Thursday Cadets are a great dressy boot. Also, the Allen Edmonds Park Ave Boots are now customizable with a wide variety of suede, leathers, including weatherproof leathers.
The Allen Edmonds cap toe Park Avenue SHOE is fantastic. Great leather that takes a spit shine with their shoe cream and a brush - just builds up a shine over time. Mine lastest 22 years WITHOUT having new soles or heels. They will rebuild the shoes if necessary. Called them to order some new shoes and shoe cream. They asked me for the model number printed inside the shoe to get a good match. The lady was stunned; the moc toe shoes were 23+ years old. All but my "rain shoes" are Allen Edmunds. My rain shoes are E.T. Wright (out of business) with rubber soles.
Love that you finally made this video. I remember messaging you a couple years ago about your thoughts on this subject. I ended up getting a pair of Meermin's at the time. Absolutely hated breaking them in. To this day I hardly ever wear them the leather is so stiff and uncomfortable. I have since picked up a couple pairs of Tafts, the Thursday Chelsea you mentioned, and couple Allen Edmonds. One shoe I really like that I got a couple of are the Thursday Cadets. I put thinner laces in them making them a little more dressy, but they are extremely comfortable and I get compliments on them all the time. Keep up the great content!!
Love to see Allen Edmonds getting some love here. Waiting for a sale to grab a pair of the Park Avenue Boot. Im currently eyeing Dark Chili color with a Dainite sole, either Red or Chestnut.
Boots and a suit is a favourite here in the UK and Australia, as you’ll know. RM Williams and a suit is a great look. I sometimes notice see the traditional balmoral style boot with a suit here in London, especially in winter.
Yes, chelseas and a suit is completely normal in Australia, where there's legit one boot company serving the entire continent haha Been loving the discovery of Balmoral boots!
yeah I was shocked to hear boots with a suit was rare in other countries. probably also because there arent a lot of high quality dress shoe makers in australia either.
I think the Allen Edmond's Hamilton and Dalton a very dressy awesome boots. Got the AE Hamilton in brown Suede and dark chilli both weather proof... They are awesome. Chili is so a interesting and attractive of a color is that I even got the Dalton wingtips on this color too. Thank you for the video.
They're just too expensive for what they offer. Here in the US, I mean. Plus you're naming Chelseas and Carmina just easily has RM beat for the silhouette
Yeah! I got pair of Meermin Jodhpur - and fuuug, it messes up my feet so hard. I could not even put those on my feet, it started tearing apart on sides (near those “triangles”. Even tho I used renovatour and saphir stretching spray. I’ll have to fix them after they will fully break in.
I wear Dowlers with my suits and I have no doubt the Elliot is great. Glad to see others wearing boots with suits. I am the only person I know that does this. For me, it's funny: part of my initial motivation to get boots to wear semi-formally is that I had a few pair of dress pant separates that were just a tiny bit too short for shoes but look great with boots (I hate the 'flood' look, I need a break in the pants). Helped me keep the pant separates in rotation and then I just started wearing them with my real suits, too, because I like them so much better than shoes.
I was thinking why you hadn't mentioned Meermin, until you did! They have boxcalf leathers which are much softer and don't require a break in. They do have a deserved reputation for tough to break in footwear.
I have zero dress shoes, all my suits and formal casual wear are paired up with dress boots only, I made that style, it’s my taste and I’m looking fire with it! 🔥 can’t relate with low tops, sock showing, too short pants dangling, looking like Steve Urcle look, don’t care how traditional it’s been, I’ll f*ck around and probably set a trend lol
It is nice that the 'are my cuffs too short, are my socks showing, are the socks inconspicuous enough,' etc isn't a worry with dress boots. Which ones do you wear?
