I bought a pair of black oxford style shoes for work a few months ago from Skechers and they are completely falling apart already, WTF.

The "leather" on the front of the shoe where it bends has started to crack and peel and it's not even real leather it turns out, some sort of paper thin black plastic veneer over some leather-like material.

Knowing the Chicoms it's probably made out of dead rats or cats or something.

I'm done buying these garbage shoes. Casual shoes and sneakers will be from New Balance from now on and what's a good source for shoes like oxfords and dress casual shoes?

Yup. Burned that bridge about 5 years ago.

I mostly wear boots, but I imagine the philosophy works the same way for shoes: You can by a $200 pair every three years or a $50 pair every six months.

My current go-to is Chippewa boots. I have a pair about 2 years old that the eyelets wore out on and were shredding the laces with the sharp edges. I have what may be the last old-time shoe repair shop in the State of Maine about 5 miles from me. Dropped 'em off, he replaced the eyelets, repaired a scuffed toe, reglued a separated upper and charged me $40. The logger soles are easily good for another 2 years.

Can't go wrong with Edmund Allens, is what I say.

I used to wear Skechers boots for about 10 years. Didn't even have to try them on, just bought my size and they were great. Tried some last year and the size was way off. Bought another pair in a different style and same "off" sizing. Won't go back now ever. Their online customer service said they had not made any changes. BS!!!

Thanks for the tip. I was going to buy a pair of Skechers.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
what's a good source for shoes like oxfords and dress casual shoes?

Im a big fan of Rockports. Try to find an actual Rockports factory store near you.

It just kills me, we give good money to China in return for junk. We're shooting ourselves in the foot, no pun intended.

Good luck to you.

I’ve had great luck with both Rockports and Merrill’s.

Ecco -- Seriously, I got 8 yrs out of 2 different pair of semi-hiking shoes that I rotated for work! Super comfortable, can be a bit spendy, but I got my money's worth!

quote:

Originally posted by lkdr1989:
Ecco -- Seriously, I got 8 yrs out of 2 different pair of semi-hiking shoes that I rotated for work! Super comfortable, can be a bit spendy, but I got my money's worth!

I've got a couple pairs of Ecco's, I guess they'd be called Oxford style. Priciest shoes I own and the best, so comfortable out of the box. I look for reasons to wear them.

I bought Skecher hiking shoes a few years back. Worst shoe ever. Size is right and they mutilate my feet. Walking downhill feels like getting the toe ends pounded by a hammer. The Achilles cutout in the back is straight out of The Inquisition.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
...sneakers will be from New Balance from now on...

I strongly suggest that you buy them from a brick-and-mortar, not from an on-line source. NB's sizing is notorious for being inaccurate.

With no local stores carrying them here, I got them from various sources over the years and had my share of exchanges, but the final straw was earlier this year, a pair of 779s that were a good half-size small! Unfortunately, the place I bought them from demanded a 10% return fee, and couldn't tell me what would be the correct size to replace them with! I kept them as doorstops.

Several calls to NB got me no help. I still like the build quality of those I see, but traveling to a store that carries them won't happen until spring or summer.

By the way, I agree that Sketchers are not as good as they used to be, they're off my list.

Doc Martens used to be my go-to, before they shifted the bulk of their manufacturing offshore (from GB.) Quality for some of the Chinese-made ones I've had since then has been OK, but others have been abysmal. Only redemption is that the truly crap pairs were only $30 at Marshalls.

Skechers were in rotation for a while. The last pair did the same thing you're seeing, but at least I got six months out of 'em.

I've picked up a few pair of Danner casual shoes & boots during their annual sales. The US-made ones have done fine.

quote:

I’ve had great luck with both Rockports

Rockports have also taken a Chinese quality plunge. I purchased some Skechers fabric slip-ons (Made in Viet Nam) to wear around the house & they have held up well.

quote:

Originally posted by Rey HRH:
Can't go wrong with Edmund Allens, is what I say.

+1

I've got two pair of Allen Edmonds dress shoes that are over 15 years old. Other than re-soling and re-heeling at the cobbler from time to time for normal wear, still in pretty good shape. And AE is still American-made, as best I recall. They're more expensive, but if you take decent care of them they should last.

I try to go with American-made New Balance for my walking/running shoes as well.

I had some serious foot surgery 6 or 7 years ago and the surgeon and the person who made my orthotics both highly recommended New Balance.

I hear ya, I hate them... and they get so damn uncomfortable just after a few months. I just bought a pair of Doc Martens (about 3 weeks ago) for work and so far so good

I’m on my second pair in less than 3 years. Very comfortable but the sole comes off in about 12-16 months each time in my experience.

I wear Ecco Goretex Oxfords because they are comfortable and waterproof. They last about two years but I wear them in a rough environment in which I should really be wearing boots.

quote:

Originally posted by Anush:

quote:

I’ve had great luck with both Rockports

Rockports have also taken a Chinese quality plunge. I purchased some Skechers fabric slip-ons (Made in Viet Nam) to wear around the house & they have held up well.

I bought two pair Rockports, made in Vietnam that have help up well for several years.

Went to buy another pair and discovered that Rockports are now made in India and quality is not as good and heavier, too.

+1 on New Balance, Merrils, & Rockports.

I stopped buying Sketchers in 1999 after a similar experience as the OP. In my case, the "leather" started peeling off the second time I wore them. They were clearly defective.