Recommend some shoes for me please...

[lifersfc]

Hello everyone...just started reading the forum the other day, but I thought I would pop in and ask a question.

I have just graduated college and will soon start my first real job as a management consultant Boston. My coworkers are of the ivy-league persuasion, and dress in the office is on the casual side of business casual. However, frequent client visits will require a suit and tie, so I need to be able to dress in a wide range styles.

I am in the process of buying a few new pairs of shoes, and I am wondering what you would recommend. As of right now, my only decent pair of shoes is a pair of black AE Park Avenue (cap-toe oxford). I was thinking of purchasing some dark brown drivers and some lighter brown less-casual shoes, but I'm looking for some ideas.

My budget is not large, but I am willing to pay for quality items. Please advise and provide links to pictures if possible.

Thanks.

 

[Artisan Fan]

First, congrats on the consulting job! Those are tought to get. Nice work.

I used to do strategy consulting.

Second, I would look at the following:
RTW Santoni with rubber soles for casual wear and tough Boston weather.
Dark brown Oxfords - Edward Green on sale, Ferragamo Tremezza, etc.
Sorel boots from Canada for Boston winters. I used these in Boston and they worked well.
To Boot driving loafers for casual days on the Cape.

Hope this helps.

 

[MilanoStyle]

how about:

1. CT calf collection = Loake 1881. Some poeple love them, some don't. I like them because affortable price. Mine aged real well. I even wear them out to clubbing with jeans and they have been holding up pretty well. I get complements all the time when I wear them.

2. C&J Bench grade or handgrade. C&J makes really good shoes. They are handsome and classy. But can be $$$.

3. Alden. Never tried them but most of members seem to like Alden shoes.

4. Rider. He is a SF member. Visit his online store for some nice looking italian shoes (you can find the link of his online store one of the pinned shoes thread). Can be a little fashion forward, but for youthful yet looking professional those shoes may work well for you.

5. mantellassi on virtualclothinghorse or stp. mantellassi handmade line shoes are superb shoes. You can get them for ~$400 to $500 on those sites.

 

[lifersfc]

CT has some great stuff at affordable prices, especially with the sale that is going on now. Too bad they are sold out of my size in everything that I liked. I was not able to find the Loake 1881 reference on their website though.

 

[drizzt3117]

Cmon guys, he's getting his first job and you guys are recommending Edward Green?

I would check out Polo/C&J stuff, if you can find it at a reasonable price from an online vendor. For stuff you can purchase in a store, AE is good if you can get to an outlet. The recommendation of the Mantellassi's is a pretty good one, as they have some nice casual driving shoes and the like. If it's in your price range, you can consider C&Js from Plal or Pediwear.

 

[Artisan Fan]

To be fair, I suggested EG on sale.

What about the Mackay's at polo.com for $600?

 

[lifersfc]

Originally Posted by drizzt3117

Cmon guys, he's getting his first job and you guys are recommending Edward Green? I would check out Polo/C&J stuff, if you can find it at a reasonable price from an online vendor. For stuff you can purchase in a store, AE is good if you can get to an outlet. The recommendation of the Mantellassi's is a pretty good one, as they have some nice casual driving shoes and the like. If it's in your price range, you can consider C&Js from Plal or Pediwear.
Agreed! It is a well-paying job but still...I don't really see myself spending much more than $150-200 on a single pair of shoes. I usually try to grab stuff on sale when possible. FWIW, I picked up my AE Park Avenues at a large discount. Anyway, keep the suggestions rolling. I would also be interested in what you guys think about specific styles as opposed to specific brands.

 

[drizzt3117]

I'd go with something like these, although they will be slightly more than the $150-200 you're discussing.

It's unfortunate there aren't too many Grenson's available as the sale from Bennies had some really amazing deals. If you can find Grenson or Paul Stuart shoes on sale they could be a good deal. Polo/C&J shoes can usually be had from the ebay seller grapevinehill for a decent price.

How are you set for suits/shirts, etc? That might be something you should take a look at as well if you're getting shoes as it can make a lot of sense to build outfits from the ground up.

 

[NoVaguy]

Originally Posted by lifersfc

Agreed! It is a well-paying job but still...I don't really see myself spending much more than $150-200 on a single pair of shoes. I usually try to grab stuff on sale when possible. FWIW, I picked up my AE Park Avenues at a large discount.

Anyway, keep the suggestions rolling. I would also be interested in what you guys think about specific styles as opposed to specific brands.

nothing wrong with sticking with AE on discount. they can easily be had at the 150-200 range. i own a lot of allegedly better styles (C&J handgrades, polo's) and still go with the AE's most of the time.

 

[lifersfc]

Originally Posted by drizzt3117

How are you set for suits/shirts, etc? That might be something you should take a look at as well if you're getting shoes as it can make a lot of sense to build outfits from the ground up.


To be honest, my suits and shirts are a bit of a mess. I'm a firm believer that a good belt and shoes are the most important aspects of a wardrobe, so I'm focusing on them first. In all fairness, I have difficulty in distinguishing between less expensive shirts and more expensive shirts (without looking at the labels anyway). For shirts, I will likely be wearing a lot of Brooks Brothers, Banana Republic, RL, etc. with as slim of a cut as I can find. I'm in excellent physical shape, so I might consider getting darts put into my shirts so they are a little more tapered around the waist, but I doubt I will be dropping $150 a shirt (that just sounds asinine to me). I don't even want to think what I'm going to have to spend to get a decent suit.

 

[sho'nuff]

you can do well with the park avenues and whatever other aes you can get at a good discount for now. most likely youll have the best shoes of your whole firm.

after you get a little savings going, and if you want to venture in spending on a sensible luxury, not just a shoe, try john lobbs in museum calf, EGs, or my favorite, santoni FAMs, which are really decadent.


there are other luxurious models but are not sensibly priced (which includes Santoni FAM Limted editions, kiton, lattanzi) or they are not readily accessible here in the states (st. crispins, corthay, aubercy).

basically levels at or above EGs, the shoes start to become superlative and are essentially can be considered men's jewelry.

 

[drizzt3117]

Originally Posted by lifersfc

To be honest, my suits and shirts are a bit of a mess. I'm a firm believer that a good belt and shoes are the most important aspects of a wardrobe, so I'm focusing on them first. In all fairness, I have difficulty in distinguishing between less expensive shirts and more expensive shirts (without looking at the labels anyway). For shirts, I will likely be wearing a lot of Brooks Brothers, Banana Republic, RL, etc. with as slim of a cut as I can find. I'm in excellent physical shape, so I might consider getting darts put into my shirts so they are a little more tapered around the waist, but I doubt I will be dropping $150 a shirt (that just sounds asinine to me). I don't even want to think what I'm going to have to spend to get a decent suit.

To be totally honest, I think you'll be fine with BR, Boss, RL shirts, etc... although if you're in shape you may want to go with something a bit more slim fitting such as Hugo Red Label or something of the sort ($60-80 on sale)

Belt and shoes are certainly going to be important, I would recommend having at least one nice suit though, for client visits or for the inevitable dinner with clients or managers of your own firm. While you probably don't need to go with Brioni or Attolini or something of the sort (and it might not give the impression you want, just starting out) a nice suit that fits quite well will go a long way to giving a good impression. You can probably just start with one, a good navy or charcoal solid suit, then add a pinstripe in the color that you didn't get, and that would be a good start to a wardrobe.

I started out in management consulting as well, which firm are you starting out at? If its one of the big two firms headquartered in Boston you'll likely have some level of social interaction with clients not to mention the ubtiquous training sessions in various places in the US and Europe, where semi-formal dress will be important.