Wingtip Shoes

Track down a local cobbler, you'll need one.
Your heels and soles will need replacing long before the upper is showing its age.
I've been in my current position for just short of 2 years, and in that time I've replaced the heels on my Florsheim wingtips, the heels AND soles on my A&E Strands, and the heels on my A&E McAllisters.
The Florsheim pair lasted 3 months of daily use before the heels were shot... they should have been replaced at 2 months.
The Strands made it about twice as long, I bought the McAllisters when I had the Strands done (incidentally, I actually holed the sole).
Once I got the McAllisters, I went to alternating every other day, and wearing deck shoes on "Casual Friday"
Maybe 8 months? The heels on the McAllisters were showing their age.... so that would have been 4 months of daily wear.

Now, so far, I am impressed with the heels and soles that were installed by my local cobbler. Not so impressed with Allen Edmonds quality, but the uppers are absolutely fantastic and the fit is excellent.
Given that I can get them resoled for only $55, I'm sure these shoes will last for many years.

Stevew443 said:

I am not sure how Florsheim quality is now, but I have a pair of Florsheim Crown Imperial wing tips in brown that have lasted me well over 30 years and look as good as they did the day I bought them. I know that I did not spend a mint on them, and I have had to have them resoled a couple of times, so, If you have a limited budget, try making the most of it by buying quality.

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None of them are what they were 20-40 years ago, and that includes Allen Edmonds.
Might fare better with Alden, and absolutely with the European crafted shoes, but that's getting into some serious money.
You aren't going to be buying a shoe for less than $500 today that is going to last 30 years of regular use without needing to have some level of work.

That said:

Florsheim is probably the best you are going to get for $100-$125
Allen Edmonds is probably the best you are going to get for $200-$350

Anything less, such as Stacy Adams, is going to be an okay shoe for weddings, funerals, and interviews, but they are not going to hold up to daily wear. I wore them when I worked retail because I couldn't afford more than $40 (this was in the late 80s) and they really showed their age in just a few months... needed to replace them every 6-12 months.

cb91710 said:

Track down a local cobbler, you'll need one.
Your heels and soles will need replacing long before the upper is showing its age.
I've been in my current position for just short of 2 years, and in that time I've replaced the heels on my Florsheim wingtips, the heels AND soles on my A&E Strands, and the heels on my A&E McAllisters.
The Florsheim pair lasted 3 months of daily use before the heels were shot... they should have been replaced at 2 months.
The Strands made it about twice as long, I bought the McAllisters when I had the Strands done (incidentally, I actually holed the sole).
Once I got the McAllisters, I went to alternating every other day, and wearing deck shoes on "Casual Friday"
Maybe 8 months? The heels on the McAllisters were showing their age.... so that would have been 4 months of daily wear.

Now, so far, I am impressed with the heels and soles that were installed by my local cobbler. Not so impressed with Allen Edmonds quality, but the uppers are absolutely fantastic and the fit is excellent.
Given that I can get them resoled for only $55, I'm sure these shoes will last for many years.

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It doesn't have anything to do with quality as to why your heels wear out. They are the softest part of the entire shoe and take the brunt of the abuse. Ask your cobbler to put on plastic heel and toe taps. They are small pieces of much harder plastic placed right where YOU wear out your heels. They don't effect the way you walk or the traction of the shoes. It will cost about $6-$8 to have them put on properly, meaning nailed, not just using the sticky tape attached to the back.

I have a pair of Park Ave's nearly 4 years old, McAllister's that are 3 years old, a pair of Elgin's almost 3 years old and other Allen Edmonds shoes that are younger. All had heel and toe taps installed straight away. NONE of my shoes have had the heels replaced, and I rode public transportation and walked 7 blocks in each direction from the stop downtown every day. I replaced the heel taps 2-3 times a year. Some of the toe taps are still original.

Nothing looks worse on a nice pair of shoes than heavily worn heels and toes.

I find eBay to be an excellent source for Allen Edmonds at ridiculously low prices. Granted, I've had a few misses, but mostly hits, and I've yet to spend over $90 for any single pair (and that particular pair was literally brand new) - mostly I'm paying in the $30-$60 range...a few days with a nice cedar shoe tree, some elbow grease, saddle soap, and polish, and they're good as new). I've now got a collection of maybe 12 pairs that I wear regularly and I'm out of pocket less than 2 pairs of new AE shoes. Plus most are nicely broken in.

Jeff_H said:

It doesn't have anything to do with quality as to why your heels wear out. They are the softest part of the entire shoe and take the brunt of the abuse. Ask your cobbler to put on plastic heel and toe taps. They are small pieces of much harder plastic placed right where YOU wear out your heels. They don't effect the way you walk or the traction of the shoes. It will cost about $6-$8 to have them put on properly, meaning nailed, not just using the sticky tape attached to the back.

Nothing looks worse on a nice pair of shoes than heavily worn heels and toes.

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I have no problem with toes. My strands holed in the center, just behind the ball of my foot. I couldn't believe that I had that happen in 6 months... I've NEVER holed a dress shoe, even when working retail being on my feet 60+ hours a week.
So far, the cobbler's replacements are still showing the same wear pattern (light, circular scratches where I pivot when turning left), but they are not feeling thin when I press on that area of the sole.
I ordered the McAllisters with the combination sole, and the tread pattern on the Vibram has not worn down significantly, so perhaps I just got a "bad" piece of leather with a thin spot on that one shoe.
But my guy is very inexpensive, so I don't mind having the heels replaced every few months.

