The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Hey folks!

I take it many an esteemed co-forumer here has both exquisite taste and distinct elegance, so naturally I'm turning to you guys with this question.

I am in the process of purchasing some new dress shoes to complement a few suits I just had made and thought I'd look further than what's sold on highstreet. The reason for that is that my shoes tend to die quite quickly generally. So I began not to bother anymore and to just buy the cheapest I could find. However, I have never been fully convinced by what I had there either. Even for the price.

So I would like to go the other way this time and was contemplating the purchase of JM Weston shoes, in an effort to get something that, while expensive, will last me a while.

What do you think? Would that be a good choice? And what would the alternatives be? What do you wear?

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Cheers from Switzerland,

Fred

I prefer shoes with rubber sole with a bit of cushioning. In UK, there are a flood of new manufacturers whose shoes are smart yet very comfortable. Steptronic is one of those.
On a related note, invest in a pair of good shoetree which would keep the appearance and tidiness of your shoes for a longer period. I recommend natural cedar wood shoetrees which can be bought from ebay.
Good luck.

well, rubber soles on dress shoes might be comfortable, but are they still dress shoes then ?

Fred, you live in Switzerland, Bally does have decent quality dress shoes, but my favorite are Moreschi, if we are talking about Italian style; decent quality too.

And if we are talking about "real shoes", my choice for the last decades have been Ludwig Reiter's, they do have distribution in Switzerland too: http://www.ludwig-reiter.com/?nav=home&lang=en

You talk about your shoes tending to die quickly, my oldest Reiter's are almost 30 years old - a good shoe grows old with you and might well outlive you; a bit like vintage watches; just make sure you find a last that truly fits you and you give them some decent care, do not wear them more than two days in a row, put them on shoe trees - a truly good shoe will "live" in beauty for decades. If you travel to the US, Allen Edmonds are often good value for money if you find them at sales; in Europe Reiter's, though a bit more expensive are clearly the better choice (personal opinion only).l

So, a bit like hunting for the watch that is "right" for you, have fun.

here's the Reiter catalog: http://www.ludwig-reiter.com/download.p ... 82&lang=en

+1 on Allen Edmonds. I have about 12 pairs right now and absolutely love them. They also offer some of their shoes with very thin rubber soles that still give the dress shoe look without actually having a leather sole on the ground - here's an example of a Monk - http://www.allenedmonds.com/aeonline/pr ... 0000001_-1

I tend to either wear boots to work in the winter and change or wear overshoes.

Another Allen Edmonds vote here. They're the only off the shelf dress shoes I wear. You can't go wrong with the shell cordovan.

just a note of caution, you have to make sure you choose one of the "Goodyear welted" shoes from the Allen Edmonds range, none of the "cemented", these are of vastly inferior quality.

Another vote for Allen Edmonds. Sporting a pair today. Oh my it is almost 4:20...I gotta go

True, although I think that all of their dress shoes are Goodyear welted now, I think it is just some of their cheaper casual ones that are not - only pair of mine that are cemented are boat shoes.





AE webgem on shell right now - steal at $545 for genuine Horween cordovan - http://www.allenedmonds.com/aeonline/ca ... ubcategory.

Interesting fact... I was watching Wealth TV (a channel on my fios) about a month ago, and they had the most expensive leather mens shoes in the world on their, and the manufacturer is located in my backyard! Doylestown, PA. I couldn't believe it because this particular town is by no means ritzy! I believe the shoes are around $5,000 give or take, and the leather is hand picked in Italy.

Pretty crazy stuff!

I do all my using as in Italy, and I always tell myself that one day ill find a nice pair of hand made ones there, as the largest manufacturer of shoes is right where my Italian company is located in Vigevano.

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Past: BlackBird, Navi World, SA, Rolex DJII, IWC Yacht Club
Present: CE, DSSD
Future: Changes daily

not really, they have quite a lot of cemented dress shoes; surprised these are allowed to carry the brand; anything below $200, not really surprising: http://www.allenedmonds.com/aeonline/pr ... 0000001_-1

as stated, AE are great, but, for anyone living near a Reiter store - these are quite a bit better and they offer a "custom made" option; you choose the last that fits you best, pick design and your leather and sole of choice & the shoes are made for you at a minimal surcharge. worth it.

As an English guy I favour Loake brogues, both those with leather and with rubber soles (for wet weather of which we get plenty). My current leather soled brogues are around ten years old and have been re-soled once and heeled twice. I find they take some breaking in but get wonderfully comfortable in time. Loake do a good range of 'dressy' shoes but I wore my brogues with my business suits and never felt out of place.

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Breitling B-1 1999
Breitling Chrono Superocean 2004
Casio G Shock
Citizen Eco Drive AT4000-02E (for gardening)
Seiko 5 SNZG15J1
Hamilton X Wind LE

Didn't even realise they were still there - and looking at the shoes I now know why

Closest place to me that stocks Reiter would appear to be New York City

Wow, many good suggestions here! I certainly will check out the Reiter boutique on the next occasion I get. In the meantime I have been to the Weston boutique and I must say I have never seen anything like these shoes before... I was just blown away by the obsessively meticulous finishing and the incredible percieved quality... Had I known that before... I might've been a shoe person by now...

But... One pair of these shoes costs as much as a Longines watch... And if you start fiddling with the bespoke options... You get into Breitling territory... So this needs a bit more consideration before I buy anything... Especially because I need 2-3 pairs all in all.

_________________
Cheers from Switzerland,

Fred

you do need more. you'll see.

Start with the basics and go from there - bespoke stuff can come later. You probably 'need' one pair of black and then look at a couple of shades of brown that you like - personally I find the burgundy type colours very flexible as well as some of the lighter browns - walnut for example. For conservative dress you probably want to stay with Oxfords or Derbys, but if you can get away with something a little different then a saddle shoe or a monk strap will help you to diversify. As said, make sure that you don't wear the same pair two days straight, and always use shoe trees when not wearing them.

Remember also, that at this level of quality the shoes are repairable - I know AE better than most and they have a re-crafting program where they will effectively rebuild your shoes - new soles and reconditioned uppers for about $150, but other makers will have similar programs. The shoes can literally last a lifetime with proper care.