THE PERFECT DRESS SHOE COLLECTION | A TRIO OF SHOE PERFECTION 

Not sure if I've said before but my great grandfather from Wales only had two pairs of shoes in the 60s and 70s. Both were full wingtip oxford brogues, one in black and one in chestnut brown. Both were hand made bespoke for him in London as he had very small feet. Those two pairs saw him through everything.

"...help you look really smart when you are heading out for a funeral..." The lines crack me up lol. Great content thanks!

Your taste and care for quality footwear is quite inspiring. I am 65% of the time ashamed for myself in this department. BUT, I have set a course towards improvements. Thanks Ash.

Great suggestions, I have a burgundy brogue oxford pair myself, wear them with both jeans and a suit. Although I call the lacing style on your chestnut colored pair a "blucher" style because, at least for me, a derby is the style where the flaps touch the bottom of the shoe like on a chukka boot. Keep up the amazing job!! : )

An excellent video and beautiful shoes. My favourite is the dark burgundy semi-brogue. I always had a pair of burgundy shoes for the same reasons you mentioned. Well-polished shoes make ALL the difference, I remembered being complimented several times for my beautifully-polished shoes. My mother used to say that well-polished shoes are the hallmark of an elegant man and I believe she was right. Regards.

That is a dapper peacoat! I have yet to add one to my wardrobe, but hopefully soon

Great. Mirror shines are almost never seen in the US any more. I have had people sk, "How do you do that?" or "What is that" even. Everyone who notices it loves it. You make more distinctions between shoe types that is done in the US. Many people see a wingtip as the pinnacle - a shoe that had full broguing. Cap toes are very rare though not quite extinct. Great video.

These are all excellent dress shoe choices, which taken together, can fit the bill with just about any outfit, for any occasion. I find myself wearing brown shoes far more frequently than black, and I have to admit that I am rather partial to a bit of broguing on them as well.

Good choices, Ash! Let me give my personal top three shoes. These certainly aren't for everybody - you did that job just fine. My top pick is a pair of opera pumps. Aside from being the perfect shoe for white and black tie, I actually quite like the look for cocktail suits, similar to Frank Sinatra. It fits my dandyish style. I even wear them with a blazer and slacks from time to time. My number two is a pair of dark brown derbies. I love the look and wear it with brown, tweed, beige, and pretty much any suit that isn't dark. Finally, I'd pick a pair of white bucks. They're a great summer shoe, especially with my fondness of white and seersucker suits. No other shoes will quite do for me.

Yes, the peacoat looks really good! I too wear them a lot and currently have three in my wardrobe (Private White & Gloverall). I also like the orange submariner roll neck and matching notebook.

Thank you for your advice Ash. Well done.

*_I'm second!_* I have never though about much! I have three pairs of brogues shoes, one the cap and heel is black and rest is brown, wing and decorated _what ever that's called_ And a fourth pair plain black capped Oxfords and a three buckle light brown monk, and a pair of _American_ loafers!

Good day Ash. I’ve only recently found your channel. I’ve really enjoyed what I’ve seen so far and am looking forward to watching your older videos. I have my trusty old John Lobb’s for formal and Trickers for when I’m in the country but you’ve inspired me to look at finally adding to my foot wear. Perhaps a pair of Gaziano and Girling or maybe Carmina. Keep up the good work.

All very good and versatile informal and formal dress shoe choices. I’ve only once worn formal wear in my life but have worn my lounge suits more frequently.

Brilliant video Ash. I often get asked how many pairs of shoes I own. And the response always raises an eyebrow or two. It's very hard when I see a slightly different colour or style to resist buying. Mostly from ebay or Abbots etc. Great choice of "the three" I love brouges and have more of them than the Oxfords etc. And all with a bit of effort shine like a mirror. Looking forward to the next video.

Some really well thought through choices. Very practical having at least one Danite sole in the collection. Living on the edge of the Lake District I have several a similar angle of styles across the formality range with Danite soles as so much more practical and harder wearing when the weather is wet. Another advantage of Goodyear welted shoes is that a good independent cobbler can change sole types when replacing the soles - I had an identical shoe to the cap to Oxford in the video (bought on eBay for a pittance due as it had been badly resoled) to a Danite sole earlier in the year and it has come out really nicely.

Good shoe advice Ash. Really like the Orange submariner sweater look great with the blue pea coat. I wore my dad's navy pea coat out when I was in high school. I am looking for another one as they are classic style and look sharp. Thanks Ash! Cheers Ron

Excellent advice as usual, thank you! I was sceptical of your assessment of the leather soled, cap toe, Oxford. However, after a moment’s thought, I realised that I had only worn mine once in the past few years, whereas my Dainite soled, cap toe Oxford’s get almost daily wear, with my brogued cap toe Oxfords coming a close second.

Thanks old chap.nice selection

Nice video Ash. All of the shoes 👞 are very nice and fashionable for the gentleman.

