Dappered

Affordable Men's Style

Kenneth Cole Regal King – The best under $100 dress shoe?

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Kenneth Cole New York Regal King lace-up – $77.70 (reg. $147.95) SALE ENDS 12/20

PLUS free two day shipping and free returns

There’s a serious drought of affordable, simple, and sleek looking dress shoes going on.  Anything under $150 and you’re stuck with odd details or a bulky silhouette.  If your new shoes budget is around $100, then you’re almost certainly screwed.

Which is why the Kenneth Cole Regal King lace-up is worth taking a good serious look at.  Today.

Endless is currently running a save 25% on all orders over $100, and save 30% on all orders over $200.  The regular price of the Regal King is $147.95, and that had already been marked down to just over $100.  Meaning, you get to maximize the lower threshold savings.

Bottom line:  These are now priced through Monday 12/20 at Steve Madden levels.  Under $80 with free two day shipping.  That’s unreal.  Almost too good to be true.  And sometimes the pics on the web just don’t match up with what comes out of the box.  So I ordered a pair.  Shipping from Endless is fast and free both ways, so I’d give em’ a look, take some pics, then ship them back on their dime when I got done.  Here’s what I found…

….

The Pros

  • The toe is totally fine.  The edges of the chisel round out & don’t get lopped off at 90 degrees.
  • The cap toe is subtle in person.  Nice detail that sets these apart from plain lace-ups.
  • Slim Silhouette, but not tight on moderately wide feet.
  • Strangely soft leather, especially for where they’re made.
  • The laces.  They actually grip well.
  • Great out of the box shine.
  • Comfortable right from the get go.  Soft on the bottoms of your feet.

The Cons

  • Synthetic, not leather sole.
  • Made in China.
  • Too modern for the conservative dresser.
  • Slight bump on the outer eyelet piece on the left shoe (see top pic)

The Verdict

I honestly thought the toe had a real chance to look terrible when I opened up the box (you never can tell for sure with online pics).  I was completely wrong.  It looks great.  The toe on the Regal King is barely different than the perfectly rounded & slim toe of my Gordon Rush lace ups (below, and for today just $157.50 instead of $225 thanks to the Endless discount).  I also wasn’t expecting them to feel as good as they do on your feet or in your hands.  The leather is more than decent.  It’s soft, it gives a little, and doesn’t feel synthetic and stiff like other shoes in this price range.

Will serious shoe aficionados be impressed?  No.  But for under $80 with free two day shipping, these are nothing short of an incredible bargain.  Really.  Remember how I was going to return mine?  I didn’t.

The Endless 25% off $100 sale which drops these to $77.70 shipped ends on 12/20.

Toe shape comparison. From Left: Gordon Rush Blucher, Timberland 6-inch city zip, Kenneth Cole Regal King

Comments

  1. Great deal, but am I the only one who can’t stand the chisel toe look? I would probably buy these if they matched the toe of the Gordon Rush bluchers that you included for comparison (do you have a link to those, by the way?).

  2. The moment I put these on my feet I thought to myself “These are the ugliest shoes I’ve ever had on my feet” You really have to be a ‘modern’ type to wear these.

  4. @John: I’m surprised. Can you link to a shoe that you don’t find to be the ugliest shoe you’ve ever had on your feet? I find these to be the midpoint between say, these, and these. I’d say they might even be the poor (or very poor) man’s version of these from A. Testoni.
    @Brent: Updated and added a link. The Gordon Rush shoes are the Ashburn. I was disappointed in the leather though. Really stiff. I also honestly don’t see that big of a difference between the finish on the toe between the Rush and the Kenneth Cole shoes. I mean yes, there’s a small difference, but it’s not like we’re talking about these.

  7. I am actually okay with the shape of the tie on these shoes. I’ve seen them in person and they are not bad at all. Joe, i just wanted to let you and th rest of the Dappered readers know that I hosting a contest with ArmstrongandWilson.com to win some luxury pocket squares.

    “Its Okay to Be Square Contest” is now Open!!! Rules are here – Lets see your best looks. Enter today!!!!!!!!

  9. Sweet. I’m definitely going to maybe try to pick a pair up in the spring or something.

    Cheers,
    Ben

  10. I like you put ‘made in china’ as a con. That’s a big one for me. The shoes will stay wearable for one season maybe. Not worth my money.

  11. Being that my Florsheims won’t make it through another winter, finding a stylish pair of blacks is on my to-do list. These should do the trick. Mine should arrive by Wednesday.

  12. i actually tried these on a week ago at the KC store. looks pretty good … except i really didn’t like the captoe stitching. if you look closely, the stitching is only done on the front part (toe-side) and there’s a slight flap on the ankle-side because there’s no stitching to hold it down

  14. Joe quick question, how would you compare the quality of the Regal King shoe compared to any Aldo dress shoe. I got a pair of Aldo wing tips as a gift last year and as expected it is time for a new pair. Would it be an upgrade or just another excuse to not make an investment for footwear? Any help is appreciated.