The start of September marks the end of the summer holidays and the shift from casual holiday footwear to autumn formal shoes for men. Sorry…I feel like a party pooper, but the truth is, summer is over. It’s time to get serious and align the back-to-school mentality with your back to work mode.
The change of season is also the ideal time to take an inventory of your current shoe stock when you consider whether you need a refresh or feel you are lacking a certain style. It can be difficult though to make that autumn shoe assessment if you do not know what is available. Here are five classic autumn formal shoe styles for your consideration.
Steeped in history and the formal shoe of choice for so many of our customers, the Oxford’s elegant eyelet configuration gives this shoe style a sleek appeal. They are very smart and have long been the go-to shoe for formal occasions or in the professional workplace. The Rodington is a stunning example of an Oxford with stitching detail to emulate a toe cap without the bulk of a step in the leather from toe to vamp. This is a seriously gorgeous shoe.
The loafer is a summer favourite but it’s also a style that can be worn throughout the colder months. Just add socks! This perennial slip-on classic is perfect in a myriad of scenarios and can take you from the office to a social occasion with ease. New for this season, the brown suede Charlton (we have a leather version too) is an English-made penny loafer classic, plus the Dunham II (below).
The lacing mechanism also defines the Derby shoe. The closing panels are sewn on top of the vamp to allow for more room for a higher instep or for wider feet. Often a more rugged design, we think the Carroll bucks the trend as an elegant Derby. It has a plain front, sleek toe and slender closing panels. It’s definitely more city slicker than rural gent.
It takes one piece of flawless leather to make a wholecut shoe. You need to see them to believe them! Such exemplary craftsmanship must be celebrated as the wholecut is one of the hardest shoes to make. The Chaucer has long been our wholecut bestseller. It is stunning. It is the perfectly flawless formal shoe.
Buckles have replaced laces for this style. Thought to be a derivative of the closed-toed buckled sandals worn by monks, they have come a long way and can look very stylish. We think the Fitzrovia is as far away from a sandal as you can get! This is a high-quality shoe made on the elegant 460 last shape and hand-patinated in the Carlos Santos factory.
All the styles I have highlighted above are designed to be repaired. These shoes are Goodyear-welted so the sole can be easily removed and replaced by your local cobbler. This makes these styles sustainable in a world where throw-away fashion has made its mark on our landfill sites. If you take care of them, these shoes will blissfully mould to your feet as you wear them for many autumns to come, and you can simply replace the soles when you have worn them out. All these styles are classics too that should not date.
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The Wildsmith selection of loafers is excellent