five Southern European and Gulf State (UAE, Bahrain, etc.) twentysomething, go for it. Now, there are some originals who can use them despite their rampant popularity to good effect (a friend of mine in Brussels wears red ones exclusively, and another friend who's about to enter the Peace Corps has a pair of bright blue ones in his closet), but for most, it's strictly a lemming choice. Peace, JG