The Shoe guide: New York City

It is widely known that the right ones can complete any outfit, and the wrong ones can break even the best ensemble. Done well, they can anchor the style of the wearer and provide them the platform they need to put their best foot forward. I'm talking about shoes, arguably the most important part of any gentleman's wardrobe.

A good pair of dress shoes should be classic, timeless and well built. It should have either a Blake or Goodyear welt that will allow it to withstand any test put in front of it, and not fall apart in 6 months. These types of welts describe how the shoe is constructed and stitched together, and by modern standards, they are very time-consuming, but essential to a well-constructed and high quality shoe. The shoes should be made out of good leather that can age beautifully the more you re-shine them. Additionally if properly taken care of, a good pair can last anywhere from 5 years to 10 years, perhaps even longer.

Shopping for a good pair of shoes in New York can be a daunting and tiresome task, especially when most boutiques offer cheap fast fashion shoes that will not last through your next winter. But luckily, we at DNY are here to help with a simple dress shoe guide to New York, depending on your budget.

Less than $200

Created in 2013, Jack Erwin is an online American brand that sells direct to the customer with no physical presence (bar a tiny fitting room in Tribeca), no middlemen and no agents. All this lends to a brand with little overhead and low prices, but good quality made in Spain products. The collection is fairly basic, with a number of Blake and Goodyear welted shoes that range from oxfords to derbies to chelsea boots. If you are looking for a good, cheap intro oxford, Jack Erwin has the shoes for you. https://www.jackerwin.com/

Another brand benefiting from the digital age is Meermin, a shoe brand based in the coastal town of Mallorca, Spain. They have a vast and exquisite collection of Goodyear welted classic shoes that are very reasonably priced for their high quality handmade products. Meermin makes a wide range of lasts (shape of the shoe) depending on the type of shoe and the formality/casualness of it, but they provide an easy guide to differentiate them all which you can find below. You really can't go wrong with any type of Meermin shoe, especially with their beautiful leather and suede oxfords. However, my only criticism is that their monkstraps tend to lean on the wider side of the spectrum, so they do not look as sleek. https://www.meermin.es

$200-$400

If you did not know already, we at Dapper New York are very big fans of Suit Supply, and I'm happy to say that that admiration extends to their handmade made in Italy shoe collection. Suit Supply follows the same model when it comes to their footwear as they do their tailoring, making use of the finest ingredients, leather in this case, and blending it with classic yet contemporary construction. Their shoe collection hovers in the mid-$200s and features over 20 tassel loafers and monkstraps, all beautifully constructed and ranging from casual suede to formal leather with everything in between. If you are yet to introduce tassel loafers into your arsenal, then I would highly recommend you choose Suit Supply as your brand of choice. http://us.suitsupply.com/en_US/shoes

A relative newcomer into the shoe market, and still fairly unknown, Septieme Largeur is a french brand with 3 stores in Paris, 2 more in Asia and a growing online presence (for those in New York, you can order the shoes online, similar to Meermin). Their shoe styles are classic and extremely elegant, favoring the narrower french style as opposed to some of the bulkier options. This lends itself to more formal and sleeker shoes, especially when it comes to their oxfords, monkstraps and boots. With prices in the high $200s, Septieme Largeur provides extremely good quality leather products with beautiful shapes and finishes. Additionally, if you are in the mood to splurge over $450, Septieme provides the customer with the opportunity to pick a blank pair of shoes and work with the shoe stylists to customize the patina (the color applied that changes in brightness across the shoe) that will be applied to the shoes, resulting in a unique one-of-a-kind product, as I did with a pair of jodhpur boots last year. http://www.septiemelargeur.fr

$400-$700

If you are looking for shoes within this range, then you are lucky to have a wide range of very good brands to choose from, so make sure you stay away from the over-priced cheaply-made products at offer at the big department stores (looking at you Hugo Boss and Ferragamo). A good place to start in the mid-$400s is Magnanni, a Spanish brand that has been hand-making their shoes in Almansa, Spain since 1954. Favoring longer toed and narrower shoes, Magnanni is definitely not for the faint of heart and demands a certain level of confidence to pull the shoes off, but if done right, there are very few things that look as sexy. In my opinion, they make some of the best looking chelsea boots on the ready-to-wear market, perhaps surpassed only by Edward Green (~$1500s). Some of their styles are very eccentric, so you might have to sift through a few different shoes to find the right pair, but if you lack a pair of good chelsea boots and are willing to go over the $400 bridge, then Magnanni is the brand for you. http://www.magnanni.com/

A little higher on the price range is Crockett & Jones, an English brand that has been making shoes in Northampton, UK since 1879, and forms the core of the Northampton shoe brands (known as the best shoemakers in the world) which has in its ranks Church's, John Lobb, Edward Green, and Gaziano & Girling to name a few. Suppliers of shoes to the last 4 James Bond movies, Crockett & Jones has a very large collection of shoes and lasts ranging from the low $600s to the high $900s, all Goodyear welted and handmade in their factory in Northampton. You really can't go wrong with any type of shoe from C&J, including their whole cut oxfords (the entire shoe is made from one piece of leather), their monkstraps (or monkstrap boots), and their full grain leather Islay boots (as made famous by Daniel Craig in the Scotland scene of Skyfall). C&J also has a very good series of videos on their website that show you all the stages of the shoe construction in their factory, which can be found here. https://www.crockettandjones.com

Braces, belt or no belt

To belt or not to belt, the eternal question that has plagued the greats over the years, from Greek philosophers, to Victorian nobility, to modern gentlemen alike. Well maybe not the Greek part. Many a sleep has been lost by gentleman all over the world, separated by great distances, but bound together by their mutual desire for answers.

