Dappered

Affordable Men's Style

In Person: JCPenney’s Stafford Wingtip Boot

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JCPenney Stafford Wingtip Boot – $60 – $70.00 (ships free with JCSHIP)

Full credit to the guys like thinker random on Threads for spotting this new Blucher boot version of their extremely nice $50 wingtip oxford.  Especially user BB who even took a few pictures when he first saw them in store.

Yo shoe snobs.  Hit the bricks.  We’re talking extremely affordable, downright cheap footwear right now.  For good reason too, since there’s just two real drawbacks to this new wingtip boot offering from JCPenney’s Stafford brand:

  • It runs ridiculously large.  About a full size.
  • It’s not available online  (update:  They went online over the weekend.  Hat tip to the guys in the comments for pointing this out.)

That’s it.  That’s the list of cons.

Otherwise, it’s all positives.  And those list of cons when combined, kind of make a positive.  It makes you head into a store to try them on.  When you do, you’ll see that your normal size will be slopping around on your feet like a pair of Shaq’s galoshes.  I haven’t been a 9.5 since 7th grade.  But that’s the pair that fit my usually 10.5D feet the best.  When compared to a pair of well worn 10.5 Hawkings McGill (urban outfitters) wingtip boots, the 9.5 Stafford is the same length, and just a bit slimmer through the toe box.  Weird.  The sizing isn’t just off, it’s way off.

The leather is surprisingly decent.  It’s pliable, not too shined up, and seems like it has real potential to break in nicely.  Might be a good pair of cheap boots to screw around with when it comes to applying different colors of shoe polish/creme to try and get a unique look.

Toe shape, as well as the entire silhouette of the boot is perfect.  Sole is rubber, and they’re comfortable right out of the box.  They don’t feel like they cost $300, but they look and feel a lot better than $60.  Jeans for sure, and don’t hesitate to wear them on a crappy day in December with a flannel or tweed suit if you’re lucky enough to have one.

The medium to darker brown is more versatile than the Hawkings McGill cognac (leaning orange) color.  They’re trimmer, lighter, and just look a little cleaner too.  Currently in first place for the best, extremely affordable boot for fall/winter 2012-13.

Comments

  2. It looks like they would look sharper with a better pair or laces. I like the idea of these because I would feel more inclined to treat them like boots and not baby them when it comes to foul weather. Great find.

  4. These are great boots! Picked them up in store Saturday and wore them all day yesterday. I went down a half size from normal and they fit really comfortably. I got caught in a thunderstorm and they got wet, but dried off perfectly later that evening. You can’t go wrong with these.

  6. Might head over to JCP to try these out.

    Are these stitched or glued, I wonder? I doubt the former, but would be a good surprise.

  7. I’m looking forward to grabbing a pair of these. I really like the Stafford wingtips. Perfect for the Fall…

  8. I’ve been waiting for Aldo Blake’s to go back on sale (Dk Brown) I’m interested to see how these compare as well

  11. I bought the Hawkings McGill wingtips when they went on sale for $38. I wish I waited for these, but honestly between that an a pair of black Aldos my shoe budget was stretched to the limit.

    I would love some tips from the Dappered commentariat on how to make these boots last. Does anyone use overshoes? Is there some miracle weatherproofing product? Or are my boots going to go the way of the dodo when they start salting the roads? 🙁

  12. Looks really nice. It’s a shame the price goes all the way up to 125 $ with shipping, handling and VAT when trying to ship where I live. A 109 % increase, who’d have thought that?

  13. Or… they can buy these shoes and wear them for a couple years while saving up for something with a little more longevity.

  15. Yeah, they will. Same quality as the wingtips that many guys around here have and use. And don you shoe snobs have beater pairs, too, or do you just own all cordovan?

  20. You miss the part about hit the bricks? 🙂 Not patent. There’s some shine in these pics because: 1. They’re fresh out of the box and 2. Had to use a flash. In comparison, I didn’t use a flash over here, and there’s still some shine: http://dappered.com/2012/07/win-it-the-allen-edmonds-rutledge/ The leather, while not blow your mind (why would it, they’re $60?) is surprisingly good for a sub $100 shoe. As far as the sole being shoddy.. well it ain’t stitched, but I also have plenty of glued soles I’ve beat the snot out of, and I’ve never had a failure on me once.

    I wonder if I just wear my shoes differently though, for as much as the “glued soles fall off” theory is spread. I mean, you guys pick up your feet when you walk, right?

  21. “Trust me.” Oh, okay. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Oh2FKENMoM

    Anyway, the Hawkings Mcgill linked to in this post have done real well over the last year.

    Keeping these for long term testing. We’ll see. They might self destruct. That’s always a risk when a shoe is this cheap. But for $60, I mean… how long you want em’ to last?

