I'm trying to get something, basically, that's a step up from sneakers, but that I can wear without changing my wardrobe. So something that goes with jeans, khakis, high quality t-shirts, mostly collared button ups though. I also need new shoes (my nike's, the sole is literally flopping around, it's soooo fucked up). I guess you could say I was inspired by JWD's blog:
I hear a lot about allen edmonds, but they are wayyyy too expensive! I'm looking for like, $140 tops, probably, although like to spend maybe $100. I'm guessing I need something brown. I have no fucking clue what I'm doing. I've already spent too much time in shoe stores.
Like, i am sooo fucking clueless what to do. I walk in, grab a shoe. Oh yea, it looks good. I have no clue what I'm doing. Cool. I'll just set this back. Oh look, another 100 pairs of shoes that look way better than sneakers. Cool. Feels kind of tight. I'll just put this back. (I'm one of the most indecisive people in the world too, in that I'm always trying to get the 'best').
I went into H&M, and they had $69 leather shoes ('oxford' i think, solid brown with black 2inch tip) that was on sale for 50% off. They looked nice, but I think the cashier said they would be too nice, due to the black tip. They had some brown brogues that I think would have been perfect, but they didn't have my size (i wear 11.5, 12, US).
But like... should I be buying dress shoes from H&M? That was another thing that was questionable. I mean for clothes, awesome place for me (my favorite store is United colors of beneton, zara is nice but can only get one shirt very rarely or stuff on sale due to price)
I talked to some people, and I think that maybe instead of dress shoes, I should be looking at Dockers, or Sperrys. Does that sound right? I think that might be what I should do instead (although again, I have no idea what to do for that either).
On another note, Cole Haan shoes seem to come up a lot, in terms of affordable dress shoes. Are those okay?
All the stuff I search says "I have a ton of cash to blow, yea, okay, allen edmonds? great". I think I need something a little cheaper than AE...
I buy my brown work shoes from Aldo. They're low quality so I buy new work shoes (black and brown) about once a year. But they look fine for <$100 and you can wear them out with a brown belt. If you're going with dress shoes, I recommend you avoid laces. Dress shoe laces are annoying and tend not to stay tied. Both my first pairs (black and brown) had laces and after that I've never bought another laced pair and it's awesome.
i would recommend saving up for ae or alden or a high quality well-made shoe. they are worth it. really.
i would check out ebay too. i got some pretty good ae park avenues on there for $35.
if not, i would check out florsheim. they are on the lower end of high quality shoes.
and finally, if you don't know much about shoes, you should educate yourself on shoe terms(oxford, captoe, brogue, wingtip etc) and when to wear what. stuff like knowing wingtips/longwings should generally not be worn in very formal occasions etc.
Yes, I have some roberto villini (sic?) that I got for like, graduating high school (still have them, they are fine, but very dark oxfords so obviously extremely formal) and the laces never stay tied!
i would recommend saving up for ae or alden or a high quality well-made shoe. they are worth it. really.
i would check out ebay too. i got some pretty good ae park avenues on there for $35.
if not, i would check out florsheim. they are on the lower end of high quality shoes.
hm okay. I mean, $50 isn't that much. I guess I can always just go for AE.
But I'll look at florsheim too!
I mean, I walk a lot. I need a shoe I can wear a lot... I don't think you can really do that with AE. Or maybe I should just have sneakers, and then also some AE. I don't know.
and finally, if you don't know much about shoes, you should educate yourself on shoe terms(oxford, captoe, brogue, wingtip etc) and when to wear what. stuff like knowing wingtips/longwings should generally not be worn in very formal occasions etc.
I know a bit. Oxford is very plain - i thought this meant formal, but I guess it means it's versatile. Captoe I guess is a toe cover? Brogueing is that hole punch design - it makes shoes more informal. Wingtips are w-shaped toe caps. I forgot what's up with that.
I'm probably looking for like, a very plain brogue, or maybe oxford. In dark brown kind of color.
