Looking for an up to date list? Head here for the best shoes < $200 of 2013.
There’s a group of guys out there who turn their noses up at shoes under $200. The leather won’t be excellent, the soles will almost always be glued instead of stitched, and these guys claim anything less than a pair of Allen Edmonds or Aldens will leave you up shoe sh*t creek in no time flat, because sub $200 shoes “always” fall apart.
What these guys don’t understand, is that there are plenty of us who: 1. Have never had major quality issues with cheap shoes, and we can make them last with decent care, 2. don’t want to be married to a pair of shoes for the next decade, and 3. don’t have the cash on hand to lay down for bulletproof oxfords… even if they are a fine investment.
The ten pairs below look good enough to catch some stares, and they’re inexpensive enough that they’d make a snotty shoe snob’s toes curl.
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Mike Konos Luca Medallion Oxford – $139.95 – $149.95
Another potential major winner from the DSW house brands of Mike Konos and Mercanti Fiorentini. Made in Italy with decent quality and great looking leathers. Leather sole, good looking toe shape, and while the soles aren’t stitched, these brands seem to hold up real well. Will get cheaper when DSW runs their next tiered sale. Need an ultra cheap doppelganger? These run only $70, and more on those tomorrow. Through today, 5/7, use the code BIGSTYLE to save $5 on one pair of shoes. SHIPR gets free shipping if you join their email club. Hey, it’s something…
Mercanti Fiorentini Black Cap Toe – $149.95
Not one for all the fancy perforations, medaillons, or wing tips? Or maybe you just want something clean, sleek, but not too trendy either. They’re almost sold out online, but these from DSW’s Mercanti Fiorentini should satiate the Budget Minimalists appetite for clean, closed lacing dress shoes in black. The way those lines sweep and crawl halfway up the laces give it a real modern look. Made in Italy. And like the Mike Konos above, through today, 5/7, use the code BIGSTYLE to save $5 on one pair of shoes. SHIPR should work too.
Calibrate Brandon – $125.00
From the Nordstom house brand and as inexpensive as it’ll get for a pair of shoes with this kind of look. A true oxford with closed lacing. Full review here. Ships and returns free via Nordstrom. Toe could be a little rounder.
John W. Nordstrom Adrian Oxford – $175.00
And for fifty bucks more, you get the Calibrate’s big brother. Made in Italy with a more traditional toe shape. More elegant than the Brandon, but fifty bucks is a lot of money. More over here.
Hugo Boss Matano – $139.30 ($275) | Cenerello Wingtip – $129.50 ($225)
Both drop to the prices shown here during the many extra 30% off sales LastCall.com seems to run. They’re running one now, and it happens to end today. The Matano is a pretty basic, modern wingtip with what they call an “almond toe”. The Cenerello has been kicking around for awhile, and it’s a wingtip that looks smoother than most thanks to a lack of those sawtoothed pinked edges and perforations. Consider those an extra pair to the list, since sizes are getting short.
Cole Haan Air Adams Cap toe – $124.80
($198)
For the traditionalists who don’t want a lot of flash. Just a plain, brown, cap-toe dress shoe with a rubber sole. Equipped with Nike Air, like most Cole Haan shoes, and like most Cole Haan shoes, this one started out awfully high at full retail. Dropped down to an about right price through Endless.
Ciro Lendini Brogue – $158.00
Made in Italy and sold through Yoox. Their wingtip boots did real well during the wingtip boot search, and this is just one pair of dress shoes that they offer. Cap toe and brogue styling. True oxford. Available in brown too.
Mr. B’s for Aldo Laguer – $150.00
The Mr. B’s collaboration has done wonders for Aldo’s reputation. They’re upgraded shoes with plenty of looks, and clock in at reasonable prices. Scared off by the “dotted detailing?” They make a similar black and brown pair called the “Decost” that doesn’t have it.
John W. Nordstrom Lido Oxford – $175.00
Not the first time these have appeared on the site, and they’re one of the few pairs of shoes that look this good, hit this price range, and come in a wide width. Now if they’d just make a brown version.
Johnston & Murphy Letson Medallion – $185.00
The star of this list. A wholecut oxford for under two bills is a rare thing. Made in India from Italian Calfskin uppers that have slight shade variations throughout… but it’s subtle enough that it totally adds to the look. A lone medallion with little other detailing aside from a sweeping line of stitching and a few perforations on either side of the achilles. Leather quality feels surprisingly good. Real slim so if you’ve got a widefoot, you’ll have to look elsewhere. Once again, no stitched soles here and they come with a “bondwelt” construction, but man do they look good.
