Comfortable Dress Shoes

[The Reverend Floater]

Hey Gang,

Looking for recommendations on dress shoes for formal social events that:
a) are comfortable
b) are more on the classic/timeless side than trendy, seeing that I wear a suit maybe once a year.

I checked Larry's thread but docksiders aren't cuttin' it.

Thanks.

[tgapp]

Allen Edmunds cap-toe oxfords.

Nothing trendy about them. Pricy as hell, comfortable, timeless, and they'll last you the rest of your life. If you are able to shop deals, you can find them for much cheaper than retail.

https://www.allenedmonds.com/shoes-b...r=5615#start=1

[ex-powderbroker]

have you considered a pair of dress crocs?

croc on the cloc:



i find the black to be a little more useful as formal wear than brown or camo.

[Meadow Skipper]

My Sunday-Go-To-Meeting shoes are by Johnston & Murphy. I won’t wear uncomfortable shoes, but sometimes comfort depends on foot type. But what I really want to pass on is that shoes.com almost always has a sizable discount listed (20% when I checked just now), and has a good shipping and return policy so it’s pretty easy shopping. And Johnston & Murphy are reasonably well-made at a moderate price.

So I’d say go to shoes.com, check out Johnston & Murphy dress and business shoes.

Or go here and blow it out. I hear they’re comfortable.
https://www.allenedmonds.com/shoes-b...s/dress-shoes/

Edit: I see tgapp beat me to it.

[OldLarry]

https://belgianshoes.com/shop/lizard-calf-4/

[riser4]

I got nothing for dress shoes. But my daughter just bought a pair of Bluestones as a workboot solution for archaeology work. Apparently they are part of the official uniform for archaeologists in Canada. It's her money. But jeeze they are pricy.

[Timberridge]

https://belgianshoes.com/shop/lizard-calf-4/

Old Larry knows his shit about shoes. He's our 5 star shoe expert.

[XXX-er]

https://australianboot.com/products/...dress-chestnut

depends on your style or lack of,

the pointy toe blundstone ^^ good in the snow,

the dressy option in my Blundstone quiver

[RootSkier]

Allen Edmonds quality has declined considerably, in my view. The "new" best value goodyear-welted shoes are at https://www.grantstoneshoes.com/coll...derbys-oxfords. A pair of these will easily last the rest of your life for occasional wear, and they can easily be resoled if you ever get to that point.

The "oxfords" on the link are the most formal, but you could easily get away with the longwings or country derby for Idaho-level formal, and either of the latter would be better for wearing with less than a full suit.

[Timberridge]

This isn't the Aussie outback or some hippie mountain town "dress" shoe shit.

He needs to wear these with a suit.

[XXX-er]

you missed the part where I did say it depends on your style, the 400 $ shoes are nice but not my style, I got warranty & ended up with 3 pair of Blundstones they do have an easy to get warranty

last wedding i went to i asked the bride if people are wearing suits cuz the wedding itself was at the family ranch, she said you could if you want or just buy some new black Carharrts, they tied the knot outside and in a driving rain storm

[riser4]

I meant to type Blundstone

[Peruvian]

My Sunday-Go-To-Meeting shoes are by Johnston & Murphy. I won’t wear uncomfortable shoes, but sometimes comfort depends on foot type. But what I really want to pass on is that shoes.com almost always has a sizable discount listed (20% when I checked just now), and has a good shipping and return policy so it’s pretty easy shopping. And Johnston & Murphy are reasonably well-made at a moderate price.

So I’d say go to shoes.com, check out Johnston & Murphy dress and business shoes.

Or go here and blow it out. I hear they’re comfortable.
https://www.allenedmonds.com/shoes-b...s/dress-shoes/

Edit: I see tgapp beat me to it.

Second on the J&M shoes. We had an outlet close by so I bought two pairs of long wing brogues (brown and black) and wore them a handful of times. I brought them both on a trip to Paris and walked 10+ miles per day in either pair and my feet were happy the whole time. They will last a lifetime (I don't wear dress shoes often) so a classic style/color/etc. would be the best choice.

[Timberridge]

you missed the part where I did say it depends on your style

[Danno]

Rockport's DresSports line always checked both boxes for me.

[doebedoe]

A&E and J&M both make lifetime shoes...but they also make some pretty low end crap. The model, not the brand is what matters.