On March 22 2012 03:51 Diglett wrote: i would recommend saving up for ae or alden or a high quality well-made shoe. they are worth it. really.
i would check out ebay too. i got some pretty good ae park avenues on there for $35.
if not, i would check out florsheim. they are on the lower end of high quality shoes.
and finally, if you don't know much about shoes, you should educate yourself on shoe terms(oxford, captoe, brogue, wingtip etc) and when to wear what. stuff like knowing wingtips/longwings should generally not be worn in very formal occasions etc.
^ Let's see... I did that, and the guy recommended some like, white/tan leather shoes that had like a light brown leather attached on it too (around shoe lace area if I recall). I thought they looked kind of goofy. They were summer shoes I guess?
Then they recommended I probably go for sperrys. My gf made comments about "thats what all the bros wear" or 'preppy'. I said, well, bros dress well / preppy people dress well. We then proceeded to realize we had no fucking clue what we were doing, and left.
1) Whether it fits 2) Whether it's clean 3) Whether it hasn't started falling apart.
You can buy dress shoes from Walmart and look fine. I don't know why you want something between dress shoes and sneakers.
I've gone through stages were I was worried about shoes and fashion. But when I do, I always think about the Shawshank Redemption. Really, how often do you look at a man's shoes?
From the sound of your wardrobe, I would recommend Sperrys. They're pretty comfortable, versatile, and durable. Not formal though, but it doesn't sound like you want something formal.
Edit: or a similar style of boat shoe, doesn't have to be Sperrys
i only wear them when i wear suits though. i have casual "dress" shoes for my day to day work.
Can you please talk about those casual dress shoes?
I basically wear nice, fitted jeans, from H&M, United Colors of Benneton, and Zara (not super thin hipster jeans, but, you know, if you want to think that, whatever), some button ups from same people (some colorful, some darker blues), and you know, sneakers! What I'm looking for, is like, big boy shoes. I'm no longer a kid. So I'd like to get some nicer shoes, that I can wear with my clothes. I can't get something super dressy, because I don't have like, formal clothes. I have decent clothes, but you know, it's jeans and button ups, or high quality $5 tshirts from said companies.
If I wanted to get quality, obvious, I get Allen Edmonds for my first pair.
But I think Allen Edmonds, even the 'casual' ones, are too nice to wear with fitted jeans and a button up. Not to mention just a little too pricey... but if that's what I need, then so be it (I mean I work 70 hours a week, if that's what I need, I can buy it).
Whenever I dress up I only care about:
1) Whether it fits 2) Whether it's clean 3) Whether it hasn't started falling apart.
You can buy dress shoes from Walmart and look fine. I don't know why you want something between dress shoes and sneakers.
I've gone through stages were I was worried about shoes and fashion. But when I do, I always think about the Shawshank Redemption. Really, how often do you look at a man's shoes?
I don't know if this is serious. I'm not some high fashion snob, I totally get it. But you put on a $500 pair of jeans from like, prada, you understand why it's $500. Now should you buy it? Hell no. But, you know, there is a reason for it, and I'm just as american as you. But I think a $20 pair of on sale jeans from h&m and ucb, is definitely worth getting, over wal mart. or hell, even if it's $50, it's worth it. And I'd rather buy nice jeans like that, same price, than get it from levis or like abercrombie.
You don't have to spend a lot of money to dress nice. I mean, button up from h&m? I've seen them as low as $10, that are probably way nicer than anything in abercrombie or those kinds of stores. A really nice button up that will last a lifetime can be like $40 at zara or something.
I appreciate your feedback. And that's kind of what I'm getting at here - that Allen Edmonds might be too nice for me, and that I could just as well go for like, Dockers or Sperrys. Which I'm JUST as clueless about. So, you know, hence the help-me blog.
But if you suggest wal-mart dress shoes, I can just get some sneakers from nike or skate shoes from vans or DVS that I'm sure would be nicer.
