How much to spend on shoes

[Kulkulcan]

I’m about to take delivery of a bespoke suit in a month or so. I’m looking to buy some new dress shoes as well and curious… Is there a rule of thumb as to how much to spend on the shoes compared to the price of the suit?

 

[breakaway01]

I've never heard of any rule of thumb like this.

But -- if you're talking 'real' bespoke where a pattern is made for you in the range of $5000-8000 for a suit, then for ready-to-wear shoes you're in the range of Crockett & Jones handgrade up to Edward Green or John Lobb. So somewhere around $1-2K retail. There are also bespoke shoe makers out there of course.

 

[Kulkulcan]

I've never heard of any rule of thumb like this.

But -- if you're talking 'real' bespoke where a pattern is made for you in the range of $5000-8000 for a suit, then for ready-to-wear shoes you're in the range of Crockett & Jones handgrade up to Edward Green or John Lobb. So somewhere around $1-2K retail. There are also bespoke shoe makers out there of course.

That’s what I’m thinking… 20% of the bespoke suit costs towards shoes. Thx.

 

[breakaway01]

It’s not so much a price ratio as it is a rough quality comparison, though of course take ‘quality’ with a healthy grain of salt here. There are plenty of not-so-great shoes in this price range too. I’d rather have a pair of Carminas at $600 than a pair of Guccis at $1200.

 

[Kulkulcan]

It’s not so much a price ratio as it is a rough quality comparison, though of course take ‘quality’ with a healthy grain of salt here. There are plenty of not-so-great shoes in this price range too. I’d rather have a pair of Carminas at $600 than a pair of Guccis at $1200.

Fair enough. But it seems incongruent to spend $5K on a bespoke suit and pair it with Florsheim shoes.

I recall a Brit recommending that one should spend money on anything that touches an element. So … shoes, a good overcoat, a hat. Undergarments, not so much.

My suit will run $6K all in. I’m inte to match my footwear to the suit and thinking a quality match would be something between $600 and $1200. And certainly not a pair of Dexters.