Best Affordable Style of 2012 – The Shoes

JC Penney Stafford Camlin Wingtip Boots – $60.00

The end of the year means it’s time to hand out some awards.  No, there’s no little statues to pass along, but over the next few days we’ll still highlight some of the best in affordable men’s style from this past year.  And it was a good one. Feel free to send in additional nominations here.

The Camlin Wingtip Boot from above, post black shoe creme treatment.

Sixty bucks.  Unreal.  Comfortable, decent leather, and once you compensate for the outrageously wonky sizing (they run at least a size, maybe a size and a half too big) their trim profile and perfect toe look great on your feet.

They’re more than fine out of the box, but at just sixty dollars (if not less with sales) they’re a perfect pair of shoes to try experimenting with.  By applying  a little black shoe creme, the leather takes on a less uniform look.  That helps them look much more expensive than the double digits retail price.

So far their durability has been just fine.  With wear the leather starts to lighten back up a bit and take on new character.  From an aesthetics standpoint, JC Penney had a terrific year.  These boots are one of the big reasons why.

Also worth a mention from the past year: The new Mercanti Cap Toe, the C.H. Jayhawker which got as low as $84, the $70 DSW Double Monk, the J&M Letson, & the venerable A.E. Strand when it dipped under $200 on cyber Monday.