I have a pair of Clarks, they come in many varieties. They are comfortable and look pretty nice at the same time. Not too fancy and not too plain.
From the sound of your wardrobe, I would recommend Sperrys. They're pretty comfortable, versatile, and durable. Not formal though, but it doesn't sound like you want something formal.
Edit: or a similar style of boat shoe, doesn't have to be Sperrys
Cool. Can you tell me what I should be looking for exactly? "boat shoe" you say?
Do you wear dress socks with sperrys?
edit2: My gf says this (shes clueless too though so keep that in mind) - Sperrys are extremely preppy (i dont dress preppy) - Clarks are more conservative, lawyer, very moderate, 'safe', 'clunky', not on the fashionable side - aldo is more young crowd, modern.
On March 22 2012 03:45 Chill wrote: I buy my brown work shoes from Aldo. They're low quality so I buy new work shoes (black and brown) about once a year. But they look fine for <$100 and you can wear them out with a brown belt. If you're going with dress shoes, I recommend you avoid laces. Dress shoe laces are annoying and tend not to stay tied. Both my first pairs (black and brown) had laces and after that I've never bought another laced pair and it's awesome.
There was a video like this on some shoe website that I cannot recall, but this I can honestly say changed my life lol I haven't had my shoelaces untied since I went square
hey, sorry I haven't got to your comment on my blog. it seems like you are getting a good amount of advice here.
my only specific tip given your posts here is that, yes, it is worth it to save up a few hundred bucks for a pair of shoes. if you pick a trusted brand and pay, say, $300, you will get a shoe that is nicer and will last well more than 5 times longer than a cheap $60 alternative. I know that a big purchase like that is daunting, but if you do your research and like the shoe you will not be disappointed.
edit: one more thing: I wear brown AEs with jeans most days. sometimes jeans and a t-shirt. as long as they're not right out of the box / just polished, they won't look too formal. chicks dig em.
Go to reddit.com/r/malefashionadvice and then to reddit.com/r/frugalmalefashion. They will help you a lot! It's amazing what reddit MFA did to some people. Walk in looking like hobos, walk out looking like movie stars.
Okay, so if I were to buy a shpe at aldo, it was the si ze 12 diggman aldo (google doggman aldo, its first result). Black rubber bottom, brown plain shoes (Oxford? They werent super thin at top).
We are goong to check out some clothes at united colors of benneton, but I think ill be back to buy those $110 aldo diggmans.
The guy there said Sperry style shoes are like the same class of shoes as sneakers, but those fancy dress shpes are a step up, while I can definetely wear thw fancy brown dress shoes with Jeans. So im going to go with those over sperrys, since the whole point is tp get shoes a step up from sneakers while keeping my Jeans and button up wardrobe.
Sorry jwd, while I can do 150 ae, 300 is probably what my entire wardrobe costs (maybe a bit more than that actually).
Okay, so those aldos. Very light brown, simple, clean. 110. My only reservation is they may end up uncomfortable or bad quality, because I have no clue.
I checked out florsheim at macys, but all were too dark. Going to check out florsheim at another place, since ive heard them mentioned for budget shoes. If I see nothing, ie plain and light brown, just going to go for the aldos.
if this is going to be a kind of everyday shoe, i highly recommend you ask the salesperson to recommend a comfortable pair, or atleast give you the time to find one thats comfortable.
i have a pair of aldos but they are not comfortable for everyday/casual use. strictly special events only. i have a very comfortable pair of hushpuppies for work.
All I can say is that I got a pair of brown brogue oxford shoes (very similar to the ones JWD posted in that link) and it was absolutely the best shoe purchase I've made in a very long time. They look stunning with almost anything I pair them up with.
the aldos guy said he wears them every day for work (at aldos though). I could just go crazy figuring this out. Im just going to go for aldos. Seems like a few people here are just fine with them.
Ok bought aldo digman, light brown, solid. It does have laces chill, sorry.