  22. Is this really brown or cognac? The color looks to be a medium brown, but on the website, the only color option available is cognac?

  24. They don’t really compare since the Gaffney has such an aggressive lug sole. These don’t, and are much easier to dress up a bit. Gaffney build quality is better and the leather is a bit thicker too.

  26. Colors here and on JCP line up pretty close. I’d call it brown. They call it cognac. It’s not a dark brown. A warm medium.

  27. Not just WWE. THE ROCK. (But nice Aladdin pull. He’s much more tactful than Dwayne Johnson calling out someone for being a Roody-Poo Candy Ass.)

  28. OK, so I’m looking for a decent beater boot for fall/winter that still looks good. I know that these are quite different than Clark’s Desert Boots (beeswax), but which would you guys prefer of the two? About the same price…

  30. Joe, your pics look better than the ones on the JCP website. You can really get a good look at the leather grain. Do you think the leather can be recolored/darkened?

  32. CDBs are not a good winter choice if it rains or snows there. These at least have a rubber sole and the leather is probably more water resistant (which you can also put stuff on to make it more so).

  34. I work at JC Penney and have been planning to pick these up for a while. I want a wing tip boot but I don’t want to pay a ton of money for something that I feel may be a fad more than permanent style.

  35. Hi Joe, this is fair and I can respect your opinion…but to each his own. Not to be snobbish but I have seen this item and it is not a long a long investment in my book. I cannot see based on the material and construction of this item surviving a number of brutal midwest winters, although your miles may vary.
    IMO, we can do better. It may not be right now, but options are over if you are patient enough and willing to wait. But again, if the target audience is for instant gratification and style without focusing on fit, material, and construction quality, then I guess this is one for you. FYI, I’m still wearing my 20+ years Alden Indy boots. Beaten and abused all these years…cry once price wise, be done with it and enjoy the rest…Thanks.

  36. Second the beater comment. Most of us own more than one pair so these would definitely last some period of time if they’re in a rotation of shoes. I’m not wearing leather soled AEs when it’s pouring rain 🙂

  37. Hi Sator. Absolutely to each his own. But this: “No. cheap patent leather and shoddy glued sole..save your money”… doesn’t sound like to each his own at all.

    Of course it’s not a “long investment.” They’re sixty bucks. Couple years? Sure. Beater pair for when you want to save your nice stuff from bad weather, or, you just want to mix it up a little, why not?

    I grew up in Milwaukee. I’m well aware of how harsh the winters can be. Gore-tex man. Gore-tex.

    “But again, if the target audience is for instant gratification and style
    without focusing on fit, material, and construction quality, then I
    guess this is one for you.” You get an A+ for passive aggressive!

    Would love to own a pair of Aldens one day. But I don’t know what I’m doing this weekend, so, committing to a pair of shoes for 10 years is just not something I, and many others want to do at this point. Like you said. To each his own.

  38. Madison in the house – need a new pair of wingers anyways (winter is never kind to them). I saw these the other day when I picked up a new pair of boat shoes from there and was passive about it because I hadn’t seen much online about them – and now this. Awesome. So why not pick up a pair of these? I have to/like to cycle through my shoes and boots every couple of years anyways – Thanks!

  39. .Looks like a hell of a boot for $60. Great find.

    The “this looks awesome, and what a great deal” camp and the “what a
    joke save your money” camp are two vastly different ideologies that will
    probably never see eye to eye on something like this. In the interest
    of thoughtful discussion and the hard work that Joe and staff put into
    this site, it seems only fair to keep the scoffing and unnecessarily
    harsh disagreement to yourselves. Just my opinion..

  40. A good preventative measure for the sole of the shoe is to always get taps put on the bottom. A tap stops the heel of the shoe from wearing down unevenly. When the tap wears down you can replace it. Also invest in a good professional shoe shine every 6 months. And buy yourself a decent shoe shine kit. You can go to any shoe store like DSW or Aldo and buy one for relatively inexpensive. Use that at least once a month.

    Your shoes will stay looking great.

  41. I see a sharp looking pair of wingtips for $60. Sixty. That’s… pretty unbelievably cheap for what they are/what they look like.

    They’re priced so I can ignore the upkeep and not feel bad. If I get a year out of them before they die on me, I’d be thrilled. I’m going in after work to try them on. If they feel right, I just might buy 2 pairs.

  42. They run a little trim, so if you do plan on wearing them a lot in winter, keep in mind the thickness of your wigwams or smart wool socks. Sole is rubber with decent grip, so you should fair decently well on inclines in winter (think Bascom). On Wisconsin…

  43. Smartwools… now your speaking my language. I think I’ll bring my thickest pair with me just in case. Still in Madison but out of school for a couple years now. Still even now during the summer I get chills thinking of doing that trek from Humanities up to Bascom or Ingram in the middle of Feb. Thanks for the tip!

