I'm not sure if this is the right board or not, but I'm looking for some nice black shoes to use for work, as well as a nice black belt.

I've been working an outside sales job for the last few months and I want to retire my $35 shoes from the outlet mall and $15 belt from Haggards before going up to corporate for the Christmas party and meeting the CEO.

I'd like for them to be comfortable, durable, and stylish. Since I'll be using them a lot, I don't mind spending a couple of hundred dollars on them, but I don't want to get too crazy.

Same thing with the belt. Durable and stylish. But again, I don't want to get too crazy with the price.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you! How is the comfort on the shoes? That's probably my biggest concern. You don't have to review the $400 pair. That's probably too much for me to spend on shoes.

26.2 said:

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From experience, skip the Cole Haan's and buy the Allan Edmonds. My $200 CH's lasted about a year before wearing out. AE's look almost exactly like the day I got them 2 years ago

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Awesome. Thanks!

As much as I don't want to spend that much money, it may be what I have to do. Comfort good? I don't want to be standing around a trade show and have to worry about my feet.

Whatever you get, get some cedar shoe trees. Don't need to be fancy. Will make the shoes look 10 times better and last 10 times longer.

Get fitted wearing the type of socks you'll wear in the shoe. Mine feel great. And I agree, get wooden shoe trees.

Also, if you live near a Nordstrom Rack, look there first. I've paid full retail and then I've found AE's for like $125 so now I have two pair in addition to my boots.

Awesome. This is the type of advice I'm looking for. Thanks!

AE has sales every so often. Make a "deal alert" on slickdeals for that brand if you can wait for a bit.

I just bought a great belt from them for around $40 during the flash sale.

Diggity said:

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AE has sales every so often. Make a "deal alert" on slickdeals for that brand if you can wait for a bit.

I just bought a great belt from them for around $40 during the flash sale.

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I went ahead and made the notification, but I'll probably have to pull the trigger this weekend either way. Thanks for the advice.

Second the Allen Edmonds rec. To answer your "are they comfortable" question, I wear dress shoes every day, and I'm about 90% convinced that I could got run a 5k in my AE's the day I buy them. They're widely considered the best dress shoe in America.

One other aspect to them, when they're worn out (3-4 years for me), you can send them in to AE and they'll restore the shoes for about $100. They ship them back and they look like new.

Also check Ebay for Allen Edmonds, you can grab a pair in fair condition for $50. Also, AE will rebuild your shoe for like $130 no questions asked.

I have a pair of Florsheim patent leather wingtips that I love. Have found it works better to rotate several $100 pairs. Also, like another poster said, eBay can knock it down to $50. Rockport makes a nice comfortable shoe as well.

if your budget is $400, you are better off buying 2 pairs of $200 shoes
the idea is that with 2 pairs you can rotate them every day which will help let the leather fully dry each day and will give you 2 different colors or styles. (brown or cordovan and black or loafer and oxford or quarter and full brogue, etc)

Cole Haan's are a good but they have a couple levels of quality, so make sure you get the good ones and not the crap ones. Feel the inside of the shoe, it should be leather. The ones you find at DSW, Nordstrom Rack and the like are typically the crap ones (though they may have some that are the good ones.

Same for Johnston and Murphy. They have some good shoes and they have some crap shoes.

I really like the AE, Aldens and others but i think the op would be better served with 2 pairs of good shoes rather than one pair of really good shoes.

Thank you for the help! I always thought nordstroms was a fancy place to shop. What are some good stores to find the good shoes you're talking about?

there's nordstrom's and nordstrom 'srack....

nordstrom's is the big store that carries only the "good stuff", Nordstrom's rack is their "outlet store" and like most outlet;s it started off selling returns and overstocks but primarily sells stuff made for the outlet stores.

If this is your first pair of good dress shoes, I would go to a real Nordstrom's and talk to the guys there, pick up and feel a bunch of different shoes. Get a feel for what you like, don't like as far as looks, style, and fit. All of the brands will fit slightly different so try a bunch on. And go after work, when your feet will be slightly swollen.

Over time, you will fall into brand you like and that you know will fit.

Go to dsw or Nordstrom rack or 5th off saks

Second the Florsheim comment. I've got a black and brown pair at about $70 each. Each has lasted a few years so far. Good enough quality for someone who doesn't have the higher level budgets.