Lots of these are sold out, right? That’s because it’s an older list. Head here for the updated version.
Nice article! I wonder what the bank security camera guys thought of that photo
great article. i’m sure alot of work went into this one
I wish there were more rounded options available. Besides the Nordstrom oxfords none of these are what I’d call truly rounded. I wonder at the return of the squared toe trend. It’s slimmer this time around, but still squared.
It’s the “chisel toe.” It’s an Italian thing that has never really been gone there.
I have been in the market for a quality pair of Oxfords in Brown and Black for a while.
This list is just what I needed. Who knew Nordstom had such a good Italian made selection
under $200? This helps a ton
I’ve seen that Hugo Boss pair at DSW lately for $85 after discount. Also, the Mike Konos oxfords are pretty nice and can also be found on sale for $140 – 30% off.
I just bought 2 pairs of some slip on, tapered square toe Mike Konos for $80 a pair (each on clearance) and love them thus far, there is with proper care (tree’s, don’t wear everyday, polish) these shoes won’t a few years!
As dappered men know, if you take care of you stuff, your stuff will last!!
I just returned a pair of Cole haan to Nordstrom that looked like they had been worn 100 times when in reality they had seen maybe 10 days w/shoe trees and 2 polishes.
The manager at Nord pretty much laughed as we talked about how bad the leather quality was for shoes that were 219$.
My girlfriend has had similar issues with CH.
The quality the last few years is extremely low.
There are better options under 250$.
The Mr B’s Aldo shoe is terrible. The Quality is just laughable. Do not buy!
Cole Haan leather is trash. I’ve a pair of wing tips from them which, while I love wearing them, just haven’t held up after only a small amount of wear.
Hate to be a shoe snob but shoes are the one place where I splurge. I wear a suit once or twice a month – I can wear beautiful AE Strands in walnut whenever I want! There are some decent cheap shoes (the J&M Letson looks good) but I’m willing to spend the extra hundred or two and know that I’m getting what I want, not have to take a chance on the quality.
Any advice on the Stafford Ashton Wingtip? I’ve been hearing a lot of hype about it as an under $100 shoe.
As good looking as $50 will get you: https://dappered.com/2012/02/10-best-bets-for-75-or-less-february-2012/ Seem to run true to size. I was real impressed myself with the look & feel. Not as sleek as some of these, but a total bargain nonetheless.
Hey Joe, great list. Can we get some more info on the Ciro Lendini Broque?
I literally just finished polishing my pair of Stafford Ashton Wingtips. They looked good and now they look fantastic. I love them.They are a good “casual dress” shoe Because they were so cheap, I can wear them every day without worrying about damaging them. To my mind, this is a major score for an inexpensive style upgrade. Wearing shoes that are low on cost and high on style everyday > wearing shoes that are high on cost and high on style a few times a year because of worrying about ruining them. For the price, they look great. I even pair them with Jeans and a T-shirt. If I have to buy another pair in a year, so what? That’s less than a dollar a month to replace…
This isn’t to say that expensive dress shoes don’t have their place, however…
*dollar a week
How about a ‘The 10 Best Looking Dress Shoes Under $100″ article?
You’re not a shoe snob in the least. To me, someone only becomes a “snob” when they apply their preferences to someone else, and look down on someone else who doesn’t follow what they prefer to do.
It’s just not fair to say to some fresh out of college guy making 35K that he “should” buy $200 – $350 shoes. Plenty of us have gotten our money’s worth out of a $75 pair of Kenneth Coles when necessary. Certainly not snobbish to prefer high quality footwear though. Much appreciate the thoughts, and yeah, AE Walnut Strands can do a lot of work, everywhere, all the time, and look incredible!
Might give that a shot. It’s not going to be easy, with prices going up everywhere, but there’s a real good sub $100 shoe in the next 5 Favorites that’ll get scheduled to go off tomorrow. Really hard to beat the Stafford Wingtip mentioned in the above comments though. $50 for that one and it’s legit.
I own three pairs of CH Wingtip shoes (Air Spectator, Air Casual & Air Neroli) and have to admit that the leather quality is not the finest but the style/comfort of the shoes are hard to match.
What about this one? I’m more of a fan of the classic plain toe, and this one is $160 for what appears to be a stitched leather sole.
http://bostonian.clarksusa.com/eng/product/reserve/28756
The Mike Konos and Nordstrom medallion oxfords both look amazing. I have a fetish with perforations and medallions. Sidenote-Wingtips without medallions look funny to me. Like they are missing something.