  44. No, I don’ own beater pairs because I personally don’t believe in that theory. Shoes are meant to be worn and develop a certain character over years of wear.
    Obviously we look at things differently, and I can respect that. It took me 23+ years (and no I’m not that old) to built a decent shoe collection (10 pairs, excludes gym/sneekers/trainers). During this process is when I developed my taste and figured out my specific needs after handling different brands at all quality level. Only when I reached a certain the point to conclude that I would go with quality and avoid “good enough” items.

    I still wear every single pair on any given occasion. ,Every scuff, scratches, and patina on each pair is what I consider battle scars.
    You should try Alden, AE, C&J, AS, EG etc or other brands when you get a chance. It may or may not change your positions. Until then, our views and arguments will always differ. Carry On gents. Thanks

  46. Wow man, way to talk down to… everyone.

    Anyway, thanks a ton Joe this is exactly what I’ve been looking for – an inexpensive pair of middle brown wingtip boots with rubber soles that I can wear on my motorcycle. They won’t slip on the pavement like leather soles (scary) and I won’t sweat when they get splattered with motor oil and chewed up on the shifter. Perfect.

  47. Dangit no free shipping to HI with code. Ah well, still worth it with the twelve bucks to ship.

  49. @Joe I completely agree with you on these. For $60 minus my employee discount they are a steal. I have been wanting something like these but at this current time I can’t afford to drop a hundreds of dollars on Aldens or Allen Edmonds for that matter. I can get a great style for a cheap price and if I can get a year or two out of them than I will be satisfied. In the future if I am able to get the aforementioned brands then I will upgrade. For now, these will do just fine.

  51. Went and had a look at these yesterday in the local JCPenny’s (hey, there’s a first time for everything, right?). Quite a nice boot for the price. Unfortunately, if you are a D or wider, don’t bother gentlemen. My D hoof couldn’t even make it all the way in. Curses!

  52. These look awesome. Thanks for the reco. I’ve been looking for an inexpensive pair of wingtip boots for a couple of years now and I can’t wait to try these on.

  53. I like these precisely for that reason – they don’t have that heavy sole. I want to be able to tromp around in them, but also dress them up when I have to. We don’t get that much snow in Central Ohio.

  54. just for future reference, that code only applies to orders over $50. You can get items shipped free to your house as long as the total is over $50. However you can have items shipped to the store for free no matter how low the total is.

  55. Was waiting for another sale on the Sebago Hamiltons, but I jumped at these instead. In short, I agree with everything Joe said. Might be nice for them to be a little bit darker, but for $60 these are damn near perfect. The sizing really is bizarre, though. At least Joe knows the last time he was a 9.5. I literally cannot remember the last time I wore something smaller than a 10.5, but 9.5 it is.

  61. I bought mine today and wore them to work. I’m a restaurant manager so I was on my feet for at least 8 hours in them. First impressions: Solid construction overall with no cheap feeling. They are quite warm on the feet… maybe not a good shoe to run around a restaurant floor in. I do like the between walnut and brown color. Definitely a bargain buy so we’ll see how they hold up.

    What are you gents doing for lacing? A straight bar lace up yielded a large amount of excess lace.

  62. I picked these up about a week ago and I have to say they are a nice pair considering the price. I actually had to size down 2 full sizes. So far the only complain I have is that after a long day of work and walking around during happy hour my feet were mush by the time I made it home. Insoles possibly? There’s isn’t much room in there but its worth a shot. Any recommendations?

  64. I picked these up a couple of weeks ago and have been wearing them a few times a week since then. My experience so far has been pretty positive. I didn’t size down quite as much as some other people because I have somewhat wide feet and wear orthotics. This means they’re a touch long on my feet, but nothing serious. The leather is great for a $60 shoe, and if I get a year out of these in the Pacific Northwest I’ll be happy. They’re still somewhat stiff, and wearing them all day can make my heel a bit sore, but I’m getting them broken in and I anticipate great things.

  65. I flip flopped twice before picking these things up. I have no complaints other than the eyelets. Without any speed hooks or even invisible eyelets, it makes lacing a pain. Once they’re on, though, they look good and they fit well (with the requisite sizing adjustments). These will be my “sloppy day” shoes when the weather is nasty and I would feel terrible wearing a more expensive pair. To be honest, though, there’s really not much compromise going on.

  67. I just bought a pair of these. Jcp is lookimg more like macys these days. Its good to see this aging titan find its place in the new world.

  68. I just saw these today and immediately bought them. They clean up nicely and look GREAT with a light coating of black polish for a little extra kick.