First pair of "good" formal shoes - which one to buy?

[GastonSharp]

Not a style god, just a guy with some posts. Certainly not a "senior member" in my own reckoning.

Wearing lined, welted shoes without socks? Uncomfortable, kind of gross, and a little too "GQ." More casual shoes without socks? For sure.

Yeah, it's a matter of personal choice, but I'm very comfortable saying "wear monkstraps without socks" is both impractical and rather unstylish. We can certainly agree to disagree, of course.

first i do want to apologize for my tone..meant it in a joking way..Monkstrap w/o sock may not the most comfortable thing i agree...but i just like the look of it and i feel great when i wear them..am not really the type that makes it a case to hate something just because it's in GQ and because it would be a mark of style refinement to go against mainstream.. We are talking about Style after all...it should be to each his own and what makes you feel good..am a little surprised with the answer posts reacting like i committed some type of Blasphemy...
in this picture of F.E for example, i think it looks great

 

[AmericanGent]

The main thing is the OP was asking for a good "formal" shoe (not dinner jacket/tux formal we assumed) and monk straps are not quite formal, certainly not without socks. Worn with the outfit you show they work well, but there are other, more basic shoes that one should own before expanding into monks.

So the OP has picked AE PA's and the issue now is the size....

I would see if you can return them, but since you have worn them outside and didn't buy them from AE I'm not sure if AE will accept them. At this point I suggest you go to the Allen Edmonds Appreciation Thread here on SF and ask the guys there. They will have better answers for you.

Good luck.

 

[michaelvl]



Thanks for the reply.. Looks like fitting is the issue on my right foot... So what do you do when buying shoes if your feet are different size from each other? Do you get  them specially made for you?

I have basically had two different fitters from two different flagship stores of the same brand advise me differently for the same last.

Going by measurements my left foot is a something like a 5.9 length wise left and 6.4 right.

The one advised me to size down and go for the UK6E, his logic was that the shoe on the larger for would naturally stretch the leather width wise to a good fit. It is a fact that due to the heat your foot gives off and the pressure you apply to them while walking, they will stretch in the width naturally. Also good fitting shoes alway have a bit of extra room in the toe section length wise, so their should be enough room in the toe box area to accommodate the extra 4MM length that the shoes were designed for.

After fifteen wears the shoes the shoes only show very faint creasing didn't hurt my feet from the start. I am very happy with the fit (and lack of creasing) of this particular pair.

This weekend I fitted a different model (by a different fitter) that was made on the same last as the one I referred to previously, except this was a double monk shoe. In this case the fitter advised my a UK6.5E. He advised me a 6.5E because the in 6 the shoe was too tight in the vamp area and it was very hard to close the monk strap. It also felt genuinely better on the UK6.5E. He also gave me a few pairs of their in-house insoles to compensate the size difference on the left foot.

It is going to be interesting to experience which size actually turns out better in the long run.

My advice to you is to not by shoes online to save a few bucks if you don't know the most optimal size for you for the particular brand and last you are interested in, invest some time and money and go to a brick and mortar store and have yourself measured and fitted by a professional. Also experience before purchasing which size fits you best. Imho a snug fit is better then a slightly loose fit on a new pair of shoes, take into consideration that a snug fitting pair will loosen up slightly after it has broken in. On the other side it should not feel constricting and feel that it is cramming your toes etc., in that case the shoes are too small.

Once you know your size and have gained knowledge on how dress shoes ought to fit the you can start purchasing them online. You could always try online ordered shoes on at home (on carpet) and if they don't fit you well enough simply send the back for another size. Furthermore you should but the correct shoe trees for your shoes.

 

[Veremund]



The main thing is the OP was asking for a good "formal" shoe (not dinner jacket/tux formal we assumed) and monk straps are not quite formal...

To be fair, monks are formal to 99% of the population because they're made of leather and aren't sneakers.

 

[AmericanGent]

To be fair, monks are formal to 99% of the population because they're made of leather and aren't sneakers.

You make a valid point regarding the ignorance/apathy of the larger population- but I'm not going to stop telling people that khakis are not dress pants!

 

[Veremund]

As well they are not!

 

[shoerejuvenator]

My nephew in Australia asked me this question the other day. He said he'd just bought an Aquila and asked me what ai thought? I didn't want to destroy his hopes and dreams there and then, but why!? I think the problem is that Australia just hasn't had a shoe industry for a while - turned to dust when tariffs were lifted in the 80s - so men have, for a long time, just accepted commodity footwear and based their decisions on look and price. It's good to see Australian men starting to take more pride in their shoes, and there are new local brands, such as the Thomas George Collection, offering some good selections other than Chelsea Boots - no disrespect to RM.

 

[JFWR]

In respect to American business situations, monk straps are certainly acceptable. I've seen Wall Street stock traders wearing monk straps as often as I've seen them wear cap toes, and stock traders still do dress to show off.

In academia, monk straps are definitely common, but so are crappy sneakers.

I would say the sockless look would be only good for casual Fridays. If you're wearing something at least business casual, I'd avoid sockless. Sockless is casual only by my reckoning.

But yeah, to the OP's main point: There is no way you should get that weird, deep, swirling creasing after a few wears. The leather soles are fine (save for the weird amount of wear on the sides - do you like, shuffle your feet a lot?) but that creasing is ridiculous on that one foot.

ALL CALF SKIN SHOES CREASE. But creases should look like the less creased one, not the deeply creased one.