Best leather sneakers?
I’ve been getting in leather kick as of late and down the line I’m thinking of picking up some leather sneakers. I’ve been watching Rose Anvil’s videos on the white sneakers from a few years ago and checking out the brands mentioned. I’ve noticed some interesting changes with brands like Archibald London, Gustin has a brown CXL hi-top leather shoe that’s caught my eye, and unfortunately Thursdays is very appealing to me given its price point, but before I fall too far deep, I figured I’d ask y’all. Thanks.
13 Replies
gonna be honest, to me all of those gustin sneakers look ugly
I guess if you want to spend money on fancy leather sneakers the common rec is hender
Hender scheme? Based on my cursory glance at it, they seem a little out of budget…
I’m willing to spend around $250-300ish on these types of shoes
Honestly you'll be better waiting for someone else to jump in. All I can provide is that in my opinion those type of expensive leather sneakers don't make any sense to me as a purchase
to my eye they look worse than a pair of regular sneakers for more money
if you're okay with leather and suede then GATs (either repro or vintage)
that or heritage shoes (air force 1s, air jordans, nike cortez, reebok club c, etc)
imo most fits with dress leather sneakers would be better served with a different type of shoe or different material of sneaker, but that's just me
I don't like bootmaker sneakers because they put a lot of effort and expertise into the leather and construction and none to the design
They can use all the cxl they want but they can't cover up a fundamentally ugly silhouette
I'd rather have, like zeo said, something like a gat or club c from a sneaker maker that gets the design right
Beckett Simonon is probably at a good junction of price and quality but I agree with the others
With you on that one. Leather boots or normal trainers all the way
You could get Crown Northampton but they're ugly as sin.
Hmmmmm apologies I was busy after I created this thread but your thoughts are very much appreciated
I actually really hate the white gum exterior all these dress leather sneakers use tbh, I was moreso interested in shoe styles that use leather outside of typical formal wear archetypes like boots, oxfords, derbies, etc. I guess GATs and other heritage shoes do fall more in line with what I was thinking, but I wasn’t exactly wanting/needing them, since I do have those kinds sneakers already in my wardrobe.
in most cases they would be variations on those typical formal shoes (whether by construction like cuban boots or by brand like rick owens portervilles)
camp mocs/ranger mocs come to mind but they call to a somewhat narrow (rugged ivy) aesthetic.
what are you looking for functionally or aesthetically from such a shoe that would warrant a separate shoe from a derby or blucher? most 'formal' shoes (other than maybe oxfords) can be worn casually, it's just a matter of pairing
Hmmmm yea that’s fair. I have a lot of brown/black derbies that have been handed down and thrited throughout the years. I wear them mainly for work (I have to usually dress business casual/formal). So I do like those kinds of shoes, I just don’t need more of them and I also don’t think they generally pair well with that I have when I want to dress casually.
I do want to work on expanding out my boot collection though, where I’m trying to get pairs that look good/appropriate in formal dress but I can also dress down. I don’t want to rush into buying a bunch of new boots and I want to buy quality ones, so I’m not in a rush expanding that out. I just got a ordered a new pair so not really looking to get another anytime soon.
Which is why my interest is piqued with leather sneakers since they align with the goals of wanting something a touch dressier but still ultimately casual. The price points for many of them, especially second hand, are reasonable for me to at least consider. Whereas with the boots I think I probably get a new pair once every other year or something. Since I just got the new boots, not really planning to pick up this sneakers right now, but while the juices are flowing I’d like to see what’s out there
I should also add that leather hi-tops is another thing I’m considering as well, idk if I’ve mentioned that
Loafers?
I think I need to do some more looking into yeah, but admittedly I kind of lumped them into the same category as the oxfords/derbies