@@Stridewise Yup! Lol I’m glad you asked, so I own a Pair of Cramina Lloret balmoral boots light brown, also Crocket & Jones wing tip Cordovan hight top boots👌🏽 my favorite, C&J Roughed out suede Molton boots (the James Bond one you showed) C&J Conistone (black roughed out) high top boots, TLB Mallorca Artista museum calf wingtip boots, Custom made TLB black Oxford boot, Antonio Meccariello Proteo high boot 🔥, I’m lusting for Saint Crispin’s blue wingtip oxford boots, and one last pair to my collection Meccariello half suede top Venator oxford brown boots.
This is absolutely the goal I'm trying to achieve with my wardrobe. Good to see other folks taking the same road; I see a lot of stuff online discouraging the style, but there's simply nothing wrong with it if you do it thoughtfully.
@Stridewise - would love to see you guys do a review of the Schotts NYC Service Boot. Some say it's Chippewa's old line being done under a new name but produced in the USA due how similiar the services boots look compared to each other. I know Schotts Perfecto jacket is a big hit and they're well known for their leather, been really curious about their boots as they seem to just getting into it and it's a decent price at 299 if memory serves. Anyhow keep up the great work. [and yes, i know service boots arent great dress boots, just leaving the comment on a more recent boot vid ;) ]
Maaan, this is such a good list. So much good info 🫡. Speaking of Idrese I’d love to see you review the Galahad, i don’t dress up a lot so it’s kind of a one and done grail dress boot for me.
I love my Red Wing Willistons in black featherstone leather. I bought them for my wedding and have been my formal go to boots since then. I don’t think they are available anymore though 😢
You mention the Carmina Chelseas. What about the Comfort Craftsman? The black yearling looks rather dressy. & don't tell me nobody wears a suit with those.
I really like the BS Elliot Balmoral. I have a pair in black and a pair in tan. Their Fonseca boot is also beautiful, but I don't have any first hand experience. I have a low instep and the Elliot fits great. I'd be careful if you have a high instep/thick foot. The closed lacing might not close for you.
Digging deep into the channels back catalogue at the minute and really enjoying / learning a lot. Picked up some Cheaney Tamar C’s country Chelsea’s last year and Loake’s Pimlico suede chukkas before the summer this year. Wondering if I make it a thing that every year I splurge on a really decent ($300+) pair and whether I should keep the trend of buying Made in England or be ok with looking further afield!? 🤔
I can only laugh when I hear people say one can only wear oxfords with suits. They speak with such confidence, as though the rule were derived from some a priori knowledge. It’s not a rule, and it hasn’t been for 75 years. Setting boots aside, the somehow “less dressy” derbies are absolutely fine with suits. It’s all in the styling of the shoe anyway, not in the shoe style. A blobby or mall-bought fake leather square toed oxford is not going to look as sharp as a sleek derby, Chelsea, or balmoral boot. Some purported rules are so dumb that they’re made for suckers. Oxfords with suits is one of them.
Yeah I bought some wingtip shoes a while ago for dressing up, but they're color 8 and just aren't as formal as these boots are, so they kind of don't get worn
The video is great like always. I just have 1 note - nobody outside of US cares if the boots/shoes are US made. You are saying it way too much for a channel that has over 1/3 viewers from outside the US.
It's a good point but I mean the number of seconds spent saying 'made in America' when 2/3 of viewers are from America... seems proportionate. Where did you see the 1/3 number?
I have the Elliot in black. I rarely wear them as the leather has a cheap look, to my eyes. I have black cap toes from Carlos Santos, and black Carmina Chelsea’s, and the leather is so superior, I have a hard time putting the Elliotts on. Just a word of warning. The black (or any color - I have them in brown suede as well) Carmina Chelsea’s I can’t recommend highly enough. Carlos Santos has good Chelseas too, if you don’t want to spend Carmina prices. I think Thursday’s and. Beckett Simonon look cheap and are disappointing. Spend more, regret less.
@@Stridewise Depends on the way you want to look but as a European and with today's quality, it is unfortunately true that you have to spend at least 700 for a very good pair. ( John Lobb, Edward Green, Trickers, Crocket & Jones, J.M Weston....Merci.)