If you have the budget to do so, buy some Edmonds. Super comfy, resole easily and they don't go out of style. Get some shoe trees for sure if you get a more expensive pair. I personally think Cole Haan is crap for the price you pay and you might as well just get Johnston and Murphy instead. Also, for the love of all things holy even if you opt to not purchase Edmonds, get something with leather and not plastic soles. Lastly, if you get 2 pair, don't just get the exact same shoe but different color.

I hit Nordstrom's rack and have had great success. I get compliments on my shoes quite a bit and paid $200 or less on them. Last 2 pair have lasted over 3 years.

Dsw for both

Awesome. Thank y'all so much!

Allen Edmonds website just announced a sale this morning. 50% off of a ton of styles.

The email I got showed the Walton style (in black) for $199.00.

Go get em!

one thing to keep in mind with the AE shoes is that a big part of the reason they are so comfortable is because they come in so many different sizes/widths and are built on so many different lasts.

Like running shoes, you should buy your first pair in a store, so you can try on a bunch and see what actually fits your foot.

I went in and got a pair. Also got a nice belt and the shoe trees.

I'm considering going back and getting another pair.

Thanks so much for the heads up!

Get shoe trees from Nordstrom rack or from nordstorms website if you can. I picked up two for a really good price at Nordstrom rack along with a nice belt. Lowest price I have seen anywhere for shoe trees.

I have a really nice pair of Cole Hanns that I paid about $70 because I got a compound discount at Macy's. A 1 day sale discount plus a 50% discount for being the display pair. And lucky for me it was my size which is often hard to find (13) and fit perfect.

You can get a discount on Cole Hanns by going to Macy's during a one day sale. I think they have one day sales every 6-8 weeks.

The Cole Hanns are the nicest pair of shoes I own and I wear them infrequently enough I expect them to last me many more years. I can't speak to the quality complaints I have read about from those who wear them daily and I can't can compare to other high end brands. For my needs the quality is really good. I wear them when I want to take it up a notch and often get compliments.

I normally don't wear dress shoes frequently but did have a need the last few months everyday working at a customer site and I often wore a $100 pair of Kalvin Clein shoes I got at Macy's. They are definitely not ripe tier end as business shoes go but they
comfortable and look really nice and professional, they have a rubber sole. They serve me well for my needs.

archangelus2 said:

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Also check Ebay for Allen Edmonds, you can grab a pair in fair condition for $50. Also, AE will rebuild your shoe for like $130 no questions asked.

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I've done this and recommend it. My favorite dress shoes are a pair of AE's that I got used on eBay. They look rear and are ridiculously comfortable.

I also have a pair of Johnston Murphy's that are supposed to be similar quality. They look great but aren't nearly as comfortable.

I also have a pair of Ecco shoes that are a bit more casual but are fantastic.

***The most important thing to making your shoes last is to rotate what you wear daily. This gives them time to truly dry out between wears.

http://www.woodlore.com/shoe-trees-inserts/mens-cedar-shoe-trees/mens-epic-twin-tube-shoe-tree-pair/

Best shoe trees IMHO. You can get some good sales direct from wood lore.

Cole Haans used to be all I would buy or even look at in a store. A few years ago, I noticed they were not very comfortable anymore. I found out the company sold and lowered their quality.

I bought my first pair of AE's a few months back and highly recommend them.

If you can, go to one of their company stores for your first pair and get property fitted.

Holy smokes, I'm pretty cheap with shoes compared to everyone in this thread.

http://m.zappos.com/johnston-murphy-melton-tan-italian-calfskin?ef_id=VKaskwAAAFlj@kCv:20161122004801:s

These are nice, sharp and comfortable - black or brown.

Google Allen Edmond Shoe Bank. You can get the Brooks Brothers version of the Fifth Avenue for less than $200.

I got a couple of pairs of the Allen Edmonds. I put on one of the pairs for the first time today. After about 10 minutes I noticed one of the seams was coming up. I immediately took them off. I'll be going in tomorrow to switch them out for a different pair. Hopefully there won't be any issues with the exchange.

Anyone have experience with their customer service?

This.

They may run a Black Friday sale where Brooks Bros. seconds would drop to around 150. They have done so in the past at least.