I was going crazy trying to figure this all out, but these looked the best, aacording to my gf, and only light brown and solid shoes I saw. So they look good, thats all, and one day ill go for allens. They cost 110.
If you have $150 to spend on shoes, save up and buy some AEs. While AEs aren't the best shoes ever, they are much better than your average shoes.
"Expensive" (AE really isn't expensive, by any measure) shoes are better because: 1. they fit better (i.e. actually comfortable) 2. they last forever 3. they look better
Go with a pair of walnut or brown (walnut is more casual, and brown is actually quite dark) calf brogue like Strand, 5th Ave, Park Ave (from casual to more formal), and you'll look ten times better with just about any wardrobe.
You can get them heavily discounted at various places online (Amazon, Nordstrom, Endless, and even AE's own website) and in stores like Nordstrom Rack. You can also e-mail their factory stores and buy "factory seconds" (shoes with minor blemishes) for about 50-70% of their original price.
As for discounted shoes, I heard against that for first time buy, since you have no clue what you are doing. I checked out a few departments stores like bloomingdales and macys. There was a nordstrom there but we didnt go in there. Even when they have these brands though, the chance they have very simple (or not) light brown shoes is rare, it seems.
So I freak out about being able to wear these shoes with jeans, and for them to be informal, and then I wear all black.
We are going to bacchanalia, seems like inarguably the best in atl, like super high end stuff. So that's the occassion to dress nice, and then afterwards we are actually going straight to see Justice. Its united colors of benneton black long sleeve button up, black pants from h&m, and h&m vneck dark grey undershirt. Then the aldo digman cognac shoes.
I should probably tuck in my shirt, but my gf says it looka bad to tuck in. It might have to do with my silver/gray cloth belt though.
I was wearing a bright blue undershirt earlier, but my gf said it looka goofy because she says more chest, more manly. That blue shirt wasn't a vneck like this dark grey one. I'm wearing an undershirt at all because atl is hot and sweaty, so I might take off my button upp. But its cool today, so maybe I take off undershirt.
Is this some kind of troll blog? WTF. Have you ever heard of looking for sales? $110 is a lot of money to pay for cheap shoes. Shoes go on sale a LOT. I got a pair of Cole Haan shoes similar to these for $99 last year in Las Vegas. If you want to buy nice clothes and shoes you should never pay full price (unless you're rich and you don't care about money).
When you buy shoes you want them to be comfortable and to fit well. One previous poster said you should save your money and get a $300 pair because they will last longer. I strongly disagree. Get your shoes on sale and over time buy several pairs so you don't wear the same shoes every day. Get cheap ones that look good and if they fall apart after 6 months just throw them away because they were cheap anyway. Once you get a real sense of what you like and what suits your lifestyle then you might consider making a big investment in nice expensive shoes but still you should look for sales unless you're rich.
Is there a Kenneth Cole in your area? I've bought a lot of their shoes and they're not super high-quality but they feel nice and they look good. And there are lots of sales.
As for most comfortable I absolutely love Geox shoes. I've never bought dress shoes from them bcause I've never found a sale on their dress shoes but the ones I've bought feel great, and they are incredibly durable. Very solid product.
Anyway I appear to be rambling and it sounds like you've bought your shoes anyway. But having a good selection of shoes is part of having a decent wardrobe and you sound like you pay attention to your clothes so how can you neglect your shoes so badly???
I never knew about shoes. I don't really know anything about clothes, but I travel a lot. I went into one of those crazy stores like armani or gucci when I was in venice, and tried on some $500+ jeans - buying them are out of the question, but trying them on are free. Needless to say, I realized immediately why they cost 500. Now, I don't shop at gucci or armani, but I do know that h&m and zara and united colors are a huge step up from gap or levis or macys, and I can generally find on sale or just chea clothes there at the same price. No one told me this, its just something I figured out (once at a party, I asked what are these fitted jeans they were talking about. They said its what I was wearing).
