Dress Shoe Soles

[bnussbaum12]

I have been interested in some Allen Edmond dress shoes for work due to the good reviews I read about here. I currently have Johnston & Murhpy's which aren't as highly praised.

My question was about the design on the sole of the dress shoes. All of Allen Edmond's shoes seem to have a plain sole which gets very scuffed and looks bad after a couple of wears. I much prefer soles that have some design or even traction (this may help when it's wet and slippery) like this:

Do any Allen Edmonds dress shoes have this kind of sole? Or is it possible for a shoe repair shop to add it?

Thanks!

 

[cioni2k]

Sure! Some cheaper AE models have a rubber sole like you picture there. Typically on cheaper shoes (ruling out some Dainite soles on expensive shoes), a rubber sole is the mark of a cheaply made glued on sole that will wear out and fall apart very quickly.

My suggestion is to buy a nice welted shoe with a leather sole, and then simply go to your local cobbler and have him apply a rubber topy over the bottom of your shoe for $10-20. Best of both worlds.

 

[bnussbaum12]

Thanks- do most people add the rubber topy to their more expensive dress shoes or just leave the exposed leather sole to get scuffed?

 

[cioni2k]

Its a personal opinion. Some people topy all their shoes. I'd say more people on this forum don't do it. Personally I dont. Some of my shoes (pair of Alden Indy Boots in particular) have them because I wanted to be able to kick around and not worry so much.

 

[phailing101]

Stick with the leather sole and buy some swims or other rubber covers to wear outside on those days its raining/wet and you need to walk outside.

 

[entrero]

Originally Posted by bnussbaum12

Thanks- do most people add the rubber topy to their more expensive dress shoes or just leave the exposed leather sole to get scuffed?

I have topy's on mine. Advantages outweigh the disadvantages(if any). Cost and time it takes for resole made me a convert.

 

[Roger Everett]

Originally Posted by bnussbaum12

My question was about the design on the sole of the dress shoes. All of Allen Edmond's shoes seem to have a plain sole which gets very scuffed and looks bad after a couple of wears. I much prefer soles that have some design or even traction (this may help when it's wet and slippery) like this:

If you're a young man on the way up -- the only people who will see your soles are the ones you walk over on way up


[/quote] Do any Allen Edmonds dress shoes have this kind of sole? Or is it possible for a shoe repair shop to add it?

[/quote]

As mentioned you can always have an overlay installed to the soles

 

[bnussbaum12]

what's the typical pricing to get the topy over overlay? (in US$)

 

[ThatGuy]

Originally Posted by bnussbaum12

Thanks- do most people add the rubber topy to their more expensive dress shoes or just leave the exposed leather sole to get scuffed?

I have four pairs of high quality Goodyear welted shoes. None of them have rubber topy's attached. I like the look and feel of leather. This is my personal preference. After an hour of walking around, slipperiness should not be an issue...

 

[sportin_life]

slipperiness should not be an issue

I agree that 90% of the time it's okay. I'll admit there were several recent incidents where I almost slipped on hospital flooring that was wet. For this reason, I decided to get mine topied also.