About the Author: Adam Terry is a thirtysomething salesman in the HVAC and hydronics industry. He enjoys bourbon, boots, sneakers, raw denim, and working on his dad bod father figure.
Thursday Boot Co. has been around for a few years. Their Captain boots are well loved within the Goodyear welted boot community as a fantastic entry level pair that rivals Red Wing, Wolverine, and other brands that have that heritage or Americana-leaning style. However, this is Dappered, so naturally we’re going to check out a more upscale, business focused model. The new Thursday Boot Co. “Executive” is a Goodyear welted, cap toe Oxford shoe for under $170. Is it any good? Is it worth your hard-earned Benjamins? Well, there’s only one way to find out.
All the leather smells with these.
The toes are not what many might expect.
Leather soles with a combo heel.
Standard oxford side-profile.
My pair of Executive Oxfords in chestnut was ordered on a Thursday afternoon and they arrived via UPS Ground on the following Thursday. Hah, if that’s not ironic enough for you, call Alanis Morissette!
FYI: Thursday has a nice 30-day return policy, so as long as the items are unworn and undamaged with no signs of wear (no creases or sole scuffs), you’ll get your moolah back.
Score: 5/5 Stars – Easy ordering, standard shipping, and a standard return policy. Nice!
Thursday packs their footwear in an interesting box. It’s a dark grey, textured material that looks great from a distance, but the layers of cardboard are pretty thin. It almost gives off a plastic vibe. Normally I wouldn’t care too much about the box, so long as it’s in decent condition when it arrives, but the cardboard strength of this box is suspect. Mine arrived slightly damaged at one corner, although the shoes inside were fine. If you’re using shoe boxes as short or long term storage for your kicks, you may want to invest in a second box for these.
Inside the box, the shoes were individually wrapped in plastic bags and they were kind enough to throw in a large, black cloth shoe bag for storage. While I wish there were two shoe bags (I don’t want my shoes banging into each other in my suitcase), this singular bag is pretty nice. I also wish there were extra laces, as the thin waxed cotton ones may be harder to find.
Score: 4/5 Stars – Box is mediocre at best, but shoes arrived safe. Wish for spare laces.
Upper leather is likely Thursday’s proprietary combination tanned cowhide.
Fresh out of the box, THAT LEATHER SMELL IS BACK! Just like the Huckberry Rhodes chukkas, these Thursday Oxfords smell incredible. If you’ve ever walked into a cowboy boot store, or perhaps a saddle/tack store, the rich smell of vegetable tanned leather is sublime. Oddly enough, both the Huckberry Rhodes chukkas and these Thursday Oxfords are made in Leon, Mexico, arguably the overall shoe manufacturing capital of North America.
Digging in a little deeper, I believe this upper leather is Thursday’s proprietary combination tanned (that’s vegetable and chrome) cowhide. This hybrid tanning approach brings out some of the best of both types – chrome tanning offers a richer color and more water resistant finish, while vegetable tanning is a little more rugged, durable, and ages beautifully with patina. Thursday claims that all of their hides are sourced from the USA, France, or Italy, prior to being tanned and finished in North America or Italy. This combo tannage was developed in collaboration with Le Farc, a tannery also located in Leon, Mexico. It’s a small world, after all!
Toes are a chisel. No doubt.
Design wise, the overall aesthetic is that of a traditional five-eyelet Oxford with a clean cap toe. This color is called chestnut, but it’s a darker, richer shade of brown with a hint of burgundy underneath. I think the color is very similar to Horween’s classic brown Chromexcel. The upper facings and cap toe are double needle stitched, while the rear seam is elegantly finished in a simple, vertical row with single needle stitching. There’s a kiss of French binding around the opening, too. The facings are held together with a nice pair of thin, flat waxed cotton laces.
Speaking of that cap toe, it’s a blunt, squared off attempt at a chisel toe. For me, I think it’s too short and too square without any real vertical drop or chisel at the tip. Compared to something like an RM Williams Chelsea boot, this toe just looks like it got lopped off and they had to fix it on the fly. This is my only major gripe with the Executive model. If I were in charge at Thursday Boot Co., I’d change this up ASAP, switching over to a simple rounded or almond shaped toe.
Combo heel that can easily be upgraded if desired.
Moving down, the 360° stitched flat welt is neatly finished and the brown edge dye looks great with the brown leather upper. The welt to sole stitching is also done well with all the stitches falling within the little carved trench on the sole. The leather outsoles are nice, too! The word “premium” gets thrown around a lot, but I’ll say that they’re not as thick as the fancy Rendenbach soles, nor are they thin and flexible like an oil-soaked sole from Allen Edmonds or Alden. All in all, a decent slab of leather between your piggies and the cold, hard world outside. Given regular wear and maintenance, I foresee these lasting quite a while. The heel topper is a combination of leather and rubber. I don’t see any finishing nails, so I assume this is simply glued on? Granted, you can easily get these fixed by a local cobbler or just swap them out for something better at your first resole service. The choice is yours, and yours alone!
Made in Leon, Mexico.
Finally, looking inside will net you a glove leather sockliner and sueded heel cup. The Poron anti-microbial foam insoles are topped with a thin layer of that glove leather. These foam insoles feel like they’re glued down on top of a leather or hard fiberboard midsole. Without ripping them out or cutting the shoes in half like a YouTuber, I’ll assume it’s a leather midsole (based on the stratification of the leather layers visible from the sidewall) and the cavity below is filled with cork, like most other Goodyear welted shoes in this direct-to-consumer tier.
Score: 3/5 Stars – Better than average materials, but that chunky toe kills it for me.
Comfort is always subjective, but these Oxfords are pretty dang comfortable out of the box. You can definitely feel the Poron foam insoles provide some initial squish, although who knows how long that will last as foam tends to degrade over time. The glove leather lining is great!
Could be a dealbreaker. But many won’t mind?
In terms of fit, these run true to size although I’m feeling a touch of cramping at the toe box, probably thanks to the angled chisel square toe. The heel cup is snug. I suggest taking your normal Brannock sizing. If you need a wider width, you’re out of luck for the moment.
For reference, I am a 10.5 D/E on a Brannock device and usually take a 10 D in most roomy dress shoes, including Alden’s Barrie last and Grant Stone’s Leo last. I take a 10.5 E in Allen Edmonds 65 last, as that last runs too narrow for me. I also take a 10.5 in Converse/Vans and an 11 in most Adidas/Nike/Jordan/Yeezy sneakers.
Score: 4/5 Stars – Runs true to size, but the chisel toe feels narrow.
Taking the thousand-foot view, I really like these Oxfords. The leather is surprisingly nice, the inner materials seem up to snuff, and the leather sole should provide a lot of mileage for you. While the toe shape doesn’t do them any favors for me, overall I do like these Oxfords a lot – specifically at this price point. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a better option under $175, unless you’re shopping for deep discount sales, seconds, or pre-owned shoes. Check them out!
Avg. Score: 4/5 Stars – Not bad for the price if you like the looks!
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