A round here we like to say that shoes are the secret weapon of style, and no type of shoe is more dapper than a well-made pair of dress shoes.
Whether you’re stepping into a business-casual boardroom, dressing up for a semi-formal event, or just trying to punch up your personal style profile, the right pair of dress shoes can help elevate your entire look.
Unfortunately, finding the right pair of shoes is a lot harder than it used to be.
[image: Shutterstock / Velimir Zeland]
The world of men’s shoes has exploded in recent years, and today it’s easier than ever to find traditional men’s dress shoes at a wide variety of price points.
But while the sheer quantity of men’s shoe brands has exploded, not all of them offer the same level of quality.
Some of the most popular brands offer shoes that look great but fall apart after just a few hours of wear, while some of the best brands offer exceptional quality, but have trouble getting their name out there.
To help you find the best dress shoes to suit your budget, tastes and personal sense of style, we’ve rounded up the best men’s dress shoes brands and divided them into a handful of categories, including the big-name luxury brands worth shelling out for, the stylish-but-cheap brands that get the job done, and damn near everything in between.
At a Glance↓
We’ll go into more detail below, but here’s a quick rundown of our favorite dress shoe brands in each category:
- Overall Best Value Brand: Beckett Simonon
- Best Luxury Brand: Church’s
- Runner Up: Kingsman
- Best-Value Italian Brand: M.Gemi
- Best Dress-Shoe/Sneaker Hybrid Brand: Wolf & Shepherd
- Runner Up: Amberjack
- Best Cheap Option: Marc Nolan
- Runner Up: Bruno Marc
Overall Best Value Brand: Beckett Simonon
Runner Up: Ted Baker
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Best Luxury Brand: Church’s
Runner Up: Kingsman
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Best Italian Brand: M.Gemi
Runner Up: Bruno Magli
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Best Dress-Shoe/Sneaker Hybrid Brand: Wolf & Shepherd
Runner Up: Amberjack
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Best Cheap Option: Marc Nolan
Runner Up: Bruno Marc
Who Wrote This Article
Irreverent Gent Founder and Editor-in-Chief Dave Bowden has been a service journalist for more than a decade.
His style advice and menswear recommendations have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine, and Men’s Health, among many other outlets.
How We Determined Which Brands Are Best
Aesthetics & Visual Appeal
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Quality & Craftsmanship
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Comfort
& Support
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For us, the best dress shoe brands are ones that offer the right combination of sharp style, comfortable support, high quality and strong value.
The main criteria we used to assess each brand below were the aesthetics and visual appeal of their offerings; the quality of their materials and construction; and the level of comfort provided by their midsoles and insoles, all of which we compared to their respective price points to get a sense of whether or not they offer good value for money.
We then divided the brands into categories that make it easier to compare apples to apples, and chose one top performer and one runner-up from each category.
To learn more about how we rate and review products, check out our product review and roundup policy here.
The World’s Top Dress Shoe Brands for Men
Breaking Down the Best Men’s Dress Shoe Brands for Every Budget, Style & Comfort Level
The Best Value Men’s Dress Shoe Brands
Choosing the overall best dress shoe brands is highly subjective, and depends on everything from your style preferences and tastes to your budget and interest in cobbling.
But choosing the best value brands is a little more objective.
These are the brands that offer style, craftsmanship, and quality at levels that exceed their respective price points, resulting in the most bang for your buck.
Overall Best-Value Dress Shoe Brand ↓
Beckett Simonon
Beckett Simonon is our top pick for best overall value, and with good reason:
They offer an unbeatable combination of high quality and affordable prices.
They operate on a direct-to-consumer (DTC) model, which allows them to offer high-quality shoes that are comparable to what you’d expect from luxury brands, but come with (much!) more budget-friendly price tags.
Established in response to fast fashion and its associated issues, the brand stands out by using a made-to-order approach, ensuring less waste and promoting sustainable production.
Beckett Simonon shoes are handcrafted using premium full-grain leather and employ traditional construction methods like the Blake stitch, signifying durability and attention to detail.
What sets Beckett Simonon apart is their emphasis on ethical manufacturing, with factories upholding high labor standards and ensuring fair treatment of workers.
By blending classic styles like monk straps, derby shoes and chelsea boots with exceptional craftsmanship and ethical principles, Beckett is a trustworthy choice for dress shoes that are both stylish and conscientiously made.
I tried their Dean oxford shoe and put together an in-depth Beckett Simonon review, which you should check out if you’re still on the fence about made-to-order shoes.
(Spoiler alert: three years later they’re still my favorite dress shoes, and well worth it, in my opinion.)
Runner Up ↓
Ted Baker
Ted Baker is a British luxury clothing retail company, originally renowned for its contemporary take on men’s shirting.
But the brand has expanded its sartorial offerings over the years, establishing a significant presence in the world of men’s dress shoes.
