A Selection of Quality Shoes Under $500

Dear Hugo what you think about Bally shoes..they are made in Switzerland..and insole is made in Italy..Thanks Hugo im from Malaysia 🇲🇾

Hi Hugo, I enjoyed the mention of the quality of some excellent Ties available now, post COVID. There are some wonderful high quality ties that stand out above the rest due to the elimination of bulk tie makers. It’s exciting to find a fantastic tie. It’s in someways a lost art, but people notice. Love your channel as always. Now I have to search if you’ve done a Tie segment or two :)

Cobbler-Union experience = F- Everyone pleasant just can't get their inventory in check. Twice shipped incorrect shoe in correctly labeled box. Shoes shipped from Spain so had to wait, wait, wait. Altogether 45 days to get return processed. Now I have a belt without a matching pair of shoes...Support would not get me to someone in leadership that could actually save the sale. Each time I got shuffled to someone new that had no history of the RMA so had to explain multiple times. As far as I could tell there is no stateside inventory. As an aside, shoes looked great so quality appeared to be there. Took my business elsewhere. :(

Is there a consensus opinion on Beckett and Simonon shoes?

One word: OUTSTANING! Semper Fi

I just noticed the two brothers present! I like those young men, they are great! Semper Fi

Is there any chance you could do a video on wide toe box shoes?

Man stop promoting CNES it makes you guys look bad, I've been a whole week contacting them just trying to get a reply back on the status of an order I placed 3 months ago. Alan Lee doesn't even respond to the paypal case I opened and I'm having to upgrade the resolution case to a claim in order to get my money back just because these guys do not reply to emails. Customer service does not exist with CNES

This video becomes a Guide , for SHOE enthusiasts great effort , much of experience & knowledge offered by these brilliant guys

Anyone here bought CNES and can speak about their quality from a neutral perspective?

Lemargo, Officine Creative, Untamed Street, Franceschetti.

To me, these 4 brands (all made in Montegranaro) are the quintessential of under the radar brands in that price range (leaning more towards 400-500). Incredible quality and style, and they're never mentioned

Very true, the quality of Allen Edmunds is not good at all. I bought a pair in the US but never enjoyed wearing the shoes. It is very hard and not comfortable. I contacted the company a few times but they did not help me and they were asking me about the receipt which I didn't have. But I will never recommend it to anyone. I have been using loake, Moreschi, and some other brands that are super.

Huge, according to CNES themselves, CNES stands for Classic, Noble, Elegant & Simple

Loake 1880 is the good ones, especially on sale, buy an size bigger when in doubt you should have space for an insole in them.

fantastic video. greatly appreciated. exactly what I needed. Thank you

Meermin customer service (particularly returns/shipping) is pathetic. Not worth it. Which is why I’m here to look for alternatives.

Thank you gentlemen from here in Wales. A nice knowledgable combination of the old world and the new. Some interesting brands that Hugo has presented elsewhere but great insight from our American friends. Quite impressed with the Cobbler Union loafers. Again, thank you for this interesting video.

Great Video Gentlemen, I myself own a few of these brands that were discussed and Carmina Shoemaker and TLB Mallorca would be my 2 favorites.

Id love to know what are the best socks to wear with bespoke or high quality shoes...

Hugo Jacomet plus Trenton & Heath , real power .

Took me a while to get used to seeing Hugo without a jacket 😅 - very unusual for him. Great content as always!

I was wearing mostly Designer Sneakers until I got into good leather shoes and now interested in Suits and Tailoring. It starts with good shoes.

A data point re Allen Edmonds: I have two pairs of them bracketing their private equity acquisition by Brentwood Associates in 2013.

I bought a brown pair of Strands around the time of the acquisition (i.e., out of pre-acquisition inventory). They saw me through the high mileage public transit commuter phases of my professional life. They've been resoled once and are beaten up (extensively nicked and scuffed; cracked at the vamp and internally patched) but are beautiful and comfy. I'm only retiring them now in favor of a bespoke pair of shoes and still don't feel self-conscious wearing them somewhere nice. Polished with care, they look lived-in and beautifully patinated. They still get compliments.

I bought a black pair of Park Avenues (same size, same last as the Strands) a few years later. They feel like they are made out of plastic; they refuse to break in the same way. One place where they took a nick, a super thin black flap lifted with a bright white fibrous material underneath. (I don't know leather well; maybe this is corrected grain leather?) My usage plummeted in 2018 when I went self-employed and remote-first, yet with quite few miles, one of the soles blew out at the toe. A leather sole has never done that on my feet; every other time, I could wear the shoes until the soles wore through at the balls of the feet. Now that this pair needs new soles I find myself asking, "should I maybe just save that money and put it toward a pair of new shoes?" It's a completely different product.

