Dress Shoes

[The Kraken]

Work shoes, we all wear em and have them on for a good portion of the day. Lets hear what every does and what they wear to do it. For me its one of my two pairs of Santoni Loafers. One pair is a Deep Brown/Red Noah, The other is a Pair of Black Tasseled Loafers. I also have a set of Cole Haan slip ons that I love. Im a Car Sales man.


Chris

 

[mouscacha]

I wear all ecco. I like the slip-ons for work and the tied for parties. I have a few other pairs, including golf shoes, but those hardly see use. I'm in the mortgage banking business.

 

[demaro]

I wear dress boots with the side zipper.

 

[Uncle Erik]

An assortment of hard-soled leather shoes. I've got a few pairs of vintage Florsheim (back when they were good), Barker, Loake, Cheaney, Brooks Bros., Alden, and a few others. Once broken in, I've found leather-soled shoes more comfortable than anything else and they give me more support than any soft-soled shoe I've ever had.

 

[gaseousclay]

I own several pairs of dress shoes but only 1 pair I consider nice - a pair of bruno magli maioco in black. a lot of people would probably consider this shoe below AE or Alden for the price point but I like them just fine. besides, I wasn't big on AE when I tried on a few pairs at Nordstroms and I can't find any retailers in Mpls that have physical stock of Alden so I have limited options. I bought a pair of C&J's a couple months back but they were too big for me, so I had to sell them on ebay at a loss.

 

[SafetyManiac]

I recently picked up a pair of Florsheim wingtips. I bought my first pair of wingtips after college. I was working for a defense contractor at the time and the guys wore wingtips. Because I've been sliding backwards into the "good old days", decades before I was born, I thought it would be fun to start wearing them again. I don't wait for special occasions to wear them though. I wear them to the office as well.

Which, since it came up in the original post, I work for an insurance company in their safety department (it's the easiest way to describe it. ).

 

[Obiwan]

+1 for wingtips. I have several old imperials that I love. It's a classic look in my opinion.

 

[The Kraken]

Now what does everyone use to keep them nice, Here its Lincolin and a good ol brush, Followed up with a nice white soft rag.


Chris

 

[Sam]

I have a few pair of dress shoes, but I am thinning down. I have a pair of Park Avenue in black by AE. I find that they are discreet, well made, tend to run narrower in styling and the leather is great. I have a similar model in the upper range of Johnson Murphy and those feel a bit heavier/clunkier, and they look it as well and the leather is less supple and less rich feeling. I have some darker brown Johnston Murphy soft soled shoes and will, when they wear out, replace them with Park Avenues. I have Cole Haan loafers, and also have Coach sueded loafers, and a pair of Ferrgamo lugged-soled dress loafers, but I find them as posers now and will go a bit more discreet next time.

+1 that the leather soled shoes are better for the feet in the long run.

 

[Bill Smith]

Also agree that leather soles are better for your feet and the environment in the long run because in most cases they can be re-soled.

I have a pair of black longwings made by Cheaney for Dacks footwear here in Canada, a brown pair of AE Hillcrests from a few years ago and a pair of Cole Haan cap toes I'm not fussed on. In the business casual front I have two pair of 10 year old Sebego penny loafers that are now like slippers.

I am resisting the urge to look at my local Brooks Brothers shell cordovan collection.

 

[pal]

I usually wear Florsheim Kenmoor Long wing tips, or Tabot Cap toes, or the old Chase Oxfords and I have several pairs of tasseled loafers. But my all time favorite dress shoe was a pair of Etonic Standard wing tips which I don't believe you can buy now. Those shoes lasted a very long time.

 

[StylinLA]

Because my foot became slightly wider, I had to shift to an E width. That's hard to find in many dress shoes, so Allen Edmonds are my go to dress shoes now. I like them a lot.
While pricey, the stories about people getting years and years out of these are all over the place. Plus, they take great pride in reconditioning and restoring the shoes as well.

As far as taking care of them, a lot of old cobblers have convinced me that shoe creams such as Meltonian are the way to go.

 

[Cuttingboard]

I have about 8 pairs of dress shoes of all colors that I alternate depending on my mood. Some days I want to wear a brown cap toe and other days a black wingtip. On casual days, I have about 6 other pairs of loafers of all colors that I wear with Khakis. I don't consider loafers to be a dress shoe, too casual.

 

[openhelix]

Mine are mostly Johnston & Murphy. A pretty wide array from cap toes to monk straps. Though lately I fell in love with a pair of Ted Baker shoes. I would guess they use a CM but they are SOOO comfortable and take on a good shine!

For care I usually use the J&M neutral cream, let them site for an hour or two, then a coat of Lincoln followed by a buffing then a coat of Kiwi and more buffing. The lincoln seems to protect better while I think I get a better shine with Kiwi.

 

[pal]

Because my foot became slightly wider, I had to shift to an E width. That's hard to find in many dress shoes, so Allen Edmonds are my go to dress shoes now. I like them a lot.
While pricey, the stories about people getting years and years out of these are all over the place. Plus, they take great pride in reconditioning and restoring the shoes as well.

As far as taking care of them, a lot of old cobblers have convinced me that shoe creams such as Meltonian are the way to go.

+1 Allen Edmonds are really a great value when you consider how well built and how long you are going to wear them.