I've never found dress shoes to be more comfortable than good skate shoes, but since I don't skate anymore, I usually just get half decent nikes. I don't think I've ever seen anyone wear dress shoes with anything besides a suit, in a courthouse or funeral. I've kind of noticed the last few days some people wearing dress shoes with casual clothes... but I think they are fucking it up as bad as the people wearing sneakers.
As for my black clothes... they aren't dress pants... I guess the best I can compare them is like maybe dickys?.. but being h&m or whatever, they are much better quality. As for the shirt, I don't think its an actual dress shirt, its just a black button up. I definetely don't wear black this every day, its just we are going to a nice restaurant today and this black shirt is the only thing that matches these black pants (I'm on vacation now btw).
Anyways, I've never heard of looking for sales. I don't look for sales when I look for clothes (I mean maybe its on sale in the store, but I'm not hunting specifically for sales).
I've never heard of kenneth coles. Up until maybe 5 days ago, I've never heard of any of them, ae, aldo, etc.
I asked about cole haan in the op, as I've seen a few good looking ones for a better price, like a lot of times. No one said anything though, so I assumed they sucked. On the other hand, my gf said aldo was nice (again, she doesn't know anything, like me), and chill recommended them (sort of?).
So that, on top of the fact that aldo was like the only place I saw light brown (aka 'cognac') simple, straightforward shoes ('oxfords'), ie they looked nice, so I went with them. I thought 110 was cheap, and I figured with a first time purchase on dress shoes, I buy new (as I've seen recommended)
Gosh some of the advice in this thread is awful. Do NOT buy kenneth coles or any other fashion brand shoes. Buy shoes from companies that make shoes, fashion brands almost always use cheap materials and poor construction with high mark ups. They will look like trash after a few wears. I would have recommended Florsheim at that price point if you actually wanted dress shoes, but it sounded like you just wanted a step up from sneakers to mix with a casual wardrobe, which I would have recommended some Clark's Desert Boots. Sperry would have been good to with spring and summer coming up. but they wouldn't work well for you come fall/winter. Also all sneakers are not created equal, there is nothing wrong with a nice clean sneaker, I really like Seavees.
@ziggurat, I agree with JWD 300+ dollar shoes are worth it when you can afford them. They look better, feel better, last longer, and age better. Also if you are buying new shoes as often as it sounds like you are you could have multiple pairs of 300 dollar shoes that still look great by now so there would be no need to wear the same shoes all the time. That said clearly if you are going to buy 300 dollar shoes you should know you like them and are going to like them for a long time which is why I would not recommend them to the OP.
Edit: What you got isn't bad at all. Personally from the way you described your wardrobe I would of gone with something a little more casual like wing tips or brogues if you wanted a dress shoe, but what you got is solid. My only thing I would say is you seem to like the color black, and you are going to want to avoid wearing those shoes with black. That is probably a good thing black isn't nearly as versatile or good looking as most people think.
^ Yea, maybe I'll go for allen edmonds in a few years.
The advice I got at aldos was that sperrys are like on the same level as sneakers. As he put it "a guy who wears sperrys is like on the same level as a guy who wears sneakers" (okay, maybe he was just selling the shoes, but they had sperry style shoes too, so he could have easily have got me to buy their sperry style shoes).
I never buy new shoes, I have some black dress shoes roberto villini or something, from like graduation in high school, and then I have had these same nikes (pretty simple looking, white with like a bit of blue on them, not the basics, but they werent like high end) since I bought them in italy like... 3 years ago or something. They were dark grey now, and the soles are literally flopping around because they are barely connected, and the nike logo is in half because it's soo ragged. Way overdue on shoes.
I would of gone with something a little more casual like wing tips or brogues if you wanted a dress shoe, but what you got is solid.
yea it sounds like brogues/wingtips is exactly what I need, but i felt the design on those are a bit too much, and I wanted to keep it a bit simpler. I guess in terms of fashion though, it just means I look more formal, which is not where I want to be going with casual shoes I'd be wearing with jeans most of the time. When I'm more comfortable with style, I might go for that.
