Need New Shoes 200 Budget

[slappysloopy]

I've been looking for a nice pair of dress shoes that are comfortable enough to wear a few days out of the week, but I can still wear tennis shoes and sandals when appropriate so I just would like one pair for now to wear with a few outfits. I plan on buying some black boots to go with darker jeans later on, but I do like how Razuel's AEs work with his jeans in this picture:
http://img352.imageshack.us/img352/5202/95451737ay0.jpg
I'm not set on a brand and I'm not familiar with dress shoes at all so if you could recommend some brands or specific shoes that are similar that would be a great help. My budget is around $200 which I know is not much so I could stretch it a little and wouldn't mind buying used. Here are a few of the styles/ colors I like. I plan to wear these with shorts occasionally in the summer but mostly with jeans.
http://img363.imageshack.us/img363/6...whittier_1.jpg
http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/2227/eg_fawlsley.jpg
http://img77.imageshack.us/img77/265..._888_maple.jpg
http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/8..._darkoak_2.jpg
http://img107.imageshack.us/img107/9...2_cordovan.jpg
http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/38/egcadogan888nw.jpg
http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/6...dogan_88_3.jpg
http://img173.imageshack.us/img173/4...gan_808_01.jpg
http://img77.imageshack.us/img77/726..._edwardian.jpg

Sorry, I know there are a lot of links but if you know about anything like these in the 200 dollar range, I'd appreciate it.
Thanks.

 

[XenoX101]

eBay

 

[Lel]

Good luck with a $200 budget. AE, the cheapest "quality" dress shoes have retails of around $300. However they often go on sale/discount for much much less. With your job, Allen Edmonds are probably the way you want to go because some of the other brands you posted (Edward Green, for instance) are much more expensive.

The Buying and Selling forums has lot's of great deals, especially in the Mens Clothing section when you can regularly see good dress shoes for within or around your budget.

And if you can't find something you like in the B&S section you can always post a thread in the Men's Clothing section (not the buying and selling part) on where/how to get Allen Edmonds for the cheapest. I can't help you there unfortunately.

 

[constant struggle]

Originally Posted by Lel

Good luck with a $200 budget. AE, the cheapest "quality" dress shoes have retails of around $300. However they often go on sale/discount for much much less. With your job, Allen Edmonds are probably the way you want to go because some of the other brands you posted (Edward Green, for instance) are much more expensive.

The Buying and Selling forums has lot's of great deals, especially in the Mens Clothing section when you can regularly see good dress shoes for within or around your budget.

And if you can't find something you like in the B&S section you can always post a thread in the Men's Clothing section (not the buying and selling part) on where/how to get Allen Edmonds for the cheapest. I can't help you there unfortunately.

I have bought 4 pairs of brand new AE's for $150 and under. Just need to be on the hunt.

 

[ppllzz]

pediwear has some shoes on sale, and with the strong dollar you could get a pair for undre 200

 

[MiniW]

Thank you for actually knowing what you want and posting many pictures of what you are looking for. There's no need to apologize for that. First you need to know your size in the specific brand you are looking for. So this means going to an actual store and trying on say AE shoes in person. If the shoes are perfect but are still more than you are willing to pay, consider buying them if the salesman was really pleasant or you know you'd be very happy to take them home that day. However, if this is not the case then at least you know your size and can proceed to order online.

The best sources are eBay (for the lowest price but generally no returns). And there are other websites that do allow returns. Check out shoemart, (google it) they have great customer service and hassle free returns. Plus they had a sale on AE's but I'm not sure if it is still going on. Good luck.

 

[spax]

most of those look nice, it's just i noticed a lot of the shoes you picked out are closed lacing (balmorals/oxford) as compared to open lacing (bluchers/derby). you said that you going to wear the shoes mostly with jeans and the reason i'm bringing this up is because the balmoral style looks more formal while the blucher style is more casual (and they look better with jeans imo).

 

[Lel]

Originally Posted by spax

most of those look nice, it's just i noticed a lot of the shoes you picked out are closed lacing (balmorals/oxford) as compared to open lacing (bluchers/derby). you said that you going to wear the shoes mostly with jeans and the reason i'm bringing this up is because the balmoral style looks more formal while the blucher style is more casual (and they look better with jeans imo).

It's good that you pointed this out.

Technically "blucher" is considered less formal and "oxfords" are considered formal. But to be honest, no one is going to know/notice/care, so you can really wear either interchangeably with both dress clothes and casual clothes.

Also many websites/clothing brands tend to throw the word oxford around when describing shoes and sometimes it's incorrect so best to ignore them if you insist on using proper terminology.

 

[JohnnyCrockett]

Apparently Brooks Brothers' entire shoe collection goes on 50% off sale on 1/6. That puts all their English-made Peal shoes in the $250 range, even lower if you are able to stack the 15% corporate discount.

 

[BrettChaotix]

We have a fellow forum member named Distinctive who runs a ebay store that sells new/used AE and other brands. I've purchased three pairs of AE from him, all for under $100 completely random sidenote but when I was looking for Distinctive in the members list, I've fallen in love with discostu's latest avatar chick

 

[Lel]

Wow even their cordovan collection?

 

[JohnnyCrockett]

Unclear if Cordo is also 50% off.

 

[jhdas]

Yeah, definitely check ebay. Just check it daily and get familiar with what brands are good (and keep track of what your size is in each of these, as it can vary greatly).

Also, in general, I prefer bals to bluchers (although there are definitely some beautiful bluchers out there for sure), and you probably won't get into trouble for wearing balmorals instead of bluchers, although some people here might disapprove.

 

[slappysloopy]

Thanks I appreciate the feedback. Ebay has some good deals but it can be hit or miss. I don't need them quickly so I'll just have to watch it until I get a nice price.