But still, on the McAllisters, on the instep at the front edge of the heel, there is a "break" in the welt very similar to one posted by someone else a few months ago. It was not there when new, it appeared after a couple of weeks. In the thread where it was shown by the other guy, most were telling him that it was unacceptable and to send them back, A&E told him that it was normal where the welt was joined.

The "rumor mill" claims that A&E took a serious dive in quality with the last sale of the company in, what, 2006 or 2008? And now they have been purchased again... by the same company that owns Stanley Tools and Bell Helmets... classic names that meant quality in 1970-1980, and names that mean "Discount store" today.

cb91710 said:

The "rumor mill" claims that A&E took a serious dive in quality with the last sale of the company in, what, 2006 or 2008? And now they have been purchased again... by the same company that owns Stanley Tools and Bell Helmets... classic names that meant quality in 1970-1980, and names that mean "Discount store" today.

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Eh, I wouldn't be so quick to raise the alarm. So far AE has kept most of the same management, staff, and production line. I think part of the problem lies with them ramping up production to meet sales volume, and having some QA/QC problems.

They're still very vunerable to consumer opinion, as they're not as big a brand as Stanley, Bell, or in the shoe world, Florsheim were. Case in point, last summer, they put out a new design of chukka boot, the Amok (leather sole) and Mojave (crepe sole). They were supposed to be a lower-priced competitor to Alden's similar chukka. They used a plastic piece in the interior of the heel. This cause an issue with squeaking, which a bunch of customers complained about. AE quickly changed the plastic piece to a fiber piece, which eliminated the squeaking issues on newly built boots. However, the two models had already earned reputations as lemons, and they had to discontinue the line. This worked out in my favor as I was able to pick up some of the Mojaves on clearance, and they're still very well constructed. The point though is that AE will have a hard time getting away with obvious and tangible cuts in quality. It's much harder to strip a quality brand in the age of the internet, where people rely more on reviews and recommendations rather than brand recognition.

What HAS seemed to have changed is that they've started to offer more shoes with rubber soles, more casual designs/leathers, etc. at lower prices. This is sort of expanding into a different price bracket, which isn't always a bad thing. I wouldn't extrapolate some questionable sole wear into company-wide quality problems. I'd start to see stuff like shipping manufacturing overseas, or the move towards glued construction, etc.

Bottom line is that in the $250-400 price range, Allen Edmonds is still solid. The shoes are recraftable, the leather holds up if cared for, etc. Alden might be a superior manufacturer, but they are significantly more expensive, and have a much more limited range of styles. I wouldn't suggest Alden as a straight replacement for AE. They both have different pros and cons.

Someone above commented on getting quality shoes on the Bay. I don't know what your choice of quality shoes is like over your side of the pond but here in the UK I have bought several pairs of high quality Northampton benchmade shoes from class companies like Trickers, Church, Cheney and Alfred Sargent.

They have all been almost new and at brilliant prices! My guess is that people more used to wearing trainers buy a pair and then find that they can be hard and uncomfortable until broken in and so decide they aren't for them!

I still look on the bay now and then even though my daughter insists I have far too many shoes, especially the heavy country brogues (love 'em)!

What's the worst that can happen? They don't fit well so you bung 'em back on the bay and recover most of your money. Luckily for me, all the English bench made shoes run true to size and I know that a UK 11 is going to fit me just fine!

Good luck with your job interview.

Gareth

LogisticEarth said:

Bottom line is that in the $250-400 price range, Allen Edmonds is still solid. The shoes are recraftable, the leather holds up if cared for, etc. Alden might be a superior manufacturer, but they are significantly more expensive, and have a much more limited range of styles. I wouldn't suggest Alden as a straight replacement for AE. They both have different pros and cons.

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As I mentioned above, agreed.
A&E is the best you're going to get for under $400, just as Florsheim is among the best you're going to get in the $80-150 range.
In my mind, the jury is still out on Rockport, but one issue that I have with anything less than A&E is the lack of A and AA widths.
I can tolerate a B, but just barely, and they are hard to come by in most styles.

cb91710 said:

As I mentioned above, agreed.
A&E is the best you're going to get for under $400, just as Florsheim is among the best you're going to get in the $80-150 range.
In my mind, the jury is still out on Rockport, but one issue that I have with anything less than A&E is the lack of A and AA widths.
I can tolerate a B, but just barely, and they are hard to come by in most styles.

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Unfortunately, the Florsheim Wingtips at JCP have a plastic shiny look and feel to them. They look like they only go with tuxedos and not a business suit. Of all the dress shoes JCP carries, only the Stacy Adams Wardell wing tips were actual leather. The rest had the plastic shiny coat on them.

I say go with the wing tips. I'm a little biased. Just got myself two pairs. The black pair are Steve Madden and I got for $88 on a 50% sale. And on the right, they are Iron Age wingtips which I stumbled upon at an antique shop for less than $5. I love both pairs and own cap toed dress shoes, but definitely have a preference.

Please don't wear a button down with a suit. When you can , invest in some high quality shoes as they will last a lifetime if one takes care of them. Think Alden. A&E has went downhill since they were bought in 06.

My shoes last more than 5 years. You do need a good rotation because you are suppose to let it dry out. If you have a razor or brush rotation, your shoes should have rotation too. Definitely invest in shoe tree and brush everytime after you use.
A good brands and I do lean towards the English shoemakers because they have deep tradition in shoemaking, brands such as crockett & Jones exceptional quality but on the higher end of pricing, loake for cheaper range.
Something slightly different and more expensive is Vass. Hungarian shoemaker, they too have steep tradition in shoe making steeming from the days habsburg empire. Do checkout Vass, they make beautiful handmade good year welted shoes. If your on tight budget try meermin Spanish shoemaker, heard good things about them for that price range.