I'm not a color black guy! It's just that we were going to a $200 restaurant, super high end kind of place, and the only shirt that matches my solid black pants was a solid black shirt (i had some nice plaid button ups, but gf said the solid black just went better with it). I also bought a brown belt today. But yea, I probably should have worn my black shoes for that black shirt/black pants get up. Funny how that works out.
I couldn't find a simple, solid, oxford, cognac/light brown florsheim, so all I really saw that was like this (yea, you would think such a simple design would be easy to find right? no, I never saw it, only once, and that was that aldo or some $300+ shoe) was what I got.
Those clark desert boots look fine (high top is okay? yea, i think i read somewhere that such high top design on dress shoes is more casual, more informal), but I wasn't aware that clark was really okay. i never really saw aldo was okay either though, but the advice of my gf (which she knows isn't much, just same as me basically) and chill suggested aldo as okay.
cdb is purely casual but personally i think they look more awesome than sneakers or boat shoes
a black shirt is one of the most non-versatile things you could have. you don't have to match shirt and pant color. white and blue shirts are really versatile. and you can't go wrong with neutral colors like charcoal, grey, navy.
and you should treat an undershirt like your underwear- it shouldn't show.
cdb is purely casual but personally i think they look more awesome than sneakers or boat shoes
a black shirt is one of the most non-versatile things you could have. you don't have to match shirt and pant color. white and blue shirts are really versatile. and you can't go wrong with neutral colors like charcoal, grey, navy.
and you should treat an undershirt like your underwear- it shouldn't show.
No I mean, like, my red semi see-through short sleeve UCB button up with lapels is too wrinkled, and then I basically had 2 blue plaid long sleeve button ups that just didn't go as well as plaid shirts with such solid black pants. I flew out here to atlanta, so while I did bring 90% of my wardrobe, I didn't bring all of it (and I think I lost my solid blue really nice shirt in california, or maybe tenessee, i think ive lost a few undershirts and that one nice button up from moving so much).
I guess I should've just worn khakis as my 'nice' pants today, but oh well. I'll take pics of me in the shoes with more 'normal' clothes later.
and you should treat an undershirt like your underwear- it shouldn't show.
yea my gf made that clear to me today. I always thought that it was a good idea to like, get a blue undershirt, and then put a black shirt over top, with some unbuttoning at the top, to get some color going and 'style'. I didn't realize that was just stupidity.
Like I specifically bought a bunch of nice colored undershirts from h&m for that reason. I would wear like, my purple/blue/red mainly blue long sleeved button up, and underneath it, wear a red, or purple, or blue, undershirt, and have it show because of some buttons unbuttoned, and I thought that was like cool looking. I didn't realize it just made me look less of a man, and more like a kid, and I'm better off with no undershirt, and showing off chest.
I guess the lesson is wear a neutral undershirt for strictly practical reasons (like sweat or it's cold), or wear a similar colored undershirt. What I wore today I think was a v-neck dark grey shirt, so it matched the shirt basically, but showed some skin just the same if I didn't wear an undershirt, because I thought sweat would be an issue as we walked like 10 miles today going all over atlanta, and atlanta is hot.
CDB and Sperrys are both equally casual as sneakers, but more fashionable. Fashionable doesn't necessarily mean dressy. Like I said the shoes you got are far from bad. Once you break them in a little they will look even better casually with jeans then they do now.
Yeah there is nothing wrong with wearing an undershirt, I wear one almost everyday, but it shouldn't show. The best undershirts are heather grey v necks with a deep v. This way the shirt never shows, also grey works better then white because it matches your skin better wearing white under a white shirt it can usually be seen where if you are wearing grey no one can tell.
On March 23 2012 06:23 Belial88 wrote: I've never heard of kenneth coles. Up until maybe 5 days ago, I've never heard of any of them, ae, aldo, etc.