I’ve already got some black cap-toe oxfords in my closet for the rare formal occasion, and intend to buy some suede chukkas for fall and winter - however, that dark burgundy looks awfully appealing as well. In school I had some burgundy oxfords and loafers, and I loved the color - whenever I put them on I started humming the Elvis Costello song “The Angels want to wear my red shoes.” Come to think of it I’ll have to check out the Thursday Boots website and see what they’ve got.

Just a moment! There is quite literally nothing better than a black cap-toe oxford with a flannel, gray suit. Quite literally perfect.

Good on you. This was a brilliant video on gentleman style. Thank you.

My first 3, all by Loake. Black pair of Oxfords with a leather sole (To wear with a suit), Tan pair Brogue shoes with a leather sole (Smart Casual - Jeans, shirt and sports jacket etc) and a pair of brown brogue boots with a rubber dainite sole (Everyday casual). I later added (both by Clarks) blue& brown boaters for the summer and a brown pair of driving mocs just for smart casual wear while in the house (My casual indoor shoes, Day Glow Green Crocs just don't quite go with with my fitted Gieves & Hawkes blazer ;)

Interesting discussion. I have Church's Shoes in tan and brown. The are cap toe oxfords, medallion toe oxford and wing tip oxford. I have two black cap toe oxfords. I have two pair of white bucks; a wing tip oxford and white derby. Plenty to choose there for any occasion. (My brother gave away my burgundy set!). Thank you again. Shoes are great. Just need to go places and wear them.

Another great video

Great quality vid Ash. Lovely shoes. Starlight

Excellent suggestions sir! My only caveat would be in the area of 'black tie' and only in the strictest sense (not necessarily do or die) of not having any broguing of any kind visible on your plain or cap toe oxfords. Picky of course but I thought it prudent to mention even knowing that you already know! BTW, smashing peacoat/orange combo, well done.

Burgundy split toe Derby - think Edward Green Dover - has been versatile for me from navy suit to jeans and everything in between. I was once told its not how many shoes or how much you spend but how you care for your shoes that sets you apart.

I love your selection. Those are 3 wonderful shoes.

Great advice!

I am only starting my journey and have smart casual clothing as I don't have any occasion (yet) to wear anything smarter. With that being said, my three shoes would be smart suede trainers in dark brown, chukka boots in a mid or snuff brown, and double monks in slightly lighter brown to burgundy if I wanted to get a _little_ fancy like for a nice date. Chukka can be switched out for Jodphur or dress boots, though.

Bellissime calzature ,di grande qualita' e eleganza . Un saluto dall' Italia .

Love the orange North Sail Strange that I only like Brogue style shoes in Brown shades and never in black

Tricky to narrow it down to 3. If we are saying shoes only (given I spend most of the cold half of the year in Trickers or Loake boots) I think I’d pick the black cap toe Oxford - though if I owned a quarter brogue it could be there. Then I love the Loake 1880 Chester, which I have in about five colour/sole combinations. At the moment it would be the dark brown Chromexcel pair with the Dainite sole. Can be dressed up or down - and would work with jeans, though I don’t wear them often. In the middle I have a lovely and quite old pair of dark brown Barkers - semi brogues derby on leather soles which are quite formal, but as comfortable as a slipper. On their third sole now but have walked around many of the big cities of Europe in them, and they are very special for me!

Semi brogue in suede . ‘Kensington’ by Trickers . The business. Thanks 🙏 for the video .

Very smart shoes.I still see those horrible square toed cheap shoes on guys of my age over 60! Your choice of shoes would make them so much smarter! It’s definitely worth investing in quality shoes!

Hoping to add a Wingtip Oxford and Suede Derby. Not sure what affordable and decent brands to look for though. Allen Edmonds is too pricy for me unfortunately. Another excellent topic!

More shoe content!

I do wonder if a rather more versatile 3 pair collection would instead be the black cap toes, the fully brogued rich tan Danite soled shoes plus a pair of burgundy penny loafers. Some trousers crease when I sit to tye up shoe laces and sometimes I'm in too much of a rush for carefully matching lace lengths and tying a balanced bow. So one pair of slip on shoes that remain a smart choice can be beneficial. They look good complimenting a light weight suit at events such as drinks receptions.

I rarely wear a true dress shoe these days but I have one pair of Loakes 1880s - like the one on the right in this vid, but in black rather than tan/burgundy. (Matter of fact: I just gave 'em the 'full Ashley' this week - cleaned, stripped the old wax layers with Saphir Réno Mat, nourished the leather with Renapur, polished with Saphir creme noir 1925, and for good measure gave 'em a last layer in Loake's luxury beeswax polish!😎)

I always make sure they are *Goodyear Welted* I've have the same (sort off - different brands) that Ash is displaying! But mine are all made in Italy and glued _(yuck)!_ Except my black capped Oxford (Made in NZ)!

I am in the same situation as yourself however I do believe that when it came to the visit with Royalty I would have went with my plain cap toe out of total respect for His Royal Majesty . The Qtr Brouge is a less serious shoe , one that I wear as a “play shoe” until it is necessary to wear the plain toe. And I do believe that it’s initial purpose in design is to be such. View it this way, on the Formality scale a a cap toe Oxford is right beneath a whole cut and on the opposite end going through a few degrees lays the full brouge oxford which is pretty much an athletic dress shoe.