Thursday Cadets are a great dressy boot. Also, the Allen Edmonds Park Ave Boots are now customizable with a wide variety of suede, leathers, including weatherproof leathers.
The Allen Edmonds cap toe Park Avenue SHOE is fantastic. Great leather that takes a spit shine with their shoe cream and a brush - just builds up a shine over time. Mine lastest 22 years WITHOUT having new soles or heels. They will rebuild the shoes if necessary. Called them to order some new shoes and shoe cream. They asked me for the model number printed inside the shoe to get a good match. The lady was stunned; the moc toe shoes were 23+ years old. All but my "rain shoes" are Allen Edmunds. My rain shoes are E.T. Wright (out of business) with rubber soles.
Love that you finally made this video. I remember messaging you a couple years ago about your thoughts on this subject. I ended up getting a pair of Meermin's at the time. Absolutely hated breaking them in. To this day I hardly ever wear them the leather is so stiff and uncomfortable. I have since picked up a couple pairs of Tafts, the Thursday Chelsea you mentioned, and couple Allen Edmonds. One shoe I really like that I got a couple of are the Thursday Cadets. I put thinner laces in them making them a little more dressy, but they are extremely comfortable and I get compliments on them all the time. Keep up the great content!!
Love to see Allen Edmonds getting some love here. Waiting for a sale to grab a pair of the Park Avenue Boot. Im currently eyeing Dark Chili color with a Dainite sole, either Red or Chestnut.
Same here. I have a pair of their olive suede cap toes and love them.
With one exception, I have found Meermin shoes to be a punishing break-in but some of my most comfortable boots after the break-in.
Which boot model do you own ? Looking at Meermin boots as well.
Don’t forget Ace Mark made in Italy they are one of the best and comfortable out of the box. Overall for me it’s Crockett and Jones ❤️
Boots and a suit is a favourite here in the UK and Australia, as you’ll know. RM Williams and a suit is a great look. I sometimes notice see the traditional balmoral style boot with a suit here in London, especially in winter.
Yes, chelseas and a suit is completely normal in Australia, where there's legit one boot company serving the entire continent haha
Been loving the discovery of Balmoral boots!
yeah I was shocked to hear boots with a suit was rare in other countries. probably also because there arent a lot of high quality dress shoe makers in australia either.
I think the Allen Edmond's Hamilton and Dalton a very dressy awesome boots. Got the AE Hamilton in brown Suede and dark chilli both weather proof... They are awesome. Chili is so a interesting and attractive of a color is that I even got the Dalton wingtips on this color too.
Thank you for the video.
The Dalton was on my first list of dress boots, but they're not blind eyelets, a rule I'm deciding is very immportant!
My dream pair of dress boots is a pair from Carmina. I’ve been eyeing their jodhpurs, Chelsea’s, and side zip boot.
Carmina are so good!
I own 4 of them, and they are my favorites dress boots. Far superior to anything else along the 500 to 1000 rice range.
Was surprised to not see any RMs on here at all! Signature Craftsman, Macquarie, Yearling boot. So many boots nicer than craftsmans 😂
They're just too expensive for what they offer. Here in the US, I mean. Plus you're naming Chelseas and Carmina just easily has RM beat for the silhouette
Fantastic video Nick. You know how much I love those Carminas, great to see them! You look great all dressed up too!
Yeah! I got pair of Meermin Jodhpur - and fuuug, it messes up my feet so hard. I could not even put those on my feet, it started tearing apart on sides (near those “triangles”. Even tho I used renovatour and saphir stretching spray. I’ll have to fix them after they will fully break in.
I have three pairs of Carmina Chelsea, don't compromise with quality.
I wear Dowlers with my suits and I have no doubt the Elliot is great. Glad to see others wearing boots with suits. I am the only person I know that does this. For me, it's funny: part of my initial motivation to get boots to wear semi-formally is that I had a few pair of dress pant separates that were just a tiny bit too short for shoes but look great with boots (I hate the 'flood' look, I need a break in the pants). Helped me keep the pant separates in rotation and then I just started wearing them with my real suits, too, because I like them so much better than shoes.