I asked about cole haan in the op, as I've seen a few good looking ones for a better price, like a lot of times. No one said anything though, so I assumed they sucked. On the other hand, my gf said aldo was nice (again, she doesn't know anything, like me), and chill recommended them (sort of?).
Kenneth Cole shoes are pretty good, similar in quality to Aldo in my experience, but the prices are better. Cole Haan is a very high end brand, probably just one small step down from Gucci or Armani -- I only have one pair because even on sale they are still not cheap!
On March 23 2012 09:01 jamesr12 wrote: Gosh some of the advice in this thread is awful. Do NOT buy kenneth coles or any other fashion brand shoes. Buy shoes from companies that make shoes, fashion brands almost always use cheap materials and poor construction with high mark ups. They will look like trash after a few wears.
This is not true, at least not in my experience. I've bought at least 8 pairs of Kenneth Cole shoes in the last 10 years or so and 5 of them are still my rotation. The other ones wore out mainly from me being careless and wearing them in the snow and slush. And they are quite comfortable. Your advice may make sense in general but I don't think it's accurate re Kenneth Cole in particular.
On March 23 2012 09:01 jamesr12 wrote: @ziggurat, I agree with JWD 300+ dollar shoes are worth it when you can afford them. They look better, feel better, last longer, and age better. Also if you are buying new shoes as often as it sounds like you are you could have multiple pairs of 300 dollar shoes that still look great by now so there would be no need to wear the same shoes all the time. That said clearly if you are going to buy 300 dollar shoes you should know you like them and are going to like them for a long time which is why I would not recommend them to the OP.
I have heard thins advice before. I did this once about 12 years ago when I got my first real job, I decided I needed some sick black dress shoes and I paid something like $285 for Johnston and Murphy shoes. They didn't last that long, and I ended up feeling like I wasted my money. Maybe that's just a bad brand, but I think it might be more the fact that I live in a city that's hard on shoes. What brands would you recommend to buy at a $300 price point and how long would you expect them to last?
I have a pair of AE I have had for 5 years, got them back recently from their first re-crafting. I except them to last another 3-4 years before needing another re-crafting, then another 3-4 years after that before being retired. But who knows I wouldn't be surprised if they last longer then that, that would be at a minimum. My dad has a pair that are 30+ years old he does not wear that regularly anymore because hes retired and wears golf shoes and loafers almost exclusively, but they are still perfectly wearable.
Kenneth Cole shoes are pretty good, similar in quality to Aldo in my experience, but the prices are better. Cole Haan is a very high end brand, probably just one small step down from Gucci or Armani -- I only have one pair because even on sale they are still not cheap!
Is this really true? I have a hard time believing cole haan is one step down from gucci or armani, or that KC is good quality, similar to aldo. I didn't really hear aldo was high quality, even Chill said they were fairly low quality. I just went for aldo because they had solid brown oxford, were affordable, and just looked good.
This is not true, at least not in my experience. I've bought at least 8 pairs of Kenneth Cole shoes in the last 10 years or so and 5 of them are still my rotation. The other ones wore out mainly from me being careless and wearing them in the snow and slush. And they are quite comfortable. Your advice may make sense in general but I don't think it's accurate re Kenneth Cole in particular.
I think he was referring to me questioning about buying the dress shoes H&M had on sale. Maybe he wasn't, but that's how I took it.
By the way, the black dress shoes I got from graduation, are Johnston and Murphys. They need like a waxing or something, they don't look very nice now :X
Here's a pic of my new shoes with what I would wear normally:
My gf strongly insists that tucking in always looks bad for me, maybe because I'm so skinny or something about my hips. I don't know if I agree, or maybe just with jeans it's better to not tuck in.
That is not bad at all. The picture quality leaves something be desired but from what I can tell you look pretty good. I am with your GF I think that shirt belongs untucked. I wouldn't say you can never tuck shirts into jeans, but I think it is easier to pull off the untucked look with jeans then the tucked look.