I'm lazy so both my dress shoes are a pair of black Chelsea boots and brown loafers from Will's Vegan shoes.

Excellent video..let me compliment you on your orange roll neck...in the states we call it a turtleneck....enjoy the weekend with your family..peace

Burgundy shoes are *awesome* - as you said: they go with practically *everything.* *I* would have chosen a black cap-toe Oxford as the most formal shoe but mostly because I *really* dislike wholecut shoes - which are sometimes considered "more dressy" than the cap-toe - chiefly for two reasons: they are *annoyingly* hard to make (granted, that would also be a mark of quality, but I'm the bloke who *had to make a pair...* trust me, it's not fun, theoretically simple and then it gets horrible... ) and on top of that *look boring* ! It is chiefly towards the less formal scale of the selection that my choices vary - I also have several pairs of black cap-toe Oxfords, I have a lot of half and wing-tipped brogue Oxfords (incidently poking some fun at "Kingsmen") for the middle of formality, but I also have three two pairs of double monk straps in Burgundy, Navy (not as useful as I expected, they mostly collect dust...) and light brown, several (heck, I don't even know just *how* many on the top of my head...) Derbies, some of them (actually a lot of them) in half-brogue some plain like my three pairs of self-made work-shoes... well, wouldn't call them Derby, they are by connotation and *utter lack of flair* more of a set of slightly varying Bluchers, though I don't own a single full-brogue for some weird reason... So I would add a couple monk-straps or double monk-straps to the informal end of things, on roughly the same level as a Derby I feel. I love mine though I know they are not for everyone. Maybe contrasting or complementing laces - a very nice thing to have on everything but the most formal of shoe, I dial up the contrast the less formal the shoes gets. And there is of course always the question of weather I should get a pair of "co-respondent shoes"... when I though of them as "Spectators" I was more inclined to get a pair (heck, I *built* something very similar at one point...).🤣 For shine, as I mentioned sometime before, I'm lazy and deploy Saphir's Mirror Gloss for minimum-effort shininess (that is a word?!)... (On a minor side note: you look stunning in full morning dress!) Best regards Raoul G. Kunz

I’ve been watching your videos recently and find your style tips very helpful. I work in pharmaceuticals and find the dress code usually doesn’t get to the formality level of a full suit and tie, so I have been trying to find some good jacket/trouser combinations that can be worn. Which color combinations would you recommend for semi smart dress?

I just got another cap toe, but this pair the cap toe is bigger or the line goes a further up. Does that make a difference and in the same brand (ToBoot) this pair is about a half size larger.

great shoes... like a mirror :)

Hi Ash, when mirror polishing a brogue cap toe, does one include the brogue or stop short of it? That submariner sweater is a perfect match with a pea coat. I like the upward peak in the North Sea Deck hat is like a brogue on a watchcap. Sadly their shipping is 2x the cost of the hat so I can't be a customer.

Good afternoon sirs, it is a bit chilly today.

Got 3 loake 1880s Quarter brogue Cap toe Black Fleet Half brogue Cap Toe Burgundy Strand Full brogue Wingtip Tan Buckingham 🤗

Ash, what is your opinion about Norvegese alias Split Toe Derby made from Scotch Grain Leather and with Dainite Soles or even Vibram Soles? For example C&J Hardwick or Denver.

I've become a bit of a dandy and starting wearing Jeffery West Classic Wing Gibson shoes in aubergine

Are your wing tips Bluchers or Derbys? From what I read a Blucher has a thin strip of leather whereas a Derby has two pieces of leather sewn to the vamp.

I have to ask where did you purchase those quarter brogue and semi brogue oxfords?

whats that website that creates custom color, brogue, and spectator traditional shoes?

Question please, Are there purple tones in your burgundy? What saphir you use? Thanks

Hello Sr. I have a question: I don't have any navy blue in my shoe collection at the moment and I am planning to get one or 2 pairs. Would you suggest a cap toe oxford or adelaide? Thank you!

Just seems like everything is so casual these days

as an American, allow me to add something- a high quality pair of smart shoes will say "Made in England" on them.

So... is it ok to wear black captoe oxfords with black tie?

Are the forms of these brands confortable enough for the big toes ?

Quarter brogue to meet royalty...you rebel

Mr Ash I'm 70 yrs old I can't bend to tie my shoes, I can only wear slip on shoes, any suggestions on dress slip on dress shoes?

I have difficulty agreeing that a blucher should be called a Derby. Techincally it is not.

IS that first shoe a Loake 1880?

Might have missed the brand but are they all Loake? 👍🙄

Adelaide > quarter brogue, any day all day long.

awz

I was first yo!

Im not your normal guy i have 100 pairs of shoes gucci , church , Loake etc 😊

I don't see the point of brogues. I only wear dress leather shoes for formal occasions.