Fashion Thread: Kicks, Booties, Footwerks

NYSpeed Automotive NYSpeed Off Topic
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For the last 8 years I’ve been buying cheap $60-$100 dress shoes and have been replacing them every year when they start to fall apart, pretty much like clockwork.

I’m tired of doing that so I’m looking to spend my money and invest in a real set of dress shoes/boots. The problem is, that there are so many expensive shoes out there and I want to distinguish from the “designer expensive” and the “quality expensive.”

I’m looking to spend between $300 and $500 and I plan on wearing them for almost everything… work, going out, etc. I know makers like Bruno Magli and Allan Edmunds are relatively good shoes, but I’m looking for more suggestions and also somewhere to actually try them on. I hate buying footwear over the internet, but I will if I have to and the store has a good return policy.

At the moment I found these that I like so far.
http://l5.zassets.com/images/z/1/3/3/1339296-p-DETAILED.jpg
http://www.zappos.com/john-varvatos-rub-chelsea-dark-brown

Any thoughts on John Varvatos? I like the way they look, but am worried they are more “designer expensive.”

Also like these Bruno Magli’s
http://l5.zassets.com/images/z/1/2/3/1235405-p-DETAILED.jpg
http://www.zappos.com/bruno-magli-runod-black#productReviews

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paging bing…

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Scarpe di Bianco has some NICE shit. You can get them though a guy I have bought stuff from in the past, his name is Matt Picone. He has a website, www.omerosclothes.com. I had him make me some Ermenegildo Zegna shirts along with some of his in house line of shirts. Anyways, they also carry some baller ass shoes as well. If you’re interested in something from him, PM me, I have his cell number. He is right here in Buffalo as well and this shit is made to order so it will fit your hooves.

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Jordan, you baller.

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So what your saying is you’d rather spend an average of $400 on one pair of shoes to wear for on average 4 years?
I’d stick with the $60-$100 yearly cost.

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Well then make a thread about it. Otherwise how about you try contributing to what he is interested in. Sound good?

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I wish I could justify buying shoes this expensive but I know I’d just end up ruining a very nice pair of shoes. How is the longevity of these?

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I have found that the higher dollar better leather dress shoes i buy do infact last longer then the cheaper ones. and im pretty rough on my shoes. However i generally dont like spending more then couple hundo on shoes regardless of how nice.

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I have a pair of bruno magli shoes that I picked up for ~350 a few years ago. They are very comfortable and hopefully last me a long time.

http://www.zappos.com/bruno-magli-rammola-black-nappa

http://a1.zassets.com/images/z/8/2/9/829248-p-DETAILED.jpg

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I have a few pairs of decent shoes. I rip them up on the pavement all day long. So much that they sometimes melt…I use the shoe cobbler in east aurora to get heel savers and the botttom’s redone. I do have a pair of florsheim’s that I bought. Nothing special, but they are comfortable for what I do.

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Allen Edmonds are great shoes.

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I just bought 3 pairs of Allen Edmonds last week. They are considered an entry level high-end shoe from what i can tell. hand made in the US for the most part.

I’m in exactly the same boat you are. for the last decade i’ve been buying a new pair of black shoes from Aldo for $80 and thinking it was okay… it’s not. Not for someone with a real job in an office, sales, or anything that interacts with successful people. Shoes are a tell tale sign of maturity and confidence.

You should check out www.styleforum.com and lurk a bit.

My last 3 shoe buys we from Saks Fifth Ave. Their house brand shoes are all italian made and very sharp. However, they are still a fused or glued construction so they MSRP at $270 and if you catch a sale at the outlets you can find them for $140 - $160.

To me that is bridging the gap between Aldo-spec and a true bench made shoe.

Allen Edmonds are like $250 - $500 and usually are hand made or bench made and not fused or glued.

Some brands you’ll want to check out.

Church’s (invented the right and left shoe pairs… prior to them all shoes were identical)
Sutor Mantelassi - $800+ fucking insane… hand made in Italy
John Lobb - Owned by Hermes - start at $2k… so fucking Sheen
Vass - $800+
Certo - $500+

All the brands like Prada, Gucci, D&G, etc. etc. outsource the production of most of their goods. Which means that Church’s may actually make the Gucci designed shoe… so going right to Church’s is not a bad idea.

a few links:

awesome on-line store… havent bought from these guys yet but will: Virtual Clothes Horse

churchs - read about the history…

you mind if we merge this into the footwear thread i started in the network section a few months ago?

this is exactly where i wanted that thread to go. i’m hunting myself but would like to split the research duties with some fellow aspiring shoe-aficianados

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I bought a decent pair a couple of years ago (around $250 MSRP) and they’ve been worth it. Of course I also leave them in my office in the winter and throw on a pair of boots for trudging through the snow and salt. Would you guys still shy away from snow/salt/sludge or would better shoes stand up to that crap OK?

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I’m in the same boat with this… good thread.

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You can rebuild your Allen Edmunds for $100. Just send em in and they’ll make em look like new when the time comes.

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yes sir.

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get a pair of these

I was wearing them this morning over some Johsnton Murphy boots while shovelling the driveway…

When i started buying slightly better shoes i neglected to care for them and it cost me one pair of shoes already. the boots i was wearing the totes over are a decent pair of johnston and murphy italian made boots… not bench made and i got them super cheap at the outlet but they’re in rough shape now.

With the last pair i picked up at Saks i’ve been using a horse hair brush whenever they get some snow or salt on them when i get home and then using cleaner and a good shoe creme once every two weeks or so as needed. They’ve been holding up very very well despite being used in tough weather. In essence, good care and maintenence can counter a lot of winter wear.

I dont have a proper shoe valet yet, i’ll have to pick one up.

I’m going to merge this into the shoe thread since there is some good links i put up in there that can be referenced.

I’d like to see what you guys end up buying and your thoughts on your purchases before i go pick up a couple pairs this spring

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Here is a quoted step by step for this video.

incidentally, and because of this advice, i switched from shoe polish to shoe cream and it works 100x better.

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http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/9160/imag0004kt.jpg

dress shoes

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Ah… here is the thread… thanks for fixing the link bing.

Sometimes… I do own a kia so don’t let the shoes fool ya.

Even if they did last for years I am at the $100 mark per year average and they are better made and more comfortable. However, a real pair of shoes can last 10-15 years depending on how well you take care of them. All you have to do is replace the soles and heels once in a while.

Yeah do what bing said and grab a pair of “rubbers” (still makes me laugh). No matter how nice the shoe, the water/salt/dirt will ruin them fast.

EDIT:
These are hotttttt