Hey team,
I've recently gotten sick of wearing through pair after pair of cheapo mens dress shoes (YD, tarocash etc etc)
What value for money shoes do you wear around the office? I don't do much walking around but there is about a 30 mins commute to and from the station everyday.
Do you have a go-to brand or store? Maybe a yearly sale you wait for?
Cheers!
Seems pretty obvious doesn’t it
Yeah thats what I've started doing. Wish I cottoned onto it when I first started, would have doubled the life of my cheap shoes!
Hush Puppies!
recently i've just waited for the myer stocktake sales and purchased shoes ~$50-70.
Blaq, JM, wild rhino, trent nathan.
Lasts about 6-9 months per pair.
but gives me rotation and i don't have to look after them as much as a $300+ shoe that is meant to last years.
Had a pair of slip-on Airflex a couple of years ago; very comfortable. That's the brand I'd go for.
Since ozbargain, I just wait for online deals and get cheap shoes, mainly to have more pairs to have a greater choice of shoe colour in the morning.
I've never heard of them, I'll check them out thanks!
I bought expensive shoes. Have lasted me 7 years before resole reqd. Better looks, comfort and cost
Which ones?
Crockett and jones
Yeah a colleague of mine just got his RM Williams resoled, said they originally cost him around $400 for the shoes and $150, 2 years later for the new soles
Hush Puppies on sale at Ozsale at the moment
Bought mine from a Zu sale - about $30 and after some brown shoe polish they're good to go - I've had them for about 2 years now. When it deteriorates I'll try out the airflex ones
What's your approximate budget?
I'd be willing to spend $150 for a pair that will last me a few years, I'm currently wearing in a $150 pair of shoes from YD which the store gave to me for half price after issues with the cheaper pair I brought (the insoles were garbage, and the soles falling apart at the heel, despite the uppers being near spotless after a few months. So they were good about it.
I figured I would get searching now, so when it comes time to look for another pair, or one to rotate, I can be ready
As Stewardo mentioned below, the very best shoes don't come cheap, but they can be had for much cheaper than local prices, if you buy them online and have them shipped from US/UK.
I have a couple pairs of Loakes, and one pair of Church's. They are really quite indestructible, but that durability does come at a cost, primarily being flexibility. The goodyear welted soles are what you want to look for when you want durability, but they're quite hard and usually the shoes take quite a while to break in. That's why it's quite important to get them fitted properly. So get them fitted locally at an upmarket shoe place.
Try result aggregators to get the best price:
Loake: https://www.shopstyle.com.au/browse/mens-shoes/loake?sort=Pr…
Church's: https://www.shopstyle.com.au/browse/mens-shoes/churchs?sort=…
Barker: https://www.shopstyle.com.au/browse/mens-shoes?fts=barker&so… (ignore the first few results)
Also have a read of this to get a better idea of the different kind of shoe constructions: https://www.primermagazine.com/2014/spend/understanding-shoe…
If you're a bit lost as to styles/varieties/brands, I often find that Mr Porter has a wide selection, but the prices are well out of reach. Good starting point nonetheless for inspiration as to what's out there:
Oxfords: https://www.mrporter.com/en-au/mens/shoes/oxford_shoes?sortB…
Monks: https://www.mrporter.com/en-au/mens/shoes/monk_strap_shoes?s…
Brogues: https://www.mrporter.com/en-au/mens/shoes/brogues?sortBy=pri…
Once you have a particular style in mind, I'd set up a search alert for a sale on shopstyle or lyst.com. Very cheap sales often come around on some obscure US/UK site.
Have a look around, and let me know what sort of design/style/colour/brand etc. you're after, and I can narrow some down for you.
Always happy to help a fellow Aussie male get into better shoes than the scuffed, glued pleather shoes that I see on too many feet walking around in the city.
RM Williams boots are popular on here and are supposed to last. You do pay a premium on them though!
Is it a cost?
A pair of the signature go to RM Williams are $500, hand made quality leather. That easily last up to 10 years.
Buy a Windsor Smith, Aquila etc etc for 150-200, they last only 6-12month…Do the math… :D
I have had a lot of luck with Windsor Smith at DFO outlets. Not 'OzBargain' cheap but good quality and have lasted me around 2-3 years with a fair bit of walking in the mix.
not sure if dress boots would be acceptable in your office, but I got a pair of seconds/downgraded Rossi boots from their factory for $70 (compared to the ~$200 retail price) and the only imperfection I could note was a small scuff on the leather where it meets the sole on the medial side, so not visible unless really trying to find it.
comfortable and cheapish (have only had them a year or so, but holding up fine and have had rossi boots in the past - but mainly work boots (that all had decent lifespans).
guess it depends on what you call comfortable too - I wear boots all day at work and they are fine, but some people find them uncomfortable comapred to sneakers or other shoe types.
It's not so strict, I wouldn't ever wear a tie or anything and one guy even walks around the office without shoes on which always weirds me out.
So maybe boots are also an options I didn't think of. As Dust said above, a few of the guys have RM Williams boots, but I might look into a cheaper option like the Rossi ones you mentioned
Loake Barker church
Buy them online from U.K. when on sale
Buy from shops like pediwear, herring shoes, robinson’s shoes
Most shops in Australia just sell glued together shoes, even the expensive brand name ones.
Buy made in U.K. and get the shoes resoled and they will last for years, better still buy two pairs and rotate them.
Thats good advice, I'll look into it thanks
If you subscribe to the mailing list they often email good deals
I got a pair of barker slipons made in uk for £50 last year.
Maybe just wait for a sale to get some quality ones at a good price, last time I bought a pair of Church's at David Jones on sale for just over $300. And to keep your shoes in shape use cedar shoe trees, I bought mine from Muji and Ebay.
I have tried Hush Puppies shoes. They are comfortable and good for walking too. Stride shoes offering branded shoes including Hush Puppies shoes - $50 off when you buy 2 pairs of shoes by using a coupon code. You can get the free coupon at this site https://couponsdiscount.com.au/coupon/buy-2-pairs-of-shoes-a…
Wish you all the best!
I was on the same hunt as you last year, now i'm really happy with this brand 'Double Oak Mills' which is exclusive to the Iconic. Wearing them right now actually.
Thanks to ozb, I bought 2 of the same model but in different colours. Cost $60 and $54 (better sale was on later).
Wear sneakers when walking and keep your nice shoes in your backpack to change into when you get to work.
Either,
a) you wear cheap shoes and walking 30 minutes in them will be uncomfortable, or,
b) you wear expensive shoes and you are unnecessarily wearing them out