Dappered

Affordable Men's Style

Robert Cameron Shoes – A Brand Mystery?

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Robert Cameron Shooter Cap Toe – $154.95 | Surprise Penny Loafer – $154.95

There just aren’t a lot of shoes available in the not super expensive yet not uber cheap price range.  So it’d be nice to know exactly what Robert Cameron is, and where the brand came from.

Each shoe is described as a “Limited Edition Robert Cameron exclusive with Endless.com and Amazon.com.”  What?  So, is this an in house experiment by Amazon and its shoe site Endless?  Kinda like Alfani and Macy’s, only in this case it’s Robert Cameron is to Endless?

Simple Laceup - $155.00

A quick search of the name “Robert Cameron” doesn’t reveal much.  There was an American Photographer named Robert Cameron, but I doubt his publishing house is dabbling in shoes.  Then there’s this Robert Cameron who led a mid 60s craze called “The Drinking Man’s Diet.”  Time Magazine even did a story on it.  It’s like Atkins with a twist.  And that twist is in a dry martini.  The guy even released a cookbook.

Neither option seems to point towards footwear.  But this brand, whatever it is, might have some potential.  The Shooter Cap Toe is interesting with its laser etching instead of traditional stitching across the top.  Their Simple Oxford is just that, and it looks pretty similar to Gordon Rush’s take on a plain lace up.  Their “Surprise” Penny Loafer has a non stubby toe, which is a nice update to your Grandpa’s chooped slipper like loafers.

Some of their shoes are downright goofy.  But others are all right.  The laser etching looks okay online on some of the shoes, but in person it might be another story.  The price is in that rare $100 – $200 window.  Your thoughts?

Here’s a bit more from the brand:

Comments

  1. The Gordon Rush and the Robert Cameron shoes linked are both listed as Oxfords and are both Derby shoes. Not really a huge contribution here, just a funny (to me?) note.

  2. Actually, just looked at the shoes and didn’t see a single pair with closed lacing. Though I’m not opposed to open lacing (it is a characteristic of my favorite pair of shoes) the level of formality one can reach is affected by this.

  3. Right. I think for better or for worse, most guys in the U.S. use the terms “oxford” and “dress lace up” interchangeably. I think the evidence of this is designers and shoe makers calling open lacing shoes/bluchers as such. Kinda like how an oxford shirt doesn’t necessarily mean it’s an oxford cloth shirt anymore. I also think the percentage of men who recognize one shoe as more formal than the other is even smaller. Not a big deal one way or another. Just the way it is.

  4. I’m with MM here. If I’m wearing a suit, my shoes have closed laces. Blazer and chinos, sure, I’ll wear a blucher/derby. Otherwise, not for me. Loake (loake.co.uk) makes a nice shoe at a decent price. I have a pair of the L1 line (mine are made in India, instead of England) and they’re great. Picked them up for 220 euro (under 300 USD).

  5. I ain’t sayin’ you guys aren’t out there, but I do believe there’s less and less of you. Consider yourselves an endangered species : )

  6. My guess is that these are perfectly fine shoes. Maybe not for some purists, but being made in India certainly explains the low price tag (not to mention a name no one is familiar with). They also have leather soles. Understanding that this is a generality, I still find it a decent indicator of higher quality shoes.

  9. Saw this in The Georgia Strait

    By Janet Smith, August 25, 2005
    They look like the sort of thing Interpol’s Carlos D. might wear if he starred in a film noir. New Canadian dress-shoe designer Tyler Spraggs has plumbed the dapper ’20s and ’30s for the men’s footwear collection called Robert Cameron, but the sleek lines, hand-stained leathers, and funky topstitching make them hip and contemporary. Prices start at about $175, at Brown’s (various locations) and Gravity Pope (2205 West Fourth Avenue); the fact that U.S. fashion mecca Nordstrom’s has also picked up the line is another feather in Spraggs’s fedora.

  10. I bought a pair of Robert Cameron International a bout 3 yrs ago while i was on vacation in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.  I just LOVE them.  The quality is great and the extremely comfortable.  I travel about 60% percent of my time and I walk a lot in airports.  A shoe shine every now and then and they still look great.  I was looking for a place to buy them again and that’s how i stumbled upon this blog.