Sleek Derbies?

[kofi]

I've been searching for awhile and can't seem to find many non-chunky derbies/bluchers that are both affordable and well-constructed (e.g. Goodyear welted).

On the high end there are plenty of beautiful models, e.g. John Lobb and Edward Green:

http://www.johnlobb.com/us/philip-ii-derby
http://www.brooksbrothers.com/Edwar...ar_MH00330_Color=BRWN&contentpos=32&cgid=0522

If I could afford those EG babies I'd buy them in a heartbeat. Unfortunately they're a bit out of my price range. On the lower end I've seen some reasonable looking models from places like Suit Supply, but my guess is that they're probably glue jobs.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated. So far the best I've seen are the CJ Prestwoods (which seem to be discontinued) and Ralph Lauren's Gittens (which is of unknown quality).

 

[Claghorn]

E Clifton's are very not clunky...actually a bit narrow for my tastes

 

[Ianiceman]

Meermin?

 

[kofi]

AE Clifton's are very not clunky...actually a bit narrow for my tastes

Thanks for the suggestion - funnily enough I already have a pair of the Cliftons! Unfortunately they don't fit very well. I'm usually a 10D but settled on a 9.5E for the Cliftons to get and still get a bit of heel slip.

 

[kofi]

Meermin?

Yeah, Meermin was one of my first thoughts, but their derby selection is fairly limited (no simple cap toe brown blucher) and only appears to be on the wider lasts. They do have a couple pairs of split toe bluchers for Linea Maestro, but that's not quite what I'm after.

 

[Exdeath]

http://www.brooksbrothers.com/Peal-...&contentpos=52&cgid=men-shoes-and-accessories

I know you might not be a fan of split-toes, but this style is more or less the sleekest blucher/derby I've seen (where the vamp isn't a totally separate additional piece of leather). Maybe you can try looking for more in that style? These are rebadged C&J handgrades IIRC.

 

[kofi]

http://www.brooksbrothers.com/Peal-...&contentpos=52&cgid=men-shoes-and-accessories

I know you might not be a fan of split-toes, but this style is more or less the sleekest blucher/derby I've seen (where the vamp isn't a totally separate additional piece of leather). Maybe you can try looking for more in that style? These are rebadged C&J handgrades IIRC.

Those actually do look pretty great for split toes - thanks for the tip!