The men's dress style thread..

[Profpointy]

Perish the thought!! 🧐

Ah, court appearance then?

 

[Badger_Boom]

Mmmm, they look and sound quite well made for the relatively 'cheap' price! 🤔 I have a pair of Herring winter/autumn boat shoes. They are very robust and well made. I need a pair of black Oxfords to go with an Austin Reed navy pinstripe double breasted suit I bought the other week from the retro clothing shop I work in. These shoes are Goodyear Welted Dainite, available in either a rubber or a leather sole. If I do buy them I'll get them with a leather sole as to me leather soles are lethal on most surfaces, especially man made fiber stairs carpets!!
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https://www.herringshoes.co.uk/herr...fords/black-calf?_gl=1*1hdzxl7*_up*MQ..*_gs*M

I have a pair of these (actually an earlier version of what appears to be the same thing) that I bought before C*vid for winter commutes to the office. The Dainite soles are great for wet weather, and the quality and fit is very good. I'd say they are as well made as the Loake 747s that I usually wore.

 

[Profpointy]

I've just read the description of those shoes. A wardrobe essential? Dearie me...

Plain black cap-toe Oxfords are the archetype smart formal shoe, eg for funerals or black tie and such, so it's not a silly statement taken in the context of dressing smartly on occasion even if "wardrobe essential" is perhaps slightly poncey

 

[Alex321]

Plain black cap-toe Oxfords are the archetype smart formal shoe, eg for funerals or black tie and such, so it's not a silly statement taken in the context of dressing smartly on occasion even if "wardrobe essential" is perhaps slightly poncey

While it may be true that plain black cap-toe Oxfords are pretty nearly essential, you cannot say that of a £175 shoe.

You can get perfectly decent ones that will last most of us for many years for £50-£60 quite easily, probably £40 if you wait for sales or get them from outlet centres.

If you want the highest quality, then sure you need to pay for it, but no way is that essential when nobody else is likely to even notice.

 

[Profpointy]

While it may be true that plain black cap-toe Oxfords are pretty nearly essential, you cannot say that of a £175 shoe.

You can get perfectly decent ones that will last most of us for many years for £50-£60 quite easily, probably £40 if you wait for sales or get them from outlet centres.

If you want the highest quality, then sure you need to pay for it, but no way is that essential when nobody else is likely to even notice.

Unless secondhand you really aren't getting a decent pair of shoes for less than £175 these days. £50 won't even get a pair resoled at the cobbler

 

[Dogtrousers]

I've never owned shoes posher than Doc Martens. They polish up nicely.

 

[Hover Fly]

I wear Solovair when I need to look smart while standing and walking on hard surfaces, SOA we’re the firs makers of DMs.

 

[Alex321]

Unless secondhand you really aren't getting a decent pair of shoes for less than £175 these days. £50 won't even get a pair resoled at the cobbler

For a definition of "decent" only the very well-heeled (pardon the pun) will recognise.

 

[Profpointy]

For a definition of "decent" only the very well-heeled (pardon the pun) will recognise.

"well heeled" or not, I'd see a £50 pair of shoes as equivalent quality to a £100 bike. Below a certain price point you simply can't make something decent, even with child labour in a sweat-shop.

Whilst £500 Crockett and Jones are lovely -( mine were seconds or second hand for a fraction of that) that is indeed lot of dosh for most people, but Loakes or Grensons made in Northampton for £200 seems pretty decent value to me given the quality of construction and work / skill involved. And given they'd last a decade of daily wear (with a resole every year or two) that doesn't seem an excessive cost over their life.

 

[Alex321]

"well heeled" or not, I'd see a £50 pair of shoes as equivalent quality to a £100 bike. Below a certain price point you simply can't make something decent, even with child labour in a sweat-shop.

I wouldn't. More like a bike at the £800-£1200 price point.

With the £175 pair referenced above being more like the £5000 bike.

Whilst £500 Crockett and Jones are lovely -( mine were seconds or second hand for a fraction of that) that is indeed lot of dosh for most people, but Loakes or Grensons made in Northampton for £200 seems pretty decent value to me given the quality of construction and work / skill involved. And given they'd last a decade of daily wear (with a resole every year or two) that doesn't seem an excessive cost over their life.

And those £500 ones would be more in line with the £10-12K bikes.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I wear Solovair when I need to look smart while standing and walking on hard surfaces, SOA we’re the firs makers of DMs.

Always wondered why they didn't call them Airsoles.

 

[Marchrider]

I got my shoes from a charity shop, I put some shelves up for them and they gave me a pair of shoes and a rugby style sweat shirt - very smart, wear them when we have a posh night out

 

[AndyRM]

Unless secondhand you really aren't getting a decent pair of shoes for less than £175 these days. £50 won't even get a pair resoled at the cobbler

I suppose this fits with the whole "Cheap, fast good" theory, which I totally get on board with as I apply it to my own design work. Kinda.

I dunno, I have nothing against people wearing whatever they want, but I do think that describing a pair of shoes priced at £175 as "essentials" is a bit elitist.

 

[Accy cyclist]

Do you mean this? If so it's still here as I have till the end of January to return it, but I doubt I will as it's one of those items you might send back then later in life wished you still had it. 🤔
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To complicate matters I bought this one below after seeing it on the Cordings site with 15 percent off, which was then reduced even further with 10 percent off voucher, I seem to receive with every order now.



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https://www.cordings.co.uk/inverness-tweed-field-coat.html

I kept the navy blue jacket in my above posts top photo. I had those doubts, but after wearing it for a few times it seems to gain a few compliments and it does feel like a very well made item as you'd expect from Cordings. All in all, I'm glad I didn't send it back for a refund.

 

[Accy cyclist]

Ah, court appearance then?

I gave evidence for the prosecution in a crown court trial quite a few years ago. Being an observer of such things, I looked at the standard of footwear as well as the state of the barristers black gowns etc. Tut! tut! Scuffed black Oxford shoes and badly patched up gowns in abundance indeed! 🧐