Lifetime Shoes

[davestlouis]

One observation...my feet grew between the age of 30 and 40, from 10.5D to12D, so understand that your size may not be stable the rest of your life.

 

[Richard Warren]

my advice would be to go with the cap-toe, without the perforations, so that they can worn on more formal occasions. get a brown pair with perforations later.

 

[bbshriver]

One observation...my feet grew between the age of 30 and 40, from 10.5D to12D, so understand that your size may not be stable the rest of your life.

I'm wondering if shoe sizing has changed in the last few years... I used to reliably be a 9.5D... And my shoes that I bought then still fit great, but when I try on shoes these days 9.5 is almost always too long, and D is almost always too narrow. I'm finding mostly that I'm 8.5E in newer shoes.

 

[beezaur]

I'm wondering if shoe sizing has changed in the last few years... I used to reliably be a 9.5D... And my shoes that I bought then still fit great, but when I try on shoes these days 9.5 is almost always too long, and D is almost always too narrow. I'm finding mostly that I'm 8.5E in newer shoes.

Your arches can change over time.

Some runners who have switched from "modern" running shoes with lots of cushion to shoes with minimal cushion, or even barefoot running, report that their arches come back into shape. I think McDougal mentions it in his book Born to Run.

Scott

 

[Javelina]

I have a pair of Alden cordovan (horse) dress shoes. Bought them in 2003, they have been resoled twice and still look great. Cordovan lasts so much longer than calf, it's well worth the investment. Mine are the "Alden Men's Perforated Cap Toe Bal Oxford Shell Cordovan Style #: 9016" on theshoemart.com for $542. I think I paid $350 in 2003...inflation?

I also own pairs of Church's and Cheaney's (which are made by Church's) in calf. Made in England. Nice, classy, well made shoes. Also had them resoled 2 or 3 times. Upper is not as durable as the cordovan, however.

For durability, I would recommend the Aldens in cordovan. For style, English made shoes. I would liken the Aldens to Hickey Freeman suits: US made, high quality construction, decent value, but a traditional American cut, i.e. for the board room.

I owned one pair of Allen Edmonds in calf and would not buy them again. The soles wore out very quickly and the upper looked terrible after about a year. Not sure why. I just threw them away. Maybe I had bad luck.

These are just my experiences. I'm sure others' will differ. Good luck.

 

[bbshriver]

Your arches can change over time.

Some runners who have switched from "modern" running shoes with lots of cushion to shoes with minimal cushion, or even barefoot running, report that their arches come back into shape. I think McDougal mentions it in his book Born to Run.

Scott

But my thing was that my "old" 9.5D shoes still fit perfect, just like when they were new (only better since they're more broken in).
So it doesn't seem like my foot has changed, just that all the new shoes I try on don't fit in 9.5. It's just weird. I have some 9.5 D "Pronto Uomo" (Men's wearhouse brand) that I got in 2005 and they honestly fit like a "bespoke" shoe, I couldn't imagine a fit more perfect. Now, I haven't tried on a new PU shoe, but anything else I get is different.

Regarding the Cordovan Aldens... unfortunately, worth it or not, $500+ is just out of my price range.

 

[Ed13]

The fit difference now may have more to do with the lasts the shoes are made on. Many top shoe brands offer their shoes on more than one last and sizing for the same company may be 1 or 2 sizes different for the same person. A good example of this is Vass shoes out of Budapest. Their website explains the difference in last shape.

You may be finding manufacturers going to an elongated last in recent years.