Can you comment on cap toes vs plain toes? Which is considered dressy, and why?
Carmina makes amazing balmoral boots as well
true!
I dig those thursday wings
Yeah they're neat
I was thinking why you hadn't mentioned Meermin, until you did!
They have boxcalf leathers which are much softer and don't require a break in.
They do have a deserved reputation for tough to break in footwear.
Me assuming box calf was such a specific kind of leather that you wouldn't have some that are hard to break in, some that are easy!
Great list. I have 2 pairs of Idrese. The chuka (black leather) and Magellan (brown leather). Both great boots to dress up or business casual.
I think Beckett Simonon’s Fonseca boots are closer to AE’s Park Ave boots than BS’s Elliot, imo.
Love the thumbnail! I'm not sure zoot suits are back in style yet, but maybe soon
Thanks, it came so easily!
The "Stacy Adams Madison" are missing...
iconic low budget dress-boot known from film & TV... Peaky Blinders, The Knick, Ryan Gosling...
Cobbler Union's Balmoral boot is what's up.
I have zero dress shoes, all my suits and formal casual wear are paired up with dress boots only, I made that style, it’s my taste and I’m looking fire with it! 🔥 can’t relate with low tops, sock showing, too short pants dangling, looking like Steve Urcle look, don’t care how traditional it’s been, I’ll f*ck around and probably set a trend lol
It is nice that the 'are my cuffs too short, are my socks showing, are the socks inconspicuous enough,' etc isn't a worry with dress boots. Which ones do you wear?
@@Stridewise Yup! Lol I’m glad you asked, so I own a Pair of Cramina Lloret balmoral boots light brown, also Crocket & Jones wing tip Cordovan hight top boots👌🏽 my favorite, C&J Roughed out suede Molton boots (the James Bond one you showed) C&J Conistone (black roughed out) high top boots, TLB Mallorca Artista museum calf wingtip boots, Custom made TLB black Oxford boot, Antonio Meccariello Proteo high boot 🔥, I’m lusting for Saint Crispin’s blue wingtip oxford boots, and one last pair to my collection Meccariello half suede top Venator oxford brown boots.
This is absolutely the goal I'm trying to achieve with my wardrobe. Good to see other folks taking the same road; I see a lot of stuff online discouraging the style, but there's simply nothing wrong with it if you do it thoughtfully.
@Stridewise - would love to see you guys do a review of the Schotts NYC Service Boot. Some say it's Chippewa's old line being done under a new name but produced in the USA due how similiar the services boots look compared to each other. I know Schotts Perfecto jacket is a big hit and they're well known for their leather, been really curious about their boots as they seem to just getting into it and it's a decent price at 299 if memory serves. Anyhow keep up the great work. [and yes, i know service boots arent great dress boots, just leaving the comment on a more recent boot vid ;) ]
Maaan, this is such a good list. So much good info 🫡.
Speaking of Idrese I’d love to see you review the Galahad, i don’t dress up a lot so it’s kind of a one and done grail dress boot for me.
I love my Red Wing Willistons in black featherstone leather. I bought them for my wedding and have been my formal go to boots since then. I don’t think they are available anymore though 😢
2:08 i hate those chisel point toes on my feet. fair warning to y'all out there. looks OK in a promo picture only
it depends, a lot of the time they just make the shoe longer than the foot so there are no toes in the pointy bit. a false end
the elliot from beckett simonon is my absolute FAVORITE pair of footwear i own. super sexy pair of boots.
You mention the Carmina Chelseas. What about the Comfort Craftsman? The black yearling looks rather dressy. & don't tell me nobody wears a suit with those.
I really like the BS Elliot Balmoral. I have a pair in black and a pair in tan. Their Fonseca boot is also beautiful, but I don't have any first hand experience. I have a low instep and the Elliot fits great. I'd be careful if you have a high instep/thick foot. The closed lacing might not close for you.
