Mens Formal Shoes

Sully

I purchased a pair of formal mens shoes (perforated leather) from a well known department store back in January. I haven't been very happy with the quality. There a chocolate brown colour but the the colouring ran on them very quickly, the sole has started to break up a bit on the heel, sides and toe while the actual material on the shoe has broken in parts. I paid €100 for them. The store thinks I am 'very hard' on my shoes and the colouring would always run as it's just a dye in a factory. I drive cars and work in an office so I wouldn't consider I use them heavily, but I use them daily of course.

Anyway, I am on the market for a new pair of shoes as these won't last me much longer by the looks. I'm unsure what's considered a good brand and what's a fair amount to pay for good shoes. I've always had black, so I fancied a change going brown - but is there a point if the colouring wont last?

Thoughts and advised welcome!

mailforkev

One piece of advice would be to have a couple of pairs on rotation rather than wearing the same pair every day.

Leather likes to take a breather. So you'll find that two pairs on rotation will last longer than two in a row (if that makes sense).

Sully

mailforkev wrote: »

One piece of advice would be to have a couple of pairs on rotation rather than wearing the same pair every day.

Leather likes to take a breather. So you'll find that two pairs on rotation will last longer than two in a row (if that makes sense).

Yeah I'd be in favour but wondering what's a good price for shoes - reliable shoes. I've seen them go up to €300 and some were handmade

I'd be concerned about the dye issue too

terrarev

Unfortunately €100 is not a lot to pay for shoes you intend wearing every day and want to last. In some ways that price point is the worst. They're not cheap enough to be disposable and not well made enough to last.

For shoes that last, your best bet would be to get shoes with a Goodyear welted sole from a well known shoemaker. The likes of Churches, Grenson and Loakes are all traditional shoemakers who you should be looking at.

You could pay €300 for a decent pair but the same as everything you get what you pay for. The goodyear welt means the soles can be replaced easily enough by a decent cobbler once they start to wear so as long as the upper is in good nick you should be fine. You'll need to make sure you take care of them though, a polish every couple of weeks, use a shoe tree to help them keep their shape and give the leather a day to recover between wears. As the poster above said 2 pairs in rotation is a good idea.

Jasnah

Have a look at Meermin, it's the lower price end of things for good quality shoes, but they're a good company (despite some occasional issues due to demand).

As noted, you'll need to rotate pairs if you don't want your shoes to fall into bad shape. Also a good idea to invest in some shoe care products and shoe trees.

Sugar Free

I'd second Meermin and maybe Loake's 1880 range for a decent quality entry level shoe.