These are nice…any insight into the leather? I’ve seen many pairs of Bostonians that are plasticy
I gave the Stafford’s a try. Pretty much every shoe I own has leather soles, which puts me in boots when it is raining. I think these will come in handy for those warmer potentially rainy days or times I don’t want to wear something nice. Hopefully a good find. There is a code right now to get free shipping.
Something you may not know, ( as I did not), Cole Haan has a free program that if there’s ever anything wrong with your Cole Haan brand shoe (so long as it’s not an outlet shoe), they will completely repair it or will replace it. Just got a pair of my favorite loafers completely resoled for free because my left shoe squeaked with each step. Took about 4 weeks. Painless.
Classic black plain toe: http://www.dsw.com/shoe/mike+konos+plain+toe+oxford?prodId=237310
These were mentioned on this site a while back: http://www.dsw.com/shoe/aston+grey+connelly+oxford?prodId=207612
Captoe version: http://www.dsw.com/shoe/aston+grey+houston+oxford?prodId=237260
So I’ve been looking to finally step up from my horrible steve madden black shoes and really do like the look of the Letson Medallion shoe. It looks like they don’t have black but a smokey gray colored version. Do you think it would be safe to wear with black pants? Thanks so much for any help you can provide and also thanks for this post!!!
What is the sizing like on the Mercanti Fiorentini Black Cap Toe and the Mike Konos Luca Medallion Oxford? I’ve been eyeing the MF for a while but I can’t figure out if it should be sized down or true to size.
And this might sound dumb, but do you just tie these oxfords like regular shoes? I’m just comparing it to the Nordstrom Lid o Oxfords and the laces seem to detract from the overall clean lines of the shoe.
Thanks for the piece of info Bryan. I heard something along these lines but it’s comforting to hear your story on how the process worked.
You can lace them the normal way, or use “bar” lacing as shown in some of the photos.
http://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/straightbarlacing.htm
DSW brands have always run true to size for me. That said, I haven’t seen those in person yet.
Not dumb at all. As RL says, bar lacing can keep it real clean looking. That’s how I lace most if not all of my dress shoes.
I like the idea of grey shoes, but I think in real life, they won’t come in handy often enough to justify the purchase? I’d stick with a black pair for black pants. Glad you liked the post…
Mentioned this in the under $100, threat as well, but I’m always happy to see these posts until I’m thwarted by companies that discriminate against clown feet. I’m always in the market for shoes in size 14 that are a good
value-Something between full priced Allen Edmonds and complete crap. Every so often i get lucky, but the pickings are slim.
Surprised I haven’t seen any Mezlan’s on these lists. They’re made in Spain, but seem to have higher quality than DSW’s Italian house brands.
I own a pair of these I got from MYHABIT for $159 that I think were worth the money:
http://www.bluefly.com/mezlan-black-leather-bowen-tooled-oxfords/PRODUCT_FEED/317656801/detail.flyMYHABIT often sells this brand, though much of it is kinda wacky: http://www.myhabit.com/ref=pe_218440_23957370_qd_de_hero_img_b#page=b&dept=men&sale=A110ZUHASO8VWM
The following that are currently on sale and pretty no-nonsense:
1. http://www.myhabit.com/ref=pe_218440_23957370_qd_de_hero_img_b#page=d&dept=men&sale=A110ZUHASO8VWM&asin=B005UGVN96&cAsin=B005UGVXKA&ref=qd_b_img_d_21
2. http://www.myhabit.com/ref=pe_218440_23957370_qd_de_hero_img_b#page=d&dept=men&sale=A110ZUHASO8VWM&asin=B005EWEK3W&cAsin=B00593VYF8&ref=qd_b_img_d_14
3. http://www.myhabit.com/ref=pe_218440_23957370_qd_de_hero_img_b#page=d&dept=men&sale=A110ZUHASO8VWM&asin=B005EWEK3W&cAsin=B00593VU9I&ref=qd_b_img_d_15
I own a pair of the MF Black Cap Toe and they’ve been working great for me. It’s become my go-to pair of black shoes for work and formal events. They’re quite comfortable and the fit is true to size. Very classy shoe without all the fuss.
FYI – Just picked up the Mike Konos Luca Medallion Oxford for 70% off ($42) at DSW at the King of Prussia Mall near Philly. They had a range of sizes available so get ’em while they’re hot.