Oxford punched captoe recommendation

[SlimPickens]

First of all, I posted a question last year about finding my first suit and have come a long way under Style Forum's tutelage--thank you. I have a great grey suit from Mr. Ned and a number of shirts from Cego. As a thin guy, it's amazing to wear clothes that fit. I'll post pictures soon.

Now I'm in the market for a pair of brown shoes and I thought I'd seek your advice.

I'd like a brown perforated captoe oxford, with the perforations on the toe only. (I think I saw an oxford drawn this way in an Allen Flusser book and that preference stuck.)

I found exactly what I'm looking for at Barneys, but they didn't have my size: a Crockett & Jones "Belgrave" in dark brown. (I'm an 11.5, but usually 10.5 in a dress shoe. They were $500 something reduced to $300 something. (The C&J store at T&A doesn't have the Belgrave in dark brown, and they're $700.))
Attachment 10400

Please let me know if you have any ideas for other options. Sadly, I only have money for one Edward Green shoe and not a full pair. So far I've found:

Polo Ralph Lauren "Stanton Oxford." $550. Seems great--the dark brown tone looks rich, and I guess a little extra perforation wouldn't kill me.
Attachment 10401

Brooks Brothers "Peal & Co. Perforated Captoe." $468. These may be a good option, though I wonder whether the color is too flat.
Attachment 10402

Barker "Lincoln." No idea how much these cost, and they're not even perforated, but golly they're nice.
Attachment 10403

I know everyone's a big fan of Allen Edmonds, but I'm really looking for a nice dark brown, and AE's merlot, cognac and chili aren't what I'm after.

Many thanks!

 

[leon12]

Just get the Belgrave.. www.plal.com

Shyam offers free shipping to the states for handgrade shoes.

 

[SlimPickens]

Unfortunately, the "Belgrave" doesn't come in dark brown. I suppose the one at Barneys was specific to them. The "Audley" does come in dark brown, but it is not punched. I bet the forum would say "adios" to the perforations and go with the C&J Audley over the other options.

 

[Tarmac]

The brooks brothers captoe is a Crockett and Jones make on a 240 last. It's a solid shoe if you know the last is for you. If you are on any kind of budget, I would recommend the Alfred Sargent Bloomsbury. I just got a pair and they are very high quality in a deep brown tone. No punchwork at all though. But with discounts/VAT off at Pediwear, they are only about $260.00

 

[distinctive]

http://www.shoe-store.net/c/products...-closeout.html

Brown AE Byron

 

[JLibourel]

Originally Posted by distinctive

http://www.shoe-store.net/c/products...-closeout.html

Brown AE Byron

I was going to make the same suggestion. You might also contact the Allen-Edmonds outlets concerning availability. Since it has been on closeout for a couple of years now, as I recall, any remaining stock should be very inexpensively priced.

 

[jjl5000]

Originally Posted by Tarmac

The brooks brothers captoe is a Crockett and Jones make on a 240 last. It's a solid shoe if you know the last is for you.

If you are on any kind of budget, I would recommend the Alfred Sargent Bloomsbury. I just got a pair and they are very high quality in a deep brown tone. No punchwork at all though. But with discounts/VAT off at Pediwear, they are only about $260.00

Tarmac, those look great!

 

[Film Noir Buff]

I was thinking an emoticon punching, maybe the one with the tongue sticking out?

 

[grimslade]

The Polo Benton (not Stanton) is the C&J Belgrave. Unfortunately, there were a number of pairs on grapevinehill.com a couple of weeks ago, but at the moment I don't see any in a 10.5 Still, keep an eye out; they may pop back up. If you really want the Belgrave, you could also consider the chestnut model, and then darken it (over time) with darker polishes. You can see for example what some members here did with the Tellman model to take it from a medium tan to a really rich dark brown.

 

[stickonatree]

i'd imagine http://www.pediwear.co.uk/ would be a very helpful site. lots of classic english styles (and prices) to choose from.

 

[abrocketsfan]

Two Edward Green models come to mind: Andrew and Telford. I'm hoping to see one of them in their sale catalog this June.

 

[cgibbons]

How about Aldens? You can even get cordovan. . .

 

[SlimPickens]

Thanks everyone--these are great recc's. I'm going to spend the weekend trying on shoes. Another request for advice, perhaps: I'll to be a summer associate at a big NY law firm. I think the punched captoe is pretty versatile in terms of going from business to business casual. Is that correct? I don't want to be a fool for believing I can pair these shoes with trim grey cotton pants and a darted, spread collar CEGO shirt. (Leaving aside whether cotton pants can be business casual, as this has become my every day uniform as well (Never jeans. In the winter the uniform is modified with slim wool trousers, a v-neck sweater over the shirt, and usually a sportcoat.)). At this point I think I'd rather buy a nice pair of shoes that I dress down than a purposely casual pair of leather shoes. If I'm committed to going casual I'll just throw on my Adidas EM-Comps with the cotton pants/buttondown uniform. That said, are punched captoes the way to go for work and non-work life? I suppose the formality scale goes something like this: Audley: http://www.pediwear.co.uk/detail.php?stock_ID=599 Belgrave: http://www.pediwear.co.uk/detail.php?stock_ID=367 Clifford: http://www.pediwear.co.uk/detail.php?stock_ID=674 Boswell: http://www.pediwear.co.uk/detail.php?stock_ID=2280

 

[khaki sack]

I like your Shoe ,Pyramid.

Originally Posted by SlimPickens

I suppose the formality scale goes something like this:
Audley:
http://www.pediwear.co.uk/detail.php?stock_ID=599
Belgrave:
http://www.pediwear.co.uk/detail.php?stock_ID=367
Clifford:
http://www.pediwear.co.uk/detail.php?stock_ID=674
Boswell:
http://www.pediwear.co.uk/detail.php?stock_ID=2280

 

[John Ellis]

You might want to check out Church's. They had a shoe called Legate as I recall which has some punching around the edge of the toe cap and only there. They've done a nice job of putting a lot of the trad Church styles on a new last shape which is slightly more contemporary but keeps the look of the trad Church shoe. I've got shoes of there's made 35 years ago, factory repaired a couple of times, that still look great.