Hybrid sneaker-dress shoes

Originally Posted by Douglas

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They are hideous, don't wear them.

to the OP;
if you are partaking in an activity that would require sports footwear - wear sports footwear
if you are not partaking in an activity that would require sports footwear - don't wear sports footwear

no middle ground

Two companies I know of have made a biz model of making tennybops in drag, Cole Haan and Rockport. The appearance is pretty much normal dress/biz shoe, but the construction is athletic shoe. The shoe gyrlie at Macy's told me that biz guys who have to spend all day on their feet prefer them. Florsheim also used to have a line like this, I think called Superflex or something similar.

On the bargain front, Dockers and Thom McAn do this as well. I am humiliated to admit that my fave pair of presentable shoes for TAing classes are TM caps.

Poinz

Originally Posted by retozimmermann

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A high quality shoe will be very comfortable if it fits you well. You could easily walk around cities for hours and hours without having to resort to a sports shoe like the one above.

Whatever you do, and I mean this respectfully to the poster here, do not listen to this advice. It is one of SF's most hallowed but most hollow fallacies. I admit I haven't worn bespoke shoes, but I've spent plenty of money on perfectly good, well-constructed, very high quality dress shoes. No matter the maker, even with rubber outsoles, no SF-approved dress shoe is going to be as comfortable as a good sneaker or running shoe for spending a day walking through the city. They simply lack the padding that you want. The balls of your feet will scream at you after time.

I tried to will myself into believing this false maxim was true, ignoring the pain in my feet after many hours and many days walking through Hong Kong. I finally buckled, and put on my ugly-ass NB gray sneakers, even though I was wearing linen trousers. I may have looked like an idiot but my feet felt like they were at a spa by comparison. I won't try to pretend that a well-made dress shoe equals a good walking shoe again.

Originally Posted by Douglas

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Whatever you do, and I mean this respectfully to the poster here, do not listen to this advice. It is one of SF's most hallowed but most hollow fallacies. I admit I haven't worn bespoke shoes, but I've spent plenty of money on perfectly good, well-constructed, very high quality dress shoes. No matter the maker, even with rubber outsoles, no SF-approved dress shoe is going to be as comfortable as a good sneaker or running shoe for spending a day walking through the city. They simply lack the padding that you want. The balls of your feet will scream at you after time.

I tried to will myself into believing this false maxim was true, ignoring the pain in my feet after many hours and many days walking through Hong Kong. I finally buckled, and put on my ugly-ass NB gray sneakers, even though I was wearing linen trousers. I may have looked like an idiot but my feet felt like they were at a spa by comparison. I won't try to pretend that a well-made dress shoe equals a good walking shoe again.

Word.

What about something with a crepe or vibram sole?

Originally Posted by Douglas

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Whatever you do, and I mean this respectfully to the poster here, do not listen to this advice. It is one of SF's most hallowed but most hollow fallacies. I admit I haven't worn bespoke shoes, but I've spent plenty of money on perfectly good, well-constructed, very high quality dress shoes. No matter the maker, even with rubber outsoles, no SF-approved dress shoe is going to be as comfortable as a good sneaker or running shoe for spending a day walking through the city. They simply lack the padding that you want. The balls of your feet will scream at you after time.

Amen to this. I believe the groupthink goes as follows:

There's more to comfort than cushioning. The lasts of my XXexpensivebrandXX shoes fit my foot better than any sneaker. The footbeds have molded to the shape of my feet and provide support, which is more important than padding.

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No dress shoe is ever as comfortable as a sneaker.

A leather-soled dress shoe may not be as comfortable as a sneaker, especially for something like, say, a 15-mile trek, in all probability. However, that doesn't mean that it is necessarily uncomfortable, either. At trade shows, I would sometimes spend eight hours on my feet, walking back and forth for a total of many miles, in my leather-soled A-Es with no particular discomfort--and this was when I was in my 60s.

I think that dressy rubber soled shoes (like what A-E used to call their "Dress Casual" line) can be a nice compromise for such situations.

lulz, if i had a dime for everytime this EXACT same thread has appeared on here...

I probably walk about 20 miles a week and I have never worn anything but good dress shoes for the last 10 years at least. Despite popular belief your foot is not meant to be shrouded in padded cushioning. I've never had an issue walking miles in good leather soled dress shoes.

Originally Posted by gladhands

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No dress shoe is ever as comfortable as a sneaker.

But my Eccos and Rockports are damned close. No, they're not the most attractive of dress shoes and no, they're not as well made as my Aldens but those two are what I put on if I'm going to be standing around or walking for any significant length of time.

Originally Posted by thunderthighs

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But my Eccos and Rockports are damned close.

Your Eccos and Rockports are sneakers...without the street cred.

Originally Posted by Last Year's Man

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They are hideous, don't wear them.

to the OP;
if you are partaking in an activity that would require sports footwear - wear sports footwear
if you are not partaking in an activity that would require sports footwear - don't wear sports footwear

no middle ground

I don't agree: the Santoni sneakers look nice. But they do not look as dress shoes. I wouldn't hesitate to wear them casually, with a sport coat, sans tie.
The OP's shoe, if hybrid, would be a kind of hybrid between sneaker and hiking shoe.

However, I have actually once seen a "real" hybrid sneaker-dress shoe; it was in the shop window of the local Brioni store. It looked, I don't know how to put it, quite interesting. The upper was really that of a dress shoe, but the construction was that of a sneaker. I actually thought about buying it.

Originally Posted by gladhands

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Your Eccos and Rockports are sneakers...without the street cred.
I guess that the same can be said about most Clark's shoes, right? Also very comfortable. But not dressy.

Avoid any shoe that tries to sell itself based on comfort. It's made for diabetics and fatties.

Originally Posted by Douglas

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Whatever you do, and I mean this respectfully to the poster here, do not listen to this advice. It is one of SF's most hallowed but most hollow fallacies. I admit I haven't worn bespoke shoes, but I've spent plenty of money on perfectly good, well-constructed, very high quality dress shoes. No matter the maker, even with rubber outsoles, no SF-approved dress shoe is going to be as comfortable as a good sneaker or running shoe for spending a day walking through the city. They simply lack the padding that you want. The balls of your feet will scream at you after time.

I tried to will myself into believing this false maxim was true, ignoring the pain in my feet after many hours and many days walking through Hong Kong. I finally buckled, and put on my ugly-ass NB gray sneakers, even though I was wearing linen trousers. I may have looked like an idiot but my feet felt like they were at a spa by comparison. I won't try to pretend that a well-made dress shoe equals a good walking shoe again.

I'm not at all argueing against sneakers. I have, wear, and like them myself. The padding is certainly a plus point on them, however, they do lack overall support for the foot compared to a traditional "dress" shoe. Which one weighs more in the long run is for everyone to decide by themselves. I just know that after a long time of wearing sneakers, I'm happy to get back into a well-supporting shoe again, even if it doesn't have as much cushioning in the sole.

Now for a site-seeing trip around the city, why not a comfy sneaker. But one shouldn't try to pretend the shoe can double as a dress shoe.