I'm European and I want to buy new black dress shoes and everyone on the internet suggests Allen Edmonds, because everyone on Wall Street and all the US Presidents wear them and they're made in America and last for decades.
But I'm not American, and I get the feeling the praise for them is US-centric.
What should I buy? I can find Allen Edmonds at around 300-350 Euros here. I don't want to spend any more than that. I recently saw a pair of Pradas at 330E but I didn't have the time to go in and try them. But is there any substance?
Your best shot will be Meermin for quality/price then Loake for english styling, finally : Vass if you're ready to spend a little more
Nicholas Long
I'm American and I've got 5 pairs of AEs. The oldest one I bought in 2006 and I'm still wearing them after several recraftings.
AE is a great shoe, make no mistake. But part of the appeal to American is the ridiculously good retail experience (in-store and post-purchase). The staff are well trained and professional and have great knowledge of shoes and style. The corporate team keeps tabs on customer satisfaction and will aggressively chase you if they get any hint you're anything less than happy from retail interactions, website reviews, or other feedback. I've gotten a free pair once due to an issue (mostly my fault) in the recrafting process. They want customers for life and it shows.
Given that you're in Europe I don't know that you'll be able to benefit from this. All their recraft work is done in the US (even though they do have a workshop in Italy now for some shoes). Everything would have to be shipped. No face to face.
You have some very good options over there, not just England but England would be your best bet for AE style shoes.
As another guy said here, Meermin gets high marks for bargain hunters, they've gotten some flak from US customers due to their pricing for US customers, and shipping is expensive for us. Look at Carlos Santos too. Maybe Bow Tie.
You would also want to look at the usual British brands, try Pediwear for example.
Ian Scott
Magnanni is your best choice for European shoes with an Allen Edmonds price frame.
Gabriel Cox
Thanks I started looking at Meermin and unfortunately no retail store sells them locally so it's impossible to try them on.
I've found a local shop selling Loakes, but they're equally expensive too (about 280-320 Euros for a pair).
Vass doesn't have a local retail shop either, but they have a complex way to order online that may be worth it, but it's still a risk.
Thanks guys.
Caleb Hall
>Magnanni I didn't much like their dress shoes but fuck me I fell in love with that sneaker
Way too expensive though I'm not gonna pay $350 for a sneaker
Caleb Reyes
There are hundreds of private soldiers in little atelies all over Europe. Just buy from them.
Brody Howard
Oscar Jacobsson has pretty nice shoes for ~300EUR if I recall correctly.
Matthew Baker
Allen Edmonds are good if you can get them for like $150 on eBay. Try looking there if the seller ships internationally.
Hudson Butler
I like Allen Edmonds too and picked up a pair of Park Avenues, the shoes here, on sale for $150. Best black oxfords I own, although a bit tight. The last runs narrow so it makes you look good in slacks, but if your foot is at all wide, you might consider an english shoe. I've also found that Lidfort italian shoes fit my broader foot well and they retail cheap. I picked up a pair from goodwill for $6 and they might be the nicest shoes that I own. My dior derby's are also great for a nice black shoe.
Josiah Richardson
Trickers are a bit above this price range but well worth the money. You can find factory seconds on eBay that are practically mint for around 150 eur. Other brands to look at from personal experience are Lottusse and some german makers (Handmacher, Lendvay & Schwarcz). All of them are in the 350 price range and completely equal to AEs.
Jacob Thompson
350 euros will buy you a fine pair of shoes. Loake is a good option, the quality if damn nice, but the lasts are not so stylish. I would recommend you something like Sanders Diplomat or an Alfred Sargent if you can find them on sale. Depending from which part of Europe you are from, I would recommend you to check for shoes with dainite soles, just in case it rains too much where you are. Check what you want in this order: leather sole or rubber sole, oxford or derby and finally colour.
Juan Wright
Came in here to say this (Meermin and Loake) Crockett & Jones makes some good shoes too.
AE is honestly a bit of a meme, probably because it's obviously the best American maker, but they're not exceptional in any way or even top tier for English-style shoes, Europe (England obv) has the best makers by far. Don't get me wrong, AE are good shoes, but the hype is just hype.
Logan Lewis
alden?
Andrew Barnes
Church's.
Jonathan Edwards
Florsheim is okay don't get the Made in India crap though
Jason Young
JM Weston
Crockett and Jones
Chase Perez
Churches if you love the queen
Bentley Jones
Or Lobb's
Get yourself to St. Jame's St.
Lincoln Cruz
>Don't buy from fashion brands. Pleb advice.
Whether the guy making the shoe is or isn't literally an employee of the company whose name appears on the box is irrelevant.
Prada owns Church's, and although Church's kind of took a nose dive after they were bought by Prada, some of Prada's higher end dress shoes are pretty decent if not necessarily amazing. They'd certainly be better than Meermin or Florsheim.
There are lots of "fashion brands" that just buy shoes made by decent shoemakers and slap their name on them. Sometimes that means you can pick up a great pair of shoes at a deep discount even when the "real" shoe company never does that on their own branded shoes.
I think it's because you often don't know where or how well they are made, and given they're usually expensive I agree with this advice. I've seen some atrocious second hand Guccis, Armanis and Zegnas on eBay which have obviously been made from shit leather. I don't claim this is always the case as I've also seen great Zegnas and Armanis and likely some fashion brands care about consistent quality but it seems that, on average, they do like to cut corners.
Eli Murphy
Lobb shoes start at mid four figures in pounds, though. They're literally an order of magnitude more expensive than any other brand mentioned ITT -- for a reason, since they're bespoke shoes made by master cordwainers, but nevertheless each pair costs more than the price of a Savile Row suit. It doesn't really make sense to mention Lobb in a thread where OP said €350 was his absolute max.
Hunter Green
>There are hundreds of private soldiers in little atelies all over Europe. Frog detected You meant to type "souliers", right? "Shoemakers", Pepe.
Lucas Bell
Just ask local cobbler to make your shoe from scratch
Xavier Miller
>Just ask local cordwainer to make your shoe from scratch FTFY
