Looking for a pair of reasonably priced casual/dress shoes.. Suggestions?
 

Lately, I have been wearing a lot of khakis and jeans, in fact, pants-wise, that's all I've been wearing.

I have been wearing sneakers my entire life, but recently realised that it might be nice to get a pair of brown casual/dress shoes, as they look nicer, and might compliment the khakis more than a pair of Chuck Taylor's (Converse All-Stars, old school).

Does anyone have any recommendations about a nice shoe to look into? Or even a company or brand name, and where it can be purchased would be fine..

Generally, I'm wearing button down shirts (striped, pattern, Hawaiin also), and khakis or "faded" jeans, and am looking to get a pair of casual, maybe dress (but more casual), brown shoes that will look "good" with the types of clothing I'm wearing.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, as I am a little out of sorts in this area. All my life I've been buying and wearing sneakers, and it would be nice to get some guidance about a few shoes, or even brands to pursue. Price range? I'd say $50-$100, but if possible, the lower the price, the better, as long the shoe quality is upheld.

Thanks!

I have found Sketchers offer several varietes of the general casual shoe you speak of, and they're fairly durable for that price range. I've owened several pairs over the last few years, and they've lasted longer than anything else I've had.

Check out Marshall's or Ross: They often carry Sketchers, (black and brown) and similar models like Lugz, Caterpillars.

SportsMart also carries these shoes too. Look for local sales.

Quality footwear is important, but doesn't necessarily have to be expensive.

Good brands are: Rockport, Clark's, and Ecco. If you have at least two pairs and rotate regularly, you should get lots of wear. Also, regular maintenance will go a long way.

dsw shoe wearhouse
nordstrom's rack
ross and marshall's as noted earlier
filene's basement
rack room shoes
www.bluefly.com
outlet stores- banana republic, kenneth cole, cole haan, clarks/bostonian, etc.

sales at larger department stores (macy's, bloomingdale's, etc.)

personally, i would stay away from lugz and caterpillars.

if you search around, learn where the deals are, you can find good shoes at reasonable prices. shoes, in my mind, are an important part of an outfit. but i may go a little overboard (i think i have over 30 pairs, which most people would say is a lot for a guy). i've paid as little as $20, and as much as $180. i suppose when i get a job, i'll be willing to pay even more for shoes (the quality of construction of low end shoes and high end shoes becomes easily apparent, but is not the point of this thread).

I would agree on the Sketchers suggestions. They have been my "business casual" shoes for years. They do tend to scratch or scuff sometimes a little too easy. But they look good and are reasonably priced.

There are a lot of ways you could go, but you should certainly branch out some. Since you are not about to go out and buy a closet full of all the possibilities from dress blacks, wingtips, bucks, deck shoes, sandals, tux shoes, and a variety of loafers, I thought about the most versatile pair of shoes I own. Actually I have them in both brown and black. The brown go with shorts (believe it or not), jeans, and any color of slacks. In a pinch you can even wear them with black. You can go hiking in these things because of the soles. The nubbins on the soles can be a little slick on wet surfaces like tile or stone. I often go out of town with nothing but these. I wear them to work most days. They are more comfortable than tennis shoes to me. They slip on, but stay more secure than any other loafer. They are from Timberland and are less than $100. The brown ones really are not as shiny as this picture.




http://tbl.imageg.net/graphics/produ...374626v250.jpghttp://tbl.imageg.net/graphics/produ...366671v250.jpg

Those shoes greytone pictured will be PERFECT with jeans. Love em!

do you have any outlet malls near you? I know down here we have Tanger Outlet Malls all over the place. When it became apparent Dave was going to start dressing a little differently (not that I ever asked him to) and wanted to look "nicer" at weddings and things we headed out to one and ended up at Bass and got a GREAT pair of dress shoes, perfect for all occaisons, for 49 bucks

Thanks, it is really nice to have my limited fashion sense affirmed.

Screw brand names. I bought a pair of black leather shoes (don't know if they classify as casual or dress) from Wal-Mart for $30, and nobody believes that I got them for that much, and they've lasted me for I believe about two years now, and are still going strong.