Shoe Comparison w/ Poll -- Action Shots!

[lawyerdad]

Originally Posted by odoreater

The only one of those that is not a complete monstrosity is pair A.

Agreed. You seem to have six pairs of virtually identical, and generally ugly, shoes.

 

[marc237]

A few thoughts:

1. Consider brown;
2. Review the catalogues (even on-line) of the higher end manufacturers (everything from Allen-Edmonds on up is available) as well the postings of other members on this site;
3. Consider brown;
4. Play with different styles (e.g., monk straps, chelsea or ankle boots, wing-tips);
5. Consider brown;
6. Play with different textures (e.g., suede or pebbble grain); and
7. Consider brown.

 

[Tarmac]

welcome to the forum.

all your shoes look very similar because you've selected very similar shoes. A and B look okay to me, the rest, not so with those pants. purely my opinion though.

You definitely need a round toed shoe, not as a dress necessity but just to balance your selection. Might as well make it a brown, round toed shoe, either wingtip, captoe, or plain toe. You will kill 2 birds with one brown toe.

If youve spent $160 on those Mephistos, can you return them still? $160 will buy you quite a bit of good dress shoe.

In the last few months ive bought shoes with the following retail prices: $430 (brooks bros), $500 (paul smith), $500 (another paul smith), $500(RL polo) , $200(grenson), $200 (charles tyrwhitt), and the most I paid for any of them is $180. On average about only about $90.

 

[stephen]

Originally Posted by Tarmac

You definitely need a round toed shoe, not as a dress necessity but just to balance your selection. Might as well make it a brown, round toed shoe, either wingtip, captoe, or plain toe. You will kill 2 birds with one brown toe.
Thanks for the constructive feedback, Tarmac! I do have a few pairs of brown shoes (all similarly unfashionable, I would suspect), but I do need to diversify more. I've always thought of black as the more formal of the two tones (paired with black and gray slacks), and brown as something reserved for khakis and jeans. It looks like I need to reevaluate that assumption... Also good to hear that you've been able to maintain a solid selection at low price. That's the main thing I'm worried about... Looking at some of the other threads on this forum make it seem like >$500 is the norm (and that's on sale!) I guess I also need to reevaluate the assumption about what makes shoes stylish. I wear solid colors and basic stripes for clothing... not anything with weird designs. Perhaps shoes are a different animal entirely...

 

[tbabes]

Pair A is the only pair that I'd save from fire. Even worse, they all look to be very poorly maintained, and that reflects poorly on the wearer, regardless of the make/model.

 

[SSur]

Good Lord. I suddenly feel very positive about my selection of shoes. Good information here.

 

[josepidal]

Welcome to the forum.

Not to be harsh, but you've chosen relatively casual shoes of lower quality. One reason is that they all look clunky and uninspired in terms of shape. The first few, for example, are very square, and have none of the striking chisel or more elegant round toes often seen here, especially for similar kinds of less formal shoes. Recall that part of good shoes' beauty is their ability to transform the foot's lines from inelegant and square.

Another reason is leather quality. I don't think your shoes are poorly maintained and that you don't take care of them. Rather, your shoes are simply of lower leather quality compared to what is often seen here, and the plasticky leather shows in the photos. (Although, did you use shoe trees, given all the creasing?)

Now, there's nothing wrong with your shoes, except you're posting in the same place Aportnoy's weekly shoe damage report comes out in. Perhaps what disappoints many people here is how much you paid for these shoes. $160, for example, is more than enough to buy a pair of Allen Edmonds dress shoes on sale, on the Internet, or from the outlet. Such a pair will give you a more elegantly shaped shoe with better leather and far greater durability, a brand proudly worn by many American senior executives and politicians.