While their fashion is known for its quirky details, vibrant patterns, and quality craftsmanship, their footwear offerings are a little more down-the-middle, striking a nice balance between timeless elegance and contemporary design.
Their shoe offerings aren’t nearly as vast or varied as Beckett Simonon’s, but they earned the Runner Up position on our Best Value list thanks to their excellent combination of good quality and low prices.
They’re a good place to turn if you’re looking for an affordable pair of everyday wear shoes.
But if you’re specifically looking for more sophisticated dress shoes that you can wear to formal occasions like weddings or funerals, I recommend going with Beckett or one of the luxury mens dress shoe brands listed below.
Other High-Value Options ↓
Allen Edmonds
Vince Camuto
Taft
Meermin
Johnston & Murphy
Check Out Johnston & Murphy ➤
The Best Luxury Men’s Dress Shoe Brands
A lot of luxury fashion houses happen to be from Italy, and could technically be included in either our Best Luxury Brands section, or the Best Italian Brands section below.
To keep things clean, we’ve opted to include any Italian brands in the section below, so this section is best understood as the best non-Italian luxury dress shoe brands.
Overall Best ↓
Church’s
A quintessentially British brand, Church’s has been a stalwart in the world of luxury footwear since its inception in 1873.
Nestled in the heart of Northampton, a region renowned for its shoemaking heritage, Church’s melds traditional craftsmanship with innovative techniques to produce shoes that are timelessly designed, and unparalleled in quality and construction.
It was bought by Prada back in 1999, causing shoe purists to worry that the corporate takeover would lead to skimping on quality and construction.
But the brand has maintained its reputation for excellence thanks to its meticulous attention to detail, use of premium materials, and a manufacturing process that involves hundreds of individual operations.
Each pair of Church’s shoes undergoes a rigorous process, ensuring longevity, comfort, and a distinctive aesthetic, all of which more than justifies the higher price range.
Their adherence to classic styles combined with a commitment to excellence makes them not only one of the best men’s shoe brands in the world, but one of the most sought after.
Runner Up ↓
Kingsman
While Church’s is one of the OG British dress brands, our runner up is one of the newest players on the scene.
(And arguably rose to fame by evoking old-school brands like Church’s.)
Founded in conjunction with the 2014 movie of the same name, Kingsman is the fashion line that offers mainstream versions of the Bespoke-inspired (and dashing as hell) clothes worn by the likes of Colin Firth and Taron Egerton in the film.
Like the titular spies, the brand is meant to epitomize British sophistication and style, and their dress shoes certainly fit the bill.
Meticulously crafted – often in collaboration with longstanding heritage shoemakers – Kingsman shoes are a blend of traditional craftsmanship and cinematic flair.
Most blockbuster movie tie-in campaigns consist of cheaply made paraphernalia that should only be worn on the floors of comic convention halls, not formal events or serious business meetings.
But the Kingsman brand’s attention to detail, premium materials, and timeless designs make them a genuine testament to classic British shoe artistry, and a great addition to any wardrobe.
Our (Other) Favorite Luxury Brands ↓
Tom Ford
Edward Green
Christian Louboutin
Check Out Christian Louboutin ➤
Crockett & Jones
Check Out Crockett & Jones ➤
Blackstock & Weber
Check Out Blackstock & Weber ➤
The Best Italian Dress Shoe Brands
A quick note before we dive in:
Italy is well known for making exceptional dress shoes, but their output isn’t limited to formal attire.
Below are our favorite dress shoe brands, but check out our full round up of the best Italian shoe brands to find brands that offer everything from slip-on shoes and slides to sneakers, boots and everything in between.
Overall Best ↓
M.Gemi
M.Gemi is a direct-to-consumer luxury footwear brand that makes Italy’s rich shoemaking traditions available to the masses.
Founded with the ethos of marrying Italian craftsmanship with modern innovation, M.Gemi collaborates directly with family-owned workshops across Italy, which helps ensure that each pair captures the essence of age-old techniques while catering to contemporary tastes.
What sets M.Gemi apart is its commitment to artisanal quality at accessible price points.
By releasing limited batches of shoes and sidestepping traditional retail markups, the brand offers fresh releases – including everything from a new spin on traditional penny loafers to more traditional formal shoes – while maintaining impeccable standards.
This unique approach to luxury, coupled with the timeless appeal of Italian leather and craftsmanship, makes them a great choice for guys who want made-in-Italy dress shoes that blend tradition, style, and value.
Runner Up ↓
Bruno Magli
While M.Gemi is one of a new crop of DTC brands bringing traditional Italian shoemaking into the modern era, Bruno Magli is more old school – like, nearly 100 years old.
Tracing its roots back to a small basement in Bologna, where it was founded in 1936, Bruno Magli started as a family venture that’s evolved into one of Italy’s premier shoe brands.
