There’s an argument to be made for spending the extra money on dress shoes. If you work in a dressed up environment, you’ll probably have a weekly rotation between black and brown laceups, and then maybe a pair of loafers on Fridays. Your shoes are suffering a lot of pounding, and a lot of wear. So spending the money will probably be well worth it in the end.
But since when is $225 “affordable”? That’s the cheapest pair you’ll find on the Esquire Style Blog’s list of best new dress shoes. The Style Blog on Esquire.com is a recent addition, and it’s terrific. A daily read for sure. The list is a nice breakdown of five different styles with five suggested pairs for each… but there’s nothing truly affordable on there. Click on over to their slideshow and give it a look. When you’re done with the sticker shock, head back this way for their cheapest suggestions with even lower priced alternatives from us.
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There’s only about nine different kinds of wingtips, and it all depends on what you want to use them for. A standard modest go-to for work is the rounded toe, not too sleek, classic wingtips you see above. Only the Cole Haans on the right cost half as much as the pair from J. Crew. If you want a super casual bang around pair, you can get those for $60 with free shipping from American Eagle. Want a lighter brown Italian made higher-fashion stunner? Try these narrow toed wingtips from Mercanti Fiorentini. On sale for $130.
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Admittedly totally different, the Esquire pick leans more conservative while the Steve Maddens
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Monkstraps started to form a substantial resurgence around two years ago. Now they’re in a full blown revival, but finding a pair under $200 is almost impossible. The option from Cole Haan sneaks in around $180
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It’s tough to argue against the legendary quality of the Made in the Midwest Allen Edmonds
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Desert, Ankle, Chelsea, Rugged, and Extra Dressy. Those are the five types of boots Esquire runs through. Finding minimalist versions of all of those for under $150 is a challenge. For a casual Desert boot, those J. Shoes leather Desert Boots are still available through American Eagle for just $60. For wingtip styled boots, you’ll have to wait but the back-ordered Urban Outfitters Ritanos look pretty sweet. And for a plain zip up Chelsea, the above Frank Wright Adler boots have the perfect slim but not razor sharp toe that’ll go with everything.
What do you wear the most of? And at what price point do shoes get expensive for you?
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