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How Much Should You Spend on Dress Shoes?
One of the questions I frequently get in my inbox is: “I’m looking to upgrade my dress shoes, and only have X to spend. Should I save up for something better, or is so-and-so brand OK?” Like with many questions we get, a lot of this depends on the person asking.
It’s worth noting, however, that in footwear (like in everything), there are serious diminishing returns after a certain point. Very roughly speaking, that point tends to be around $350 at full retail, although what’s sold at full retail can be had for less with smart shopping (eBay, factory seconds, seasonal sales, etc).
The Unfortunate Reality of Diminishing Returns
There are a number of things that go into the construction of a good shoe, but the two biggest are: the quality of the leather used and how the soles have been attached. Jesse did a great job in describing the difference between corrected grain and full grain leathers here. It’s also worth noting that even among full-grain leathers, there can be differences in quality. Additionally, most well made shoes will have their shoes attached through a Goodyear or Blake stitching process. Jesse reviewed some of these in the second episode of our video series, and you can read more about each technique here. The short of it is: with a sole that’s been stitched on, rather than glued, you can more easily resole your shoes, which means you don’t have to bin them when the bottoms wear out.
In the past, the “entry price” for good (dress) shoes tended to be around $350. These were usually from Allen Edmonds, Ralph Lauren, and Brooks Brothers, although not everything from these brands were worth buying. There were also some European names such as Herring and Loake’s 1880 line.
After this, you get marginally better constructions, but the differences become smaller and smaller (perhaps a leather insole vs. a fiberboard insole, or a sole that’s been attached by hand rather than machine, or slightly better leathers used for the uppers). Largely, as you move up from the $350 MSRP mark, you’re paying for design. A $1,250 pair of Edward Greens won’t last you 4x longer than a $350 pair from Allen Edmonds, but to many, they’re shaped and finished more handsomely.
The Emergence of a More Competitive Market
The good news is that the market has gotten a lot more competitive in the last five years, and the cost/ benefit curve has smoothed out considerably. Today, there are companies such as Beckett Simonon, John Doe, and Jack Erwin below the $200 price mark (the last of which I was particularly impressed by). Just a hair over $200 is Meermin, which I still think is one of the best values for (relatively) affordable footwear. They have a “Classic” line for about $200 (but with customs and duties, you might pay around $230) and a higher end “Linea Maestro” line for about $300 starting. And at the $350 mark, there’s more than Allen Edmonds and Loake’s 1880 these days. Paul Evans, Kent Wang, and Howard Yount are all good companies to look into.
The question of what someone should spend isn’t about what’s “good” in the footwear market, it’s about what’s “good enough” for you. For dress shoes, the only real criteria are: quality full grain leather uppers and some kind of stitched on sole. Much of the rest is about aesthetics and personal preference.
(Photo: Crockett & Jones’ Whitehall oxfords at Ben Silver)
Dude shoes.
I went to Catholic school for grades 1-12, which meant ties, dress pants, and dress shoes every day. This has contributed to a lifelong hatred of ties, and “dressing up” in general.
(quelle surprise)
However, when I was Associate Pastor in Gainesville, FL, it was a pretty mandatory shirt-and-tie workplace (being a university city with a lot of parishioners who were from UF where no one who’s anyone would ever think of being seen without a tie).
When my latest pair of ~$79 shoes from Sears or whatever Crap Mall Shoes started to fall apart (again), I asked the Senior Pastor what kind of shoes he wore / recommended. He recommended a few different brands, including Allen Edmonds, Ecco (I think) and one or two others. There was a store in town that he recommended.
I went there shortly afterwards and was no-exaggeration shocked to see how much these shoes cost. But I was in a “Act Like A Grown-up” stage, and so I bit the bullet and bought two pair of Grown-Up shoes, because I learned (for the first time in my (at that time) nearly 30-years on earth) that you aren’t supposed to wear the same pair of shoes every day because they need a change to “dry out” in between wearing. No doubt this had hastened the death of all my previous shoes, which were not only crappy to begin with, but I was wearing them every day.
Now, since I’ve been in Ohio, the dress code is a bit more relaxed, so I don’t wear dress shoes every day, but frequently. And those Grown-Up shoes that I bought many years ago have held up way better than the Crap Mall Shoes which I’d been buying previously.
Not only that, but I was amazed how much better a real pair of shoes felt. The difference was huge. I had always associated “dress shoes” with “uncomfortable” but TurnsOut™ if you buy a decent pair which have been properly sized, they can be quite comfortable.
The size thing is another huge difference when you go to A Real Shoe Store. My last pair of Crap Mall Shoes were 10½. But that wasn’t the right size. This past weekend I bought a pair of Allen Edmonds, and I measured a 9 EE (extra wide), but because of my extremely high arches1, he suggested a 9 EEE. Try finding a pair of 9 EEEs at Sears. Hint: you probably won’t.
Anyway, the shoes were originally $295, on sale for around $265. Allen Edmonds also has a “reconditioning” service which will basically re-build your shoes to “like new” for $125, with the exception of the part of the sole which customizes itself to the shape of your foot after a few weeks. So after I’ve worn them for a couple years, I can do that instead of buying a new pair.
So, to any dudes out there who might be getting to that point in life where you need decent shoes but aren’t sure you want to spend the money: my advice, for what it’s worth, is to spend the money. Get yourself a proper fitting, and then put yourself on the email list for whatever brand you buy, so you can keep an eye out for a sale on a second pair. That way you can alternate them, which will make them last longer, and you’ll know what size to order, which will save you the effort of having to get to their store.
The clerk told me I had the highest arches he has ever seen, which is the oddest compliment I’ve ever received. And yes, he said it as a compliment. ↩