Luckily, we here at DNY have put together a nifty little guide that may help make that daunting decision a little less difficult.

Braces

Better known as suspenders, braces were the method of choice for holding up trousers throughout the 1800s until the early 1920s, when they ran out of fashion. Because the tension is hanging from the shoulders, this leaves a smooth and elegant looking trouser front, and is more comfortable around the waist with no stress around the waistband. Additionally, it allows the shirt to tuck into your pants and stay there, without the bunching around the waist. Suspenders are also the method of choice when wearing Tuxedos, because one should never, ever wear a belt with a tuxedo, ever.

However, there are four main disadvantages of braces in our opinion. 
First, suspenders are best worn with high-waisted trousers, which help accentuate the legs and make a man taller. However, most men these days prefer medium to low-waisted pants, which doesn't suit the attachment of braces. 
Second, and more fundamental, braces are inherently showy and a little peacocky in this day and age. We at DNY preach a well dressed yet discreet look, one where fit, texture and subtle elegance play a more important role than showy antics. Additionally, unless you want to be known as the bowtie or suspender guy at work or you work in menswear, you only have a limited amount of stylistic capital in your workplace. Adding a linen or knit pocket square will expend some of that capital, an elegant knitted tie will use up the rest. Braces tend to use up all your capital for stylistic expression, and in some cases more than what you have.
Third, is that frankly put, braces don't look good exposed, so they are best hidden by a waistcoat (vest to the Americans) or jacket. Waistcoats have greatly fallen out of fashion, and men these days tend to take off their jackets most of the time, leaving the braces exposed.
The fourth and final reason, is that suspenders are not very practical. You have to pull them off to use the bathroom, and if you're wearing a sweater on top, then you will have to unbutton the braces to sit on the toilet.

Belts

A recent study showed that over 80% of Americans preferred belts over suspenders, a number not surprising since almost every American you see is normally sporting one. Popular during WWI and the subsequent decades as the waistcoat started to lose traction, belts are now a staple of the everyday wardrobe. They provide a simple and easy way to fasten up your trousers, keep them on your waist and your shirt tucked in. Additionally, they can be good to break up a causal non-matching pants and jacket look, and can help bring the outfit together.

There are many different shapes and forms of belts, that we will need another article to cover the basics of how to wear a belt. But suffice to say, when wearing a belt with a suit, it is essential to keep it minimal, thin, and clean with no embellishments or logos. You have more leeway with more casual trousers and denim, mixing up the texture and material. Also remember to loosely match the belt to your shoes, maintain the same color, but not the same texture (no one wants to see a croc belt with croc skin shoes).

However, the belt is not without it's flaws,  chiefly that it is uncomfortable to wear. It causes a lot of stress on your waist, is extremely uncomfortable to sit with, and has been shown to cause digestion issues. Additionally, belts leave the front of the trousers tight and scrunched up, and do not have the same cleanliness as braces or no belts.

No belt

The cleanest and most DNY-approved way to wear your trousers is to go beltless. This allows the pants to sit cleanly on your waist, without the stress on your stomach or your trouser front. Going without a belt gives the wearer an elegant sleek look, letting the jacket flow seamlessly into the trousers. From our experience, this makes a suit or pants-jacket outfit look much more put together. Additionally, the look also works well for high waisted as well as low waisted pants.

Not wearing a belt can take two forms, unassisted and side adjusters. Unassisted means that the waist of the pants fits just right, that you do not need a belt, brace or side adjusters to keep them up. It either requires you to have a flat stomach or to pay your favorite tailor a visit and have your trousers altered just right. The downside of this method is that the wearer does not have much leeway for weight fluctuation or big meals.

Whoever invented side adjusters should be awarded a medal, since they are an extremely practical way to wear pants, while allowing the wearer the ability to tighten or loosen the trousers as the day goes by. Side adjusters, as the name implies, are pieces of extra fabric attached to the side of the pants with a hook, that can be tightened if needed. There are other less common shapes side adjusters can take like an elastic band across the waistband that can be buttoned in several spots. Side adjusters offer the cleanliness and elegance of going beltless, while still offering the flexibility of weight fluctuation and lower maintenance of the trousers.

Despite that, finding trousers with side adjusters is not very common, often restricted to made to measure or bespoke offerings, so this option limits the types of trousers you have access to. However, I have heard of success stories where talented tailors have been able to take extra fabric from the trousers (normally when the pants are hemmed) and makeshift side adjusters, so that's worth a try if you have access to a good tailor.

A Gentleman's Wager, brought to you by Johnny Walker

I knew I had to make up this long hiatus with something good, something worthwhile. Jude Law, the elegantly dressed Englishman alongside the ever-enchanting Italian Mr. Giancarlo Giannini, on top of an exquisite, rare, and handcrafted Italian yacht - two gentleman enjoying a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue Label limited edition. What better way to herald my blogging comeback than to share with you this image of this dapper duo, who don't let anything get in the way of a little adventure and a little gentlemanly wager.

I was never a Johnny Walker fan, but I think with this commercial, they might be wooing me over.