Ranking Entry Level (Good Quality) Men's Dress Shoe Options

[ppk]

eBay is a great source for quality shoes, though you have to look at the listing carefully. There are tons of Allen Edmonds, some Church's, a few Crockett and Jones and some Italian brands. I got a pair of beautiful Sutor Mantellassi shoes for less than $100 and a Crockett and Jones Oxford for $110.

 

[William Kazak]

One of the best selling brands in footwear, Timberland, glues their shoes together. A lot of people don't have a problem with that.



That is the final deciding factor. If they can't afford it, then there's no use in looking at high priced shoes.



While the welted shoe, with it's ability to be resoled, is a sign of a good shoe; a lot of people don't care. 100 years ago, maybe even 50 years ago, well crafted shoes were an investment. People did not own 5, 10, 25 pairs of shoes. They owned 1 or 2 pairs of shoes. You took care of them. And shoes were resoled for a more practical reason....... it was cheaper than buying a new pair of shoes. The same way we buy tires, instead of a new car.

Very few people in today's world think that they are making an investment into footwear, nor do they buy a shoe with the intention of owning it for a lifetime. Shoes are often purchased based on style and trends. Shoes are also inexpensive in today's world. Often, you can buy shoes for less than the cost of a resole.

As a younger person, I have to think about spending a day's wages, or a week's wages, on a pair of shoes. For me, the deciding factor is that my feet have to feel good. That's the first thing that I want. If my feet hurt, I don't want them. When I was a kid, they used to say that it was normal for feet to hurt, and that was part of breaking in the shoe. I didn't believe it then, and I don't believe it now. I have owned less expensive and more expensive shoes. Cost has nothing to do with comfort.

I'm sure that everyone has their own beliefs on what is a good shoe, and what is not. As I often wonder to myself, if it's "worth it" to buy a more expensive shoe. At what point am I buying shoes for my feet, or for owning the status symbol label?

I know that my Church's shoes, before Prada are very nice. I just gave up two pairs of black cap toe oxfords. They were beginning to crack at the creases and one toe was really scuffed. I figure that I got my wear out of them. I don't need black shoes anymore. Also, I recently gave up on a brown Church's wingtip style. They were very heavily creased and cracked at the creases. I wore them in bad weather for years and years. Replaced them with a Florsheim wingtips for very little money. Certainly not Church's quality but they are Butcher in style, not oxford. Not to worry though. I still have five pair of Church's shoes in brown and tan leather and one in white nubuck. It is a wingtip style.