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In 2024, figuring out where the best dress shoes for men fit into your footwear rotation can be a little confusing. Your friends swear by Adidas, your coworkers refuse to take off their Dunks, and everybody is wearing Crocs. (Crocs!) Finding room in your heart, let alone in your closet, for shoes you once associated with the drudgery of your 9-to-5 is a tough ask.
And yet! In opting for a pair of dress shoes, you're making a conscious decision to eschew all the furry clogs, freaky sneakers, and (gulp) cool-guy FiveFingers out there, true—but that doesn't mean you need to stick exclusively to the usual suspects.
Many of the options we gathered here—the absolute best dress shoes for men, thank you very much—will sync up well with the trappings of standard business casual attire, but they'll also look at home elevating your biggest weekend fits. Which means whether you're wearing them to your first nerve-wracking presentation in months or your first nerve-wracking date in nearly as long, they won't steer you wrong. Going with the (pebble) grain never looked so good.
The Best Dress Shoes for Men, According to GQ
- The Best Dress Shoes Overall: Beckett Simonon Dean Oxford, $219
- The Best Upgrade Dress Shoes: George Cleverley Charles Leather Oxford Shoe, $700
- The Best Wingtip Dress Shoes: Tricker’s Bourton Leather Wingtip Shoe, $615
- The Best Plain-Toe Dress Shoes: Alden Cordovan Plain Toe Blucher, $909
- The Best Dress Loafers: Morjas Penny Loafer, $380
- The Best Dress Boots: R.M.Williams Comfort Craftsman Chelsea Boots, $539
Take Me To: More Dress Shoes We Love | How to Find the Right Size | What Makes a Dress Shoe Comfortable? | What Makes a Dress Shoe Durable? | The Best Dress Shoe Brands | Our Testers
Best Dress Shoes Overall: Beckett Simonon Dean Oxford
Materials: Full grain calfskin leather | Construction: Blake stitch | Sizes: 7-14
If you’re looking for the most bang for your buck, Beckett Simonon is where I’d point you toward. The DTC brand touts a high level of craftsmanship and top-notch materials at an impressively low price. So for anyone in need of a great dress shoe that won’t drain your bank account and one that’ll last you way more than just a few wedding seasons, this is the brand. Their Dean cap toe oxford is the perfect style for most people, whether you’re purchasing your very first pair of dress shoes or just need something classic and versatile.
The shape is sleek, but not overly “fashion-y” and the cap toe works well for situations from biz-cas to black tie, a jack of all trades sort of shoe. It’s made of full-grain calfskin, features leather soles with a rubber toplift, and is built with a resolable blake stitch construction so you can resole them over and over before having to buy a new pair. If they were any other non-DTC shoe brand, I’d expect these to be at least $350-$400, but they’ll only run you a smidge over $200. The one big catch here is that each pair is made to order and will take anywhere from six to 10 weeks to arrive at your doorstep. So, if you’re in a pinch, you’d better look somewhere else. For those with foresight, add to cart.
Best Upgrade Dress Shoes: George Cleverley Charles Leather Oxford Shoe
Materials: Full-grain leather | Construction: Blake stitch | Sizes: 7-13
Once your Beckett Simonons have run their course and your cobbler refuses to resurrect them, you might want to consider upgrading. After all, you’ve spent all those years really milking them, so you deserve an upgrade. There's a lot of options out there, but George Cleverly's are in a league of their own. Cut by hand in England and detailed with the subtlest flourishes along the seams, they're wholly impervious to fashion's fickle whims and all the better for it.
Though the brand got its footing making bespoke shoes, its ready-to-wear line is among the best you can buy. With an impressive list of clients that includes Sir Elton John, David Beckham, and the Duke of Bedford, you can bet they’re the above top shelf.Get married in 'em if you choose—heck, get buried in 'em, too. But get a pair you should.
Best Wingtip Dress Shoes: Tricker’s Bourton Leather Wingtip Shoe
Materials: Calfskin | Construction: Goodyear welt | Sizes: 7-13.5
Tricker’s is another iconic English shoemaker and while it may be difficult to tell the difference between all the great cordwainers of the country, they stand out for their brogues and wingtip oxford shoes. So much so that they were drafted by Thom Browne to make his line of iconic derby shoes. The Bourton model is perhaps the Tricker’s most iconic style and features a shortwing style upper with signature brogue details throughout. It sits on a Goodyear welted double leather sole which not only gives them a bit of chunk and altitude, but also makes them last hella long. And, true to its countryside origins, these brogues are made with a gusseted tongue and storm welt to help keep dust, debris, and water out. I’ve had my Tricker’s for a few years and break them out with wide pants to match their insane chunk. The big beef I have with some versions is that the double leather sole makes them quite heavy. For the strong-willed, that might not be an issue. But Tricker’s does offer the Bourton in a much lighter (and more weather-proof) Dainite rubber sole option like this one from Mr. Porter.