I love the content that you provide, love the show, and keep up the great work. would you advise where I could purchase vintage, used boots other than eBay or amazon? I'm looking for a pair of the Taft Gladiator boot in chocolate, Is there an online retailer that sells these boots

Hugo, this is great to see you in America 🇺🇸. Trenton and Heath are both great cobblers. Work together. Bring men's fashion, suits and shoes, back home to America. Business is open.

Can you kindly advise what is the title of the book on the table?

Thanks!

😎

I don`t recommend Herring. I bought there UK line and i`ve had to have them resoled twice in 1 year. Unacceptable.

First of all, great collaboration!

Hugo is like the enciclopedia of dress shoes!

Trenton & Heath are like the surgeons of dress shoes!

Have a question, does anyone know which shoe maker came up with the black shoe on the first row from left to right on this video’s thumbnail?

Thanks

Hi, what do you think of Floris van bommel?

Allen Edmonds are for the big guys, when I was 180lbs, I gravitated towards buying the European cuts which are usually slimmer and more elegant, but at 265lbs now, it make not sense, first the base is not as wide as an support, second, it looks odd to have a fat ass big belly but slim shapely feet.

I recently heard you mention Mariano Shoes, Please be careful with them. They are not legitimate! I have bought from them and they have just take my money without shipping the product. $500 wasted. It's now been 7 months since I paid.

CNES: It's an acronym for Classic, Noble, Simple & Elegant

so for the discussion it sounds like if your someone coming out of bad quality shoes, allen edmonds may be a good starting point for a good quality shoe

Mallorca is the island where the brits and germans travel to get drunk 😂

Hi HJ am an avid follower of your channel. Would like your take on a pair of Loding shoes around construction, build quality design and price

Great work guys. The problem is a lot of young people and also not so young are not educated about quality shoes and the entire process of shoe making art. I discovered this world recently and I'm in love. It is an art , mastery and quality materials.

hey i knew these guys.. i am already a subscriber of trenton and heath.. i love watching them repairing shoes..

I just commented on another video that I found your channel yesterday. I can’t believe you were in Columbia. I live only 15 minutes away from there and own a house there were my mom lives. I really hope to visit great places like this!

a properly useful video! thank you! Agree on Cheaney, I have a nice pair of Oxfords from them that have lasted beautifully. I also have a pair of Church Oxfords bought in 2009 (Prada sale was 1999 I think), a gift from my wife so won't complain too much, but they are just not as good as their price would imply. I still wear them but they have never broken in properly - a full day wearing them and I get blisters below my toes - never mind that the oxblood colour began scraping off on the side of the heels (and not in a nice patina way) within a year. They were sent back to Church by the shop who fully agreed with me, but Church said it was my own fault because of the way I walk and refused to do anything. nonsense of course, no other shoes of mine have had the same problem. they lost me as a customer forever. The shop offered a refund so no blame on them, but out of loyalty to the shop I kept them. Most people would never notice the flaw, however it boils my blood a little when I think about it - I'll only ever buy Church again if I find them for under €20 in a charity shop.

Bonjour, Hugo. Thank you for another wonderful video. When is it appropriate to have a rubber sole rather than a leather sole on a dress shoe? The other day, I noticed a rubber sole on a beautiful oxblood derby with brouging. Merci.

are leder-cuero shoes good quality and how much should pay retail? They are 100% Goodyear Welted and the heal is nail on!

bonjour Hugo, i have a question concernign my Santoni shoes. i have some trouble with squeaking noises. the cobblers i contacted said that its nearly impossible to eliminate the noises. if i am lucky the noise goes with time if i am lucky. but thats not satisfying for me because i nearly paid a 1000 eur for it. unfortunately i didnt wear the shoes immeadiately after i bought it so they are already 2 years old so that i cant give them back. maybe you have a recommendation about that.. merci beaucoup in advance and greetings from Munich!

I got some shoes from Vienna Schuhmanufaktur for around 300 Euro (I think their production is in Hungary). Excellent quality for this low price, and I was surprised to see they also move into sneaker production.

So awesome! Been buying from Herring, Pediwear cheaney barker and carlos santos. Awesome brands

Hi, Hugo I have a question about Crockett and Jones do you recommend? Thank you! ❤️

please, please do a counterpart list for quality women's shoes. as far as i know, there aren't a handful of RTW or MTO women's shoes producers that employ stitched-outsole construction. it's all glued. ughhh.

Is Paraboot a good shoe brand?