My one critique may be the jeans themselves it is hard to tell from the picture but I think the fit could be better. What are they? Also I think they could be darker. Are they pre-faded?
Cole Hann is absolutely not a high end brand no less a very high end brand. You can frequently find them in the <$150 range. High end shoes are north of $500 with prices going way above that. Aldens, AE shell cordovan, and other brands I am just starting to learn about are what I would consider a high end shoe.
This and this are the beginning of the high end shoe world:
My one critique may be the jeans themselves it is hard to tell from the picture but I think the fit could be better. What are they? Also I think they could be darker. Are they pre-faded?
I think I've lost a lot of weight from working 70+ hours/week. They aren't faded, they are quite dark. Might be flash, might be worn. They are fairly high quality pants from united colors of benneton.
On March 26 2012 02:25 jamesr12 wrote: Cole Hann is absolutely not a high end brand no less a very high end brand. You can frequently find them in the <$150 range. High end shoes are north of $500 with prices going way above that. Aldens, AE shell cordovan, and other brands I am just starting to learn about are what I would consider a high end shoe.
This and this are the beginning of the high end shoe world:
These are sick shoes. I dislike leather shoes cuz it makes me looks old (I'm only 23) and I don't want dress that formally at all. I like boots, they are bit more subtle than sneakers yet offers mobility in case I need to make a dash for my life.
On March 26 2012 02:25 jamesr12 wrote: Cole Hann is absolutely not a high end brand no less a very high end brand. You can frequently find them in the <$150 range. High end shoes are north of $500 with prices going way above that. Aldens, AE shell cordovan, and other brands I am just starting to learn about are what I would consider a high end shoe.
This and this are the beginning of the high end shoe world:
These seem like an insane waste of $$. Did you inherit a lot of money or something? You might as well be shopping for shoes off this list.
I don't own either pair. The pair of AE's I own the strands in brown calf, not the shell cordovan version. I was just putting them out there to illustrate my point of what high end shoes are. I do hope I make enough money to be able to afford a nice pair of shell cordovan shoes one day however. They have advantages to calf leather which make them last longer and look better with age, but I wouldn't encourage them for someones "first big boy shoes" or even second or third for that matter. I feel like we have taken over this guys blog. oops.
Please, continue. I know it's going to be awkward next time I hang out with my friends, and they are wearing normal sneakers or whatever, and i got these goofy shoes.
On March 26 2012 02:25 jamesr12 wrote: Cole Hann is absolutely not a high end brand no less a very high end brand. You can frequently find them in the <$150 range. High end shoes are north of $500 with prices going way above that. Aldens, AE shell cordovan, and other brands I am just starting to learn about are what I would consider a high end shoe.
This and this are the beginning of the high end shoe world:
These seem like an insane waste of $$. Did you inherit a lot of money or something? You might as well be shopping for shoes off this list.
I don't own either pair. The pair of AE's I own the strands in brown calf, not the shell cordovan version. I was just putting them out there to illustrate my point of what high end shoes are. I do hope I make enough money to be able to afford a nice pair of shell cordovan shoes one day however. They have advantages to calf leather which make them last longer and look better with age, but I wouldn't encourage them for someones "first big boy shoes" or even second or third for that matter. I feel like we have taken over this guys blog. oops.
One reason I would hesitate to spend too much money, even on really high quality shoes, is that the city where I live is really hard on shoes. We get a lot of snow, then they put salt and salt on the sidewalks, then it all melts, then it snows again, and so on. It's a common joke in Calgary that if you don't like the weather just wait 5 minutes because something different will be along soon.
So if I had $300 shoes I would only wear them indoors most of the time. This isn't really practical for me because I work in one building but need to make my way to another building a lot as part of my job. I feel like if I lived in LA or somewhere else where the weather is beautiful all the time these kind of shoes might make a lot more sense.
EPT
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