If you need one pair of good, leather-insoled (i.e. will form to your foot) dress shoes that will last a lifetime, buy a pair of dark brown, welted (i.e. properly re-soleable), cap toes made of good leather (i.e. full grain, not top grain bullshit.)

Here's a good option from Meermin (I have a couple pairs of them, they are just as well made as AE 5th aves that I have): https://meermin.com/collections/mens...urgundy-calf-e

Fuck black suits. The only place they should be worn is in a tuxedo and then you should be wearing patent leather anyways. Dark grey suit and brown shoes is fine for funerals if need be.

Bluchers are more versatile than oxfords -- look at home with cords, nice jeans, chinos etc. Oxfords don't. If you're only going to wear these with suits, then sure get these oxfords: https://meermin.com/collections/mens...0-black-calf-e

#YoungLarry

[nickwm21]

Men’s shoe fashionista’s will scoff but I like Cole Haan’s.

Kinda overpriced, not resole-able, not full grain leather. But they are comfortable once broken in and are perfect for the 20-30 wears a year. I have a pair of brown Chukka’s and a pair of black wingtips. Both are 5-10 years old, super comfy, and look good enough for a nice wedding but casual enough I can wear them with jeans...

I wear thorogoods at work and vans on the weekends, so my Cole Haans only see the corporate office once a month, date nights, and weddings.



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[XXX-er]

Blundstones are part of the uniform up here ever body has them especialy the younger set, uni students for sure a little more casual but they have dressier styles

I wore Blundstones just about every day and at some point the soles started chunking while the uppers still looked ok so they were done until i found out I could get warranty SO they ask for picture of all sides of the boot, including the bottom which has the datestamp & size, they e-mail you the OK you got warranty so cut out the side elastic & pull tabs send them the picture and in 3 weeks a new pair shows up


GF has a cheaper rather funky air BnB in a designated heritage home that a attracts a certain clientele so the joke is is always

how was the BnB ? Subaru Blundstones or Birkenstocks did they have a big dog of indeterminate origin, did buddy have a man-bun ?

[BCMtnHound]

My 30yo doc martens are still going strong. Working 4yrs everyday in the hotels during uni, now they come out once or twice a year. Once they were broken in, they are as comfortable as any footwear I have worn (although I think my feet are doing the age-related expanding thing now, so it takes the leather a few minutes to wam and stretch to my new width). Original sole. They were trendy in the 80's, not sure if that makes them classic now?

I was looking at the blunstones for light duty work around the office and yard, but seems they are all made in SE Asia now, and don't carry the same quality that the original Aussie made ones did. Hate it when a quality brand goes mainstream, and then gets outsourced to cheap offshore labour.

[MTT]

In my budget range I have worn several pairs of florsheim leather slip on shoes. They look decent comfortable for me. Wear a decent amount of time. I used to work in dress shoes. I like slip ons comfortable easy to get on and off. Look good. No hassle at the airport leather sole's are nice unless you walk in the rain slush. Very bad.

[Meadow Skipper]

Why are we talking about Blundstones for “a formal social event” and/or a suit?

[Conundrum]

For your funky clods, I'd look at the White's Oxfords (same co as the fire boots). Custom widths, resoleable, hand built in the US, and not terribly expensive for what you're getting if you're looking for a lifetime shoe (<$400).

I'm wearing some square toed Blundstones in the office right now but my shirt is not tucked in. Pretty much my daily office shoe now. But for those recommending them in this thread, probably not the best call with a suit.

Edit-Whites and Hawthorn used to do custom toe caps and frilly wing tip stuff but don't see it on their website. Might be worth a call to them-the old toe cap version I was thinking of looked pretty slick. Was going to buy a pair but decided to downgrade my personal work dress code so never did.

[old goat]

Rockport's DresSports line always checked both boxes for me.

Definitely. I used to be able to stand all day in them comfortably, dressy enough for anything short of black tie. (I'd pay to see a picture of MTT in a tuxedo.)

Which reminds me, I've got a kid getting married in August. Better see if my one suit still fits and start losing some wait if it doesn't. Or maybe I'll get off lucky and the dress code will be outdoor Tahoe casual.

[RootSkier]

These? Are you guys fucking kidding?

[Mazderati]

https://belgianshoes.com/shop/lizard-calf-4/

Couldn've picked up a grip for your drip when Bernie's collection was auctioned off.