Best Dress Boots: R.M. Williams Comfort Craftsman Chelsea boots
Materials: Full grain calfskin leather | Construction: Blake stitch | Sizes: 6-14
When occasion calls for the formality of a dress shoe but Mother Nature has other plans, a dress boot—the dress shoe's swole older brother—is the only way to go. Don't be the dude stomping around the subway platform in galoshes, or worse yet, hastily-tied plastic bags. Prove to the world you're better than that by scooping a pair of R.M. Williams Comfort Craftsman boots, a classic Chelsea boot silhouette plopped on top of a lightweight Dainite sole engineered to tackle whatever the weather has in store.
Made from handsome natural grain leather that'll play nice with winter-weight dress pants and heavily-cuffed chinos alike, they beat stuffing your dress pants into a pair of enormous rubber Wellies 100% of the time, every time. It's hard to believe that a shoe with such chiseled and refined features was originally built to tackle the rigors of the Australian outback, especially when it looks quite at home with a slick suit.
Best Dress Loafers: Morjas Penny Loafer
Materials: Suede leather | Construction: Goodyear welt | Sizes: 4.5-13.5
If you’re looking for shoes with a touch more niche appeal, head straight to Morjas. Founder Henrik Berg weaves together Mediterranean and Scandinavian influences that yield a pair of chocolatey suede beauties with penny loafer details that are both classic and fresh. Unlike most other DTC brands, Morjas doesn’t read as DTC. To be clear, this is a great thing. The brand actually has some character and real design, as opposed to other brands that clearly are trying to check the boxes without adding their own personality (or lack thereof).
Morjas’ shoes are crafted in Spain by shoemaking artisans and feature some of the most beautiful craftsmanship I’ve ever seen on a pair of hard bottoms at this price. As for the fit, they do run large, but once you get the sizing down, that leather lining and single-leather sole feel like butter.
Best Plain-Toe Dress Shoes: Alden Plain Toe Blucher Shoes
Materials: Shell cordovan | Construction: Goodyear welt | Sizes: 7-13
Plain toe dress shoes can be tricky. Too bulbous and they look like an everyday pair of Doc Martens. To sleek and you’ll have to find your way out of 2008, somehow. And if you want a pair that’ll go toe-to-toe with the most formal situations as well as a beat-up pair of blue jeans as certified casual shoes, there aren’t many pairs that can do both well. But time and again, I find myself recommending Alden’s plain toe blucher in black shell cordovan. It’s a legendary shoe that menswear snobs and fashion fiends alike often have on their list of grails. The shell cordovan leather is among the best in the world, with a super-tight smooth grain that’s water-resistant and creases much more elegantly than cow leather. Plus, it’s got a natural sheen that really catches the eye but doesn’t blind you like patent leather (which either comes off as corny or way too formal).
Alden's been around since the late 1800s, and making shoes like these—supremely durable, surprisingly versatile—ever since. The blucher is the brand's signature style, and it'll look just as good with a tweedy sport coat and faded jeans as it will a hefty cable-knit and slouchy dress pants. But be prepared for the two main sticking points. As any shell cordovan shoe owner like me will tell you, the first few weeks of wear will test you, but it’s absolutely worth it. The other sticking point? It’ll also test your wallet.
More Dress Shoes We Love
Crockett & Jones
Hallam Cap-Toe Shoes
Crockett & Jones has been hawking elite-level hard-bottoms since 1879, cultivating a loyal customer base of literal menswear kings along the way. So it follows that the age-old cobbler crafts a standard-setting Oxford shoe, a silhouette named for the tony British university famous for educating England’s upper crust. This handmade, burnished calf-leather pair might’ve been designed with tweed plus-fours in mind, but it’ll look just as killer with a knife-sharp navy suit.
Gucci
1953 Horsebit Loafers
It takes some real chutzpah to bully your way into such a small circle of certified menswear hall of fame, but Gucci did it way back in 1953 with its horsebit loafers, spawning a new category of shoes altogether. To this day, though, there really is only one pair you should get.
How We Test and Review Products
Style is subjective, we know—that’s the fun of it. But we’re serious about helping our audience get dressed. Whether it’s the best white sneakers, the flyest affordable suits, or the need-to-know menswear drops of the week, GQ Recommends’ perspective is built on years of hands-on experience, an insider awareness of what’s in and what’s next, and a mission to find the best version of everything out there, at every price point.
