ISO a more formal shoe
hi MFA! let's hope I'm doing this right.
Essentially I have a conference in Germany in September, and am realizing maybe wearing sneakers every day won't be the best look (I've recently added a sport coat/blazer to my collection I'd be planning to wear there).
In general too, I reckon it'd be useful to have a shoe that I can wear with the more formal clothes I'm slowly owning more of.
So looking for a 'formalish' shoe, between 99-199 but more than happy to buy secondhand/look in thrift stores for hopefully less. If going to thrift, it really helps me to know what kind of shoes would be decent to pick up, and what kind of things to look out for, as I'm not an experienced thrifter.
Looking to buy in the next month or so, and hopefully something not too heavy (so loafers seem like a good option) so I can pack them in my carry-on.
I'm in Boulder, CO, happy to travel to Denver/surrounding area for thrift stores ofc. And i'm a US 10 / UK 9, size wise.
Am a grad student, so while I usually don't wear super formal stuff (my typical shoe choice is GATs / chukka boots, when I don't have to adapt to the weather at least and wear large snow boots), it would be nice to add something that would go with increasing the versatility in my wardrobe
hope I'm not missing anything else! cheers and thanks!
14 Replies
Try some longwings. It's nearly double what you're asking but Grant Stone makes excellent longwings (Dune) that I pair with formal and casual looks. If you don't want to go for GS then you can check for second hand or other brands at a cheaper price range. But I'll tell you now, the GS are worth every penny.
They do look good! I will consider, thanks! are they worth getting secondhand?
Absolutely! I actually have a pair of the longwings in Dune for sale but they are 8.5
As long as the seller didn't wreck them they are great second hand
will keep an eye out! thanks 🫡
A lot of folks seem to have success buying Allen Edmonds from thrift stores or eBay. I have not tried it though.
Beware that your size will probably be different from your usual sneaker size.
that's good to keep in mind, thanks! Does it typically run a bit larger or smaller?
Smaller. I am usually 10.5 in sneakers, official (Brannock) size 9.5, and wear a 9 or even 8.5 in quality leather shoes.
that's really good to note, thanks! I'll also try to make a note when i go thrifting next to see what "size" fits best for leather shoes
Yeah, just trying stuff on will give you useful information. I've been trying to record everything I try on, so I know how different brands fit me.
Same here. I have a shoe log. It's ridiculous but helps with online purchasing.
For sure. I went to the Meermin store in Paris just to try things on so I know my size when ordering online.
My favorite shoes for your use case are brogued wingtips - though personally I prefer oxfords to derbies, derbies usually fit the bill better. Black or one of the various dark browns or adjacent colors (big fan of burgundy and color #8, another adjacent option is the museum brown.)
Interesting - do you have examples in mind? I tried looking some up, and though things I'm reading seem to say they're versatile across occassions, they seem quite solidly in "wear this to a nice occassion and nothing else" kinda territory
maybe i'm not looking correctly though! This is the part of footwear where the terminology confuses me quite a bit
Alden 974 and 975 for example. Not that I'm suggesting that specific shoe, but it's something I quite like. Great shape, but the brogueing makes it quite a bit less formal, and so does making it not black. There are a lot of variations in that area. Calfskin is cheaper than shell, and I like burgundy/oxblood calfskin for being the right balance of formal and informal to be able to wear it with, depending on blucher/balmoral, various levels of business casual and various levels of full suit. (But not all - not on either end of the spectrum.)