• Hi, I am the owner and main administrator of Styleforum. If you find the forum useful and fun, please help support it by buying through the posted links on the forum. Our main, very popular sales thread, where the latest and best sales are listed, are posted HERE

    Purchases made through some of our links earns a commission for the forum and allows us to do the work of maintaining and improving it. Finally, thanks for being a part of this community. We realize that there are many choices today on the internet, and we have all of you to thank for making Styleforum the foremost destination for discussions of menswear.
  • This site contains affiliate links for which Styleforum may be compensated.
  • We would like to welcome House of Huntington as an official Affiliate Vendor. Shop past season Drake's, Nigel Cabourn, Private White V.C. and other menswear luxury brands at exceptional prices below retail. Please visit the Houise of Huntington thread and welcome them to the forum.

  • STYLE. COMMUNITY. GREAT CLOTHING.

    Bored of counting likes on social networks? At Styleforum, you’ll find rousing discussions that go beyond strings of emojis.

    Click Here to join Styleforum's thousands of style enthusiasts today!

    Styleforum is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

Shoes in unusual patterns, designs or colours – recommendations?

Kropotkin

Member
Joined
Dec 23, 2019
Messages
9
Reaction score
2
Hi all,

Now, don't get mad at me, but I like formal-style shoes with a bit of pattern or an unusual sort of colour to them. If it helps to see the picture, I'm an academic, so my "smart" dress can be a lot more loose in terms of colour, pattern, etc than say buisness-wear, and I enjoy that freedom.

I would very much welcome recommendations for good shoemakers or brands that make shoes that match this description. The thing I've been finding is that the makers who go for such shoes tend to be relatively poor quality, and the good quality makers tend to go for fairly conservative styles and tastes. Ready availability in Europe would be a very agreeable bonus. Anything over €300 new will, sadly, be too much for me (unless I get very lucky at Cheltenham this week).

Here are some illustrations to help with what I mean:

rehab.jpeg

These shoes from Rehab are very much the kind of design or colour I am taking about, and indeed I bought a pair. They fell apart after less than a year, and the cobbler (who did an excellent job of fixing them) was very rude about the construction. So I want shoes a little like this, but better made.

barker.jpeg

I like these from Barker—pattern and colour are different but not too loud or crazy, and the brand is (so far as I understand) reputable. Unfortunately they are out of my size, but this is probably in the sweet spot.

As an illustration of what I find too much:


Quite apart from questions of shape and construction (I don't know enough about them to judge), most of these patterns would be excessive for my taste (I could probably get away with a couple of them).

Any recommendations or thoughts would be most welcome. Thanks!
 

jts287

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2018
Messages
166
Reaction score
150
Allen Edmonds used to make the Leiden with a plaid wool pattern, and I think Mezlan has a bunch in the same vein too...
 

Kropotkin

Member
Joined
Dec 23, 2019
Messages
9
Reaction score
2
Thanks both! Allen Edmonds and Mezlan seem like things to try if/when I'm next in the USA—don't seem to be easily available in Europe. I had Cheaney down as fairly conservative, but I will investigate further.
 

paxonus

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2016
Messages
634
Reaction score
330
Hi all,

Now, don't get mad at me, but I like formal-style shoes with a bit of pattern or an unusual sort of colour to them. If it helps to see the picture, I'm an academic, so my "smart" dress can be a lot more loose in terms of colour, pattern, etc than say buisness-wear, and I enjoy that freedom.

I would very much welcome recommendations for good shoemakers or brands that make shoes that match this description. The thing I've been finding is that the makers who go for such shoes tend to be relatively poor quality, and the good quality makers tend to go for fairly conservative styles and tastes. Ready availability in Europe would be a very agreeable bonus. Anything over €300 new will, sadly, be too much for me (unless I get very lucky at Cheltenham this week).

Here are some illustrations to help with what I mean:

View attachment 1352925
These shoes from Rehab are very much the kind of design or colour I am taking about, and indeed I bought a pair. They fell apart after less than a year, and the cobbler (who did an excellent job of fixing them) was very rude about the construction. So I want shoes a little like this, but better made.

View attachment 1352927
I like these from Barker—pattern and colour are different but not too loud or crazy, and the brand is (so far as I understand) reputable. Unfortunately they are out of my size, but this is probably in the sweet spot.

As an illustration of what I find too much:


Quite apart from questions of shape and construction (I don't know enough about them to judge), most of these patterns would be excessive for my taste (I could probably get away with a couple of them).

Any recommendations or thoughts would be most welcome. Thanks!
Look for Spectator shoes. Here is a nice selection:

https://www.herringshoes.co.uk/sear...t&sortDir=desc&Tags[]=14&Tags[]=221&Types[]=1
 

Featured Sponsor

How important is full vs half canvas to you for heavier sport jackets?

  • Definitely full canvas only

    Votes: 55 35.5%
  • Half canvas is fine

    Votes: 60 38.7%
  • Really don't care

    Votes: 17 11.0%
  • Depends on fabric

    Votes: 27 17.4%
  • Depends on price

    Votes: 28 18.1%

Forum statistics

Threads
505,177
Messages
10,579,199
Members
223,891
Latest member
irvingburne
Top