Our staffers aren’t able to try on every single piece of clothing you read about on GQ.com (fashion moves fast these days), but we have an intimate knowledge of each brand’s strengths and know the hallmarks of quality clothing—from materials and sourcing, to craftsmanship, to sustainability efforts that aren’t just greenwashing. GQ Recommends heavily emphasizes our own editorial experience with those brands, how they make their clothes, and how those clothes have been reviewed by customers. Bottom line: GQ wouldn’t tell you to wear it if we wouldn’t.
How We Make These Picks
We make every effort to cast as wide of a net as possible, with an eye on identifying the best options across three key categories: quality, fit, and price.
To kick off the process, we enlist the GQ Recommends braintrust to vote on our contenders. Some of the folks involved have worked in retail, slinging clothes to the masses; others have toiled for small-batch menswear labels; all spend way too much time thinking about what hangs in their closets.
We lean on that collective experience to guide our search, culling a mix of household names, indie favorites, and the artisanal imprints on the bleeding-edge of the genre. Then we narrow down the assortment to the picks that scored the highest across quality, fit, and price.
Across the majority of our buying guides, our team boasts firsthand experience with the bulk of our selects, but a handful are totally new to us. So after several months of intense debate, we tally the votes, collate the anecdotal evidence, and emerge with a list of what we believe to be the absolute best of the category right now, from the tried-and-true stalwarts to the modern disruptors, the affordable beaters to the wildly expensive (but wildly worth-it) designer riffs.
Whatever your preferences, whatever your style, there's bound to be a superlative version on this list for you. (Read more about GQ's testing process.)
How Do I Determine My Dress Shoe Size?
The best way to ensure you have the right size dress shoe is to go to the store and try them on in person. If possible, try at least three different sizes: the size you think you are, and a half size larger and smaller. Remember to ask the sales associate if the shoes you're considering come in different widths.
Make sure your toes aren't pinching and that they have enough room to spread. The balls of your feet shouldn't feel cramped; that will be the point where the shoe flexes with each step. Be aware of heel slippage as well—it's common to have a bit, but if you can fit a finger in the back of the heel comfortably, your shoes are probably too big. When trying on a pair of dress shoes, remember to wear the same socks you would normally wear with them so you can accurately account for sock thickness, too.
What Kind of Dress Shoes Are Most Comfortable?
There are several ways to answer this. The first and cheapest option is to get a pair of dress shoes that are built like sneakers. These types of dress shoes are also built more cheaply, so while they might not last as long, they are lighter and come with rubber soles and/or foam insoles, so they will feel more comfortable straight out of the box.
On the total opposite end is to get a pair of fully bespoke shoes. A master shoemaker will make a custom last built to your exact foot shape rather than an off-the-rack pair of dress shoes which are a one-size-fits-most situation.
In between those two options, good-quality leather dress shoes will use some kind of cushioning in the sole, often with a high-quality leather insole and a cork filling, both of which will mold to your foot. They will also use a shank inside the shoe to provide stability and arch support.
What Are the Most Durable Men's Dress Shoes?
Durability comes down to material and construction. High-quality, long-lasting dress shoes will use full-grain or top-grain leather uppers. They will be constructed in such a way that allows the shoes to be easily re-soled by a cobbler, either with blake stitching where the uppers are sewn directly to the outsole, or with a Goodyear welt where the uppers are sewn to a leather welt that wraps around the shoe…which is then attached to a leather or rubber outsole. Many cheaper dress shoes use thin leathers and are constructed by simply gluing the upper to the sole, like on sneakers. This gluing method is cheaper and oftentimes more comfortable, but is very difficult for a cobbler to resole.
What Are the Best Men's Dress Shoe Brands?
The best men's dress shoe brands tend to be the ones that have been around the longest. There is a long history of British shoemakers that include names like Tricker’s, George Cleverly, Church’s, John Lobb. Other old-school stalwarts include Alden, Allen Edmonds, and Carmina. These brands have been making shoes for generations and continue to do so to a very high degree. This level of craftsmanship is reflected in the price, which can start at $400 and go all the way up to a cool grand.
That being said, other brands that have generations of shoemaking under their feet have expanded their operations to produce shoes faster and more cheaply. Think brands like Cole Haan, Florsheim, and Johnston & Murphy who offer some stylish classics at affordable prices—a great in-between option for anyone on a budget.
These days, though, there are many young brands putting their foot in the dress shoe game, and that includes Beckett Simonon, our pick for the best dress shoe for most folks, and Morjas, our pick for the best dress loafer. Other favorites that are worth a look include Hereu and Jacques Solivere.
Our Testers
- Gerald Ortiz, GQ Style Commerce Writer
- Tyler Chin, GQ Associate Commerce Editor
- Avidan Grossman, GQ Senior Commerce Editor