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

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.