Renowned for its artisanal approach, Bruno Magli has carved out a well-earned reputation for themselves thanks to their meticulous attention to detail and the unparalleled level of quality and craftsmanship that goes into each pair of their shoes.
More Shoes with Sprezzatura ↓
Salvatore Ferragamo
Check Out Salvatore Ferragamo ➤
Nisolo
Gucci
Tod’s
Scarosso
Magnanni
Ace Marks
The Most Comfortable Dress Shoe Brands
Menswear has gotten both more casual and more athletic over the past decade or so, and the trend has even infiltrated dress shoes.
Nowadays some of the best men’s dress shoes are hybrids that combine the sharp toe shape and quality leather of a traditional oxford with the cushioning and bounce of a performance sneaker.
The brands below are all good options if your definition of a great dress shoe is one that offers style and support in equal measure.
Overall Best ↓
Wolf & Shepherd
Another direct-to-consumer brand, Wolf & Shepherd scores high marks for their unique combination of innovation, style and comfort.
They specialize in blending the elegance of Italian dress shoes with the comfort of athletic sneakers, resulting in some of the overall most comfortable dress shoes on the market.
(Although it’s worth noting that their shoes are probably best thought of as casual dress shoes, since the chunky soles give them a distinctly athletic vibe.)
Founded by a former college athlete who noticed that a lot of professionals were sacrificing comfort for formality, the brand ingeniously integrates the supportive rubber soles of sneakers with the svelte toe shape and premium leather uppers you’d normally find on luxury dress shoes.
Their flagship dress shoe, the Crossover Longwing – designed in collaboration with Steve Nash – combines a removable insole made from cushy memory foam with a full-grain Italian calfskin upper, resulting in arguably the most comfortable men’s dress shoes on the market, and a damn-near perfect blend of comfort and sophistication.
I tried out a few different pairs of shoes for my full Wolf & Shepherd review, and was pretty impressed by the level of comfort they provided.
Check it out to see my full list of pros and cons, and find out how they held up after a few weeks of heavy wear.
Runner Up ↓
Amberjack
Like Wolf & Shepherd, Amberjack specializes in shoes that combine style and comfort.
Their flagship dress shoe, The Original, is a classic-looking and comfortable shoe that combines A-grade full grain leather and sheepskin lining with a dual-function athletic outsole and heat-activated insole.
As a result, they’re not only some of the most comfortable dress shoes on the market, but stylish enough to pair with a wide variety of dress pants, blue jeans, chinos and khakis.
One of the best things about the Original is that it has a lower heel profile than the Wolf & Shepherd Longwings, so even though they offer a ton of arch support and comfort, they’re a little more formal looking.
That’s great because it makes them easier to pull off with a suit or other formal attire for special occasions, without sacrificing the supportive fit.
Best of the Rest ↓
Cole Haan
Clarks
The Best Cheap Dress Shoe Brands for Men
Let’s face it: a lot of the best dress shoe brands are also the most expensive dress shoe brands, and the brands below frankly pale in comparison to the quality offered by the brands above.
So if you’re a stickler for things like 100% full-grain leather and hand-crafted construction, then you’re going to have to pay for the privilege.
BUT! (Yes, there’s a but—and it’s Jennifer Lopez-sized.)
Just because a shoe is made affordably doesn’t mean it has to be made poorly.
The brands below may not have the same pedigree as the ones above, but if you’ve only got 100 bucks to spend on a pair of dress shoes, these are your best options.
Overall Best ↓
Marc Nolan
Marc Nolan isn’t nearly as well known as some of the other cheap dress shoe brands you commonly find on Amazon.
Which is a shame, because they offer some of the most stylish and all around best comfortable dress shoes in the sub-200 dollar price range.
Their mission is to offer good-looking and high-quality kicks that won’t break the bank, which they’re able to do by cutting out the middleman (like the aforementioned Amazon) and selling directly to consumers through their own website.
But it’s not just about affordability.
The brand genuinely values style, comfort and durability, ensuring that each pair feels as good as it looks.
They offer a wide variety of shoe styles that can fit just about every dress code, including everything from dress boots and boat shoes to a classic bit loafer and a unique take on the traditional monk strap shoe.
By blending classic aesthetics with modern functionality and an affordable price, they’ve become one of the best options for guys who want to expand their shoe collection without expanding their debt load.
Runner Up ↓
Bruno Marc
Bruno Marc is one of those brands that always shows up in the top results when you search for shoes on Amazon.
They don’t have the heritage – or anywhere near the quality – of some of the centuries-old shoemakers listed above, but what they lack in pedigree they make up for in both affordability and style.
While they may not compete with high-end luxury brands in terms of craftsmanship and longevity, Bruno Marc offers a commendable balance of style, comfort, and affordability, making them a good choice for budget-conscious guys who want good-looking dress shoes that won’t break the bank.
More Cheapies Worth Considering ↓
Stacy Adams
Ferro Aldo
Florsheim
FAQ
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