- Thread starter
- #21
I appreciate you taking the time to respond! Maybe now is the time to throw a better shoe into the mix! Time to move away from molded rubber soles.
Shoe spending
- Thread starter FL shaver
- Start date
I wish I would have started coming to this subforum before I started having to buy dress clothes. I do have some cheaper pairs of shoes (clarks, rockports, and florsheims) but I'm also a broke college student, so they are working for now. I figure when I get my job, or atleast start my internship I will start looking at higher quality shoes because I am a true believer of spend once, and hate buying cheap anything. Good thing for me is that AE is close to me, so hopefully they will have some good factory direct discounts and sales.
Where in central Scotland are you? What's closest? Embra, Glasgow or Dundee?
Edinburgh, though travelling to either would not be much of a pain as it would give me an excuse to visit either the groom room or executive shaving
Just FYI, I work in an opticians so require fairly formal black shoes, I will be wearing these things typically 8-7 everyday almost including some outdoor walking to and from work, hence why i go through shoes roughly 6-8 months/pair. My current pair were from hotter which were very comfortable but have just given way on the sole about 7 months after purchase.
Comfort is definitely most important, and I figured having shoes which can be resoled and kept in good condition would be the ideal solution.
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if i was marketing for quality footwear, and my budget was 40-80 bucks, i'd happily focus on the 'bay.
Edinburgh, though travelling to either would not be much of a pain as it would give me an excuse to visit either the groom room or executive shaving
Just FYI, I work in an opticians so require fairly formal black shoes, I will be wearing these things typically 8-7 everyday almost including some outdoor walking to and from work, hence why i go through shoes roughly 6-8 months/pair. My current pair were from hotter which were very comfortable but have just given way on the sole about 7 months after purchase.
Comfort is definitely most important, and I figured having shoes which can be resoled and kept in good condition would be the ideal solution.
Theres a Church's on George St in Edinburgh, was just there two weeks ago. Good selection and good quality
As others have said, it's just a question of considering the long term cost. I have a pair of Church's which are almost as old as I am. They have been resoled many times. That's what you call a good investment!
Aside from the cost, nice shoes are simply more enjoyable to wear and own. They usually look better too. Expensive shoes may be stiff at first but feel incredible once you break them in.
There is something to be said about buying a durable product that can be repaired rather than buying a dozen cheaper pairs that only last a year and end up in a landfill.
Aside from the cost, nice shoes are simply more enjoyable to wear and own. They usually look better too. Expensive shoes may be stiff at first but feel incredible once you break them in.
There is something to be said about buying a durable product that can be repaired rather than buying a dozen cheaper pairs that only last a year and end up in a landfill.
This is very true. I am not over the top environmentally minded, but I do think we should try and have a little social conscience to what we are doing. I think disposable culture has not been good for us from a character standpoint, and a sustainability standpoint.
my taste in men's dress shoes continues to go up. at first I started off with cheap $100 shoes. I then moved up to $300 shoes. I then went up to $500-600 shoes. I'm now contemplating buying my first pair of Edward Green for $1000 and I'm in love with some of the stuff that Saint Crispin's puts out (in the $1600 range). this is getting expensive
Don't forget Lobb's!
Same here...moving up to Gaziano & Girling, Edward Green, Saint Crispin, Lobb others I'm sure I've forgotten. Lots very beautiful leather and styles.
I've become very fond of MTO shoes. I just placed a deposit on a pair of MTO Carmina navy shell whole cut wingtip brogue.
Do you have to wear semi-dress shoes for work? Maybe a pair of more sturdy work shoes or boots would be a better buy for you. They would probably cost more, but would last longer and be more comfortable.
Why try to sand down the corners of a square peg to make it fit into a round hole? Even the highest quality, shell cordovan shoes are going to look beat if you beat on your shoes. You may find, when you have expensive shoes - you're more careful, but I digress - if you're really tough on shoes, you're moving all day, you're traversing different landscapes (not just desk driving in a concrete jungle) then frankly these types of shoes just aren't a good fit. Sure - you CAN use them in "hard use conditions" - for example, I wore my Shell Cordovan Crockett & Jones shoes for a full day in the city for shopping, museums, etc - but at the end of the day, my feet definitely needed a rest - and while the shoes did offer adequate comfort (for 10 hours of standing and walking on hard surfaces, likely covering at least 7 miles) that's not the best shoe for the job. Had I worn a pair of my comfort/walking dress shoes, I wouldn't have noticed any fatigue in the feet/legs at the end of the day.
Bottom line - for your use case, and based on the factors you had outlined in your initial post, I'd suggest giving a top quality comfort shoe a hard look. Mephisto comes to mind - as they have styles that rival Allen Edmonds in terms of quality/look - but are shockingly comfortable, designed for harder use, have shock absorbers in the heels, durable REAL rubber soles. Best yet - the resoling and refurbishing is reasonable - somewhere around $100 or so (and they come back looking brand new - they do an amazing job) - or you could have a local cobbler do it for a fraction of the cost. If you put in a little effort, you can find amazing deals on new, unworn Mephisto's. While normally their shoes run around $300-550, you can find them online (EX: Sierra trading post, ebay, etc) for 30-80% off. That said, Alden and AE (and others) offer more comfortable rubber soled options, but none rival the comfort of Mephisto. If you prefer their appearance and more rigid (less comfortable) construction - then by all means don't derail your search, but i'd at least try on some Mephisto's for proper due diligence.