I have a weak ankle that is very badly pronated; so, it is Viberg service boots that are my dress footwear.
Is it possible to replace speedhooks with normal eyelets? I don't like how many companies put speedhooks on their dress boots.
Looks great👍
Personally my go to dressed up boot are my black engineers, as you cant see the shaft height and they give a Chelsea vibe.
Bold! They really taper that much?
@@Stridewise if you avoid a super slim leg they do, the trouser rests on top of the buckle so it’s visible but I think it’s a nice touch
How are the Beckett Simonon's Elliot boots constructed? I'm assuming not Goodyear welted at that price?
No, they're Blake
Good information
where is the rm william comfort craftman omg
Nope, it's less formal than Carmina. I said it!!!!!
Digging deep into the channels back catalogue at the minute and really enjoying / learning a lot. Picked up some Cheaney Tamar C’s country Chelsea’s last year and Loake’s Pimlico suede chukkas before the summer this year. Wondering if I make it a thing that every year I splurge on a really decent ($300+) pair and whether I should keep the trend of buying Made in England or be ok with looking further afield!? 🤔
I'd love to check out Cheaney and Loake, they've been on my to do list since day 1! Appreciate that you're diving deep on old videos :D
I can only laugh when I hear people say one can only wear oxfords with suits. They speak with such confidence, as though the rule were derived from some a priori knowledge. It’s not a rule, and it hasn’t been for 75 years. Setting boots aside, the somehow “less dressy” derbies are absolutely fine with suits. It’s all in the styling of the shoe anyway, not in the shoe style. A blobby or mall-bought fake leather square toed oxford is not going to look as sharp as a sleek derby, Chelsea, or balmoral boot. Some purported rules are so dumb that they’re made for suckers. Oxfords with suits is one of them.
Balmoral boots were made for suits more than 100 years ago
@@Torelel and?
I'm gonna spend me entire centrelink on them
The only type of footwear I use are sneakers and boots. I have not owned shoes for many years
Yeah I bought some wingtip shoes a while ago for dressing up, but they're color 8 and just aren't as formal as these boots are, so they kind of don't get worn
The video is great like always. I just have 1 note - nobody outside of US cares if the boots/shoes are US made. You are saying it way too much for a channel that has over 1/3 viewers from outside the US.
It's a good point but I mean the number of seconds spent saying 'made in America' when 2/3 of viewers are from America... seems proportionate. Where did you see the 1/3 number?
Cool
The secret To dress nice is in the intersection of the pants and shoes
I have the Elliot in black. I rarely wear them as the leather has a cheap look, to my eyes. I have black cap toes from Carlos Santos, and black Carmina Chelsea’s, and the leather is so superior, I have a hard time putting the Elliotts on. Just a word of warning. The black (or any color - I have them in brown suede as well) Carmina Chelsea’s I can’t recommend highly enough. Carlos Santos has good Chelseas too, if you don’t want to spend Carmina prices. I think Thursday’s and. Beckett Simonon look cheap and are disappointing. Spend more, regret less.
the only boots worth the attention are C&J and Carmina
I tried to do different price points, glad you liked the higher end ones!
What.... No RM's in the list..... hand over your passport. :P
Carmina and RMW are about the same price and Carmina easily wins for dressiness
Grant stone? Cmon man.
None with blind eyelets or closed lacing 🤷🏻♂️
Throw back a bottle of beer.
BANA NANA NA
Then run a comb through your cold black hair?
👌
First!
WOW!What an achievement! congrats! You must be Proud of yourself! 🎉
@@rockygabriel7096 thanks buddy 🤣
HE DID ITTTT
Sad 😔
ANY boot that's under 700$ is not worth it to be honest ( except Carmina ).
very funny that i get exactly as many comments saying anything over 300 i worth it
@@Stridewise Depends on the way you want to look but as a European and with today's quality, it is unfortunately true that you have to spend at least 700 for a very good pair. ( John Lobb, Edward Green, Trickers, Crocket & Jones, J.M Weston....Merci.)