Tag Archives: shoes

Review: Clarence Toe Cap Brogue Dress Shoes by Charles Tyrwhitt

EDIT: The Clarence brogues are now being phased out and appear to have been replaced by the Parker brogues. As far as I can tell they are the same shoe, just with a different name. The links in this review will now direct you to the Parkers.

If you are a shoe n00b like I am, you probably wear the same pair of black dress shoes all the time – to work, church, interviews, weddings, and ship christenings. Well, stop! You shouldn’t be wearing black shoes very often at all. Black shoes go best with black pants, and why in the world would you wear those, unless there’s a dead guy in a casket somewhere in the room or you’re at a wedding (specifically, your own)? Take it down a notch and relax for once in your life with some gray, blue, or brown pants.

Now that you’ve ditched the funeral pants, there’s no need to dampen the party again with those black kicks. You should be busting out the brown!

Brown shoes go really well with gray, blue, or brown pants – way better than black shoes do. I somehow got my hands on these Clarence Parker semi-brogue oxfords from Charles Tyrwhitt. Keep reading to find out whether they are worth a hoot or not!

Continue reading Review: Clarence Toe Cap Brogue Dress Shoes by Charles Tyrwhitt

How to Choose Good Dress Shoes

Hideous, no? Tragically, this kind of junk was my “dressy” footwear for the better part of three decades.

For most of my life I have been buying the wrong dress shoes. As I noted in an earlier post, I have been on a quest to find dress shoes that aren’t total garbage (see the above image). This search has turned out to be quite educational for me.

Continue reading How to Choose Good Dress Shoes

Beckett Simonon Caine Oxford Dress Shoe Review

UPDATE: Beckett Simonon’s new line of shoes are in! Check out my new review here!

I recently picked up a pair of kicks from Beckett Simonon in my quest to find higher quality dress shoes at a price that didn’t make me want to cry myself to sleep at night on an empty stomach. I settled on the Caine oxford cap-toes. This is my experience so far.

EDIT: Now, take 20% off your order with our exclusive promo code PRAKTICALA20!

EDIT: Beckett Simonon is launching a somewhat new, pre-order based business model, so the Caine oxfords are no longer available. You can read about the relaunched business here, or visit here to see Beckett Simonon’s current lineup of products.

Continue reading Beckett Simonon Caine Oxford Dress Shoe Review

Black Friday at Beckett Simonon

Happy early Thanksgiving from PRAKTICALA! Start celebrating with a coupon for $25 off at Beckett Simonon, an online footwear startup that specializes in full-grain leather, Goodyear welted shoes and boots. Click here to get your $25 off promo code, then enter the code at checkout.

I recently acquired the black Caine Oxford cap-toes, which I’ll write more about soon. In the meantime, check out their inventory and see if there’s anything you like!