You have to look at shoes as an investment. Sure, you might spend $150-300 on a nice pair of Mephisto's - but I assure you they'll be the most comfortable shoe you've worn for their style (their dress shoes are the most comfortable dress shoe's money can buy, and their walking shoes even more so) and they'll look/feel a hell of a lot nicer than your $80-100 throw aways. Write off the initial cost - even if you have them resoled once a year, would you rather wear superb quality, top notch, incredibly comfortable shoes and spend $50-100 having them resoled and refinished, or buy a new pair of inexpensive, so-so shoes?
A friend of mine has been wearing the same pair of Alden's daily for almost a decade. While he has had them refinished and resoled several times with thick, rubber soles (not the thin oak tanned leather soled they first came with) after he wore out the initial sole - the fact remains that after nearly 10 years, his shoes still look stunning (he gets comments all the time, due to the superb patina they've developed) and they've morphed from a consumable product he could care less about - to his dear friends, which he's grown attached to and has a unique bond with. Just like a fine briefcase which will last decades of hard daily use, fine shoes are a thing of luxury every man should experience at one point in their life. Why not get started now?
Bottom line - for your use case, and based on the factors you had outlined in your initial post, I'd suggest giving a top quality comfort shoe a hard look. Mephisto comes to mind - as they have styles that rival Allen Edmonds in terms of quality/look - but are shockingly comfortable, designed for harder use, have shock absorbers in the heels, durable REAL rubber soles. Best yet - the resoling and refurbishing is reasonable - somewhere around $100 or so (and they come back looking brand new - they do an amazing job) - or you could have a local cobbler do it for a fraction of the cost. If you put in a little effort, you can find amazing deals on new, unworn Mephisto's. While normally their shoes run around $300-550, you can find them online (EX: Sierra trading post, ebay, etc) for 30-80% off. That said, Alden and AE (and others) offer more comfortable rubber soled options, but none rival the comfort of Mephisto. If you prefer their appearance and more rigid (less comfortable) construction - then by all means don't derail your search, but i'd at least try on some Mephisto's for proper due diligence.
You have to look at shoes as an investment. Sure, you might spend $150-300 on a nice pair of Mephisto's - but I assure you they'll be the most comfortable shoe you've worn for their style (their dress shoes are the most comfortable dress shoe's money can buy, and their walking shoes even more so) and they'll look/feel a hell of a lot nicer than your $80-100 throw aways. Write off the initial cost - even if you have them resoled once a year, would you rather wear superb quality, top notch, incredibly comfortable shoes and spend $50-100 having them resoled and refinished, or buy a new pair of inexpensive, so-so shoes?
A friend of mine has been wearing the same pair of Alden's daily for almost a decade. While he has had them refinished and resoled several times with thick, rubber soles (not the thin oak tanned leather soled they first came with) after he wore out the initial sole - the fact remains that after nearly 10 years, his shoes still look stunning (he gets comments all the time, due to the superb patina they've developed) and they've morphed from a consumable product he could care less about - to his dear friends, which he's grown attached to and has a unique bond with. Just like a fine briefcase which will last decades of hard daily use, fine shoes are a thing of luxury every man should experience at one point in their life. Why not get started now?
FYI - there are always a ton of deeply discounted new in box, unworn Edward Green shoes on ebay in the $300-700 range. Setup a google alert with the model/size you want and it'll tell you if/when they pop up. There are certain brands you have to pay retail prices for. Saint Crispin's is one of them.... Edward Green isn't.
Also - one friendly tip. If you haven't seen Saint Crispin's in person, do your best not to. They're stunning... you won't be able to resist
Hope this helps!
my only difficulty with this is that i'm looking for a specific style of EG's and to have to wait for the correct style/color/size to come along might take forever. I'd rather just pay extra and order the shoes I want from a reputable dealer and be done with it.
Also - one friendly tip. If you haven't seen Saint Crispin's in person, do your best not to. They're stunning... you won't be able to resist
I believe it. I'm in love with the model 523
Spectacular.
- Thread starter
- #39
Thanks for the continued thoughts. Thanks Joel for taking the time to post. I have seen Mephistos at A Nordstrom outlet and wondered about their quality. None of the styles jumped out at me, but that may have been due to me looking at the price tag first! I now know which shoes to seriously consider for my next purchase.
Frankly, no Mephisto shoe is ever going to win a beauty contest. They have a few styles that look nice/normal, but most look pretty uninspiring. Mephisto's key selling point isn't style, it's comfort. Next time you're at the outlet try on a pair and let us know what you think.
