As we’ve explored in our main guide, Zappos is a fantastic shoe retailer with a plethora of makes and models. Therefore, it’s excellent for buying dress shoes, too. Nevertheless, there’s so much choice that it can be hard to find the right pair of you.
In this guide, you’ll discover the Top 10 Best Dress Shoes On Zappos that you can buy online:
- Allen Edmonds Strandmok
- Johnston & Murphy Melton Classic
- Allen Edmonds Park Avenue
- Wholecut Shoes: Magnanni Crucero
- Church’s Diplomat 173
- Salvatore Ferragamo Seattle Loafer
- Paul Evans Le Poitier
- To Boot New York Providence
- Massimo Matteo Double Monk
- Florsheim Corbetta
Interested in a particular pair? Just click on the link above to jump right to it!
- Style: Brogues
- Formality: Business Casual
- Pricing: $345 [Buy Now On Zappos]
While not the most formal dress shoes on this list, the Strandmok is incredibly versatile. It was one of the first pairs of shoes that we reviewed on Bespoke Unit and we still wear them regularly today!
They’re robust and of excellent quality. Thanks to the 360° Goodyear welt, you’ll be sure that they’ll last you for years while the Dainite rubber soles offer both comfort and shock absorption.
These are dress shoes that you can wear in and out of a suit. For instance, their rustic style makes them ideal with jeans or chinos.
"Some of the most versatile shoes we have worn, the Strandmok is perfect with chinos, jeans, and even some suits!"
- Style: Oxford Shoe
- Formality: Business Professional
- Pricing: $179 [Buy On Zappos]
There’s an extensive Johnston & Murphy selection on Zappos that caters to a broad range of budgets. The cheaper shoes are great when in a tight spot but it’s the Melton that offers the perfect balance of quality and value.
Although priced under $179, they’re crafted with a Goodyear welt, which is honestly quite surprising! As oxfords, they’re versatile and can be worn on many different occasions from weddings to a business professional office setting.
- Colors: Black
- Material: Calfskin Leather
- Pricing: $395 [Buy Now On Zappos]
If you’re looking for a more conservative shoe but you want to benefit from Allen Edmonds’ value for money, consider the Park Avenue. These classic Oxford shoes are a staple from the brand and are constructed using the same 360° Goodyear welt.
Allen Edmonds is the ideal choice when looking for value for money. You’ll notice some more expensive shoes on this list, which offer a truly premium experience. However, they are very pricey indeed. Allen Edmonds offers a similar level of quality but at a more accessible price point.
- Style: Wholecut Shoe
- Formality: Business Professional
- Pricing: $375 [Buy On Zappos]
Although offered at a similar price to Allen Edmonds, Magnanni’s Spanish-made shoes are produced with a Blake stitch. This stylistic choice provides a sleeker profile that affords the should a more elegant design.
Of course, some might scoff that it’s a little pricey given that there are cheaper Goodyear-welted shoes on this list. However, Magnanni is a celebrated brand for good reason. You’ll be hard-pressed to find such a beautiful wholecut shoe with the same level of visual depth thanks to the hand-painted finish.
- Style: Oxford Shoe
- Formality: Business Professional
- Pricing: $995 [Buy Now On Zappos]
While just under a thousand bucks sounds like a steep investment, remember that Church’s is a quintessentially English brand that was founded in 1873 by Thomas Church. Benchmade in Northampton, the brand has been a favourite from politicians like Tony Blair as well as James Bond when he was played by Pierce Brosnan.
Although Church’s was acquired by Prada in 1999, it has still retained much of its historical identity. Including John Lobb and Santoni, it is one of several high-end brands stocked on Zappos, illustrating the ranges of markets for which it caters.
Needless to say, the shoes are produced with a Goodyear welt in the Northampton factory with a natural finish applied by hand.
- Style: Bit Loafer
- Formality: Business Casual
- Pricing: $830 [Buy Now On Zappos]
Another celebrated premium brand, Salvatore Ferragamo arguably introduced Italy’s reputation for quality to the USA. These beautiful bit loafers may not be suitable for every formal occasion but they’re a breathtaking specimen of craftsmanship. If you’re looking to exude Italian elegance, Ferragamo loafers are an excellent option.
The Seattle loafer has an elegant shape thanks to a slim silhouette and low profile heel. Meanwhile, the mod-toe finish is stitched by hand while the metal hardware glistens just under the hem of your trouser.
- Style: Double Monk
- Formality: Business Professional
- Pricing: $425 [Buy Now On Amazon]
Paul Evans is known for producing stylish Italian-made shoes that embody a similar aesthetic to more famous brands like Salvatore Ferragamo. Its footwear isn’t unlike Magnanni, but made in Italy with a generally greater emphasis on different colourways and finishes.
Unlike Salvatore Ferragamo, though, Paul Evans is significantly cheaper. Indeed, its shoes may still be considered pricey. Nevertheless, it provides you access to Italian craftsmanship at a much more accessible price point.
This double monk strap is a fantastic representation of what Paul Evans offers. It features sleek lines and rich colour depth, which beautifully accentuate its distinctive Italian elegance. They’re also very versatile and can be worn with business suits but also when adorning a more business casual style.
- Style: Jodhpur Boots
- Formality: Business Casual
- Pricing: $425 [Buy On Zappos]
Founded by American shoe designer Adam Derrick, To Boot New York focuses on heavily stylised but high-quality footwear. Meanwhile, we firmly believe that Jodhpur boots don’t nearly get enough love.
Most classic dress boots have a tendency to appear a little too utilitarian due to things like broguing or extra material due to the blucher style. However, these boots are produced from Italian calfskin with a high-quality Blake stitch to ensure that they remain slender and don’t become bulky.
Thanks to the sleek uppers without overuse of ornamentation, they also have a dressy appearance, which is ideal for more formalwear.
- Style: Double Monk
- Formality: Business Professional
- Pricing: $149 [Buy Now On Zappos]
In contrast to the Paul Evans double monk, Massimo Matteo instead offers some very affordable footwear. This Italian model is a little pricier than those from its Brazilian sub-$100 range. However, it’s worth the extra investment.
Bear in mind, though, that Massimo Matteo often produces its shoes using a cement construction. Therefore, it won’t have the same lifespan as a higher-quality Blake stitch shoe. Once the sole has worn down, the shoes must sadly be discarded as they can’t be replaced.
- Style: Oxford Shoes
- Formality: Business Professional
- Pricing: $70 [Buy Now On Zappos]
If you’re on a very tight budget, you’ll find that Zappos has a large collection of cheap and cheerful shoes. However, it’s hard to know what will provide you with decent value for money. We suggest sticking with Florsheim as this time-honoured brand is known for providing reliable affordability.
The Corbetta is one of the best choices as it’s a classic Oxford shoe that will be versatile enough to wear for just about any occasion. It’s ideal for young professionals who are interning or attending a few special occasions.
How To Choose Dress Shoes On Zappos
If you’re reading this guide, the chances are that you’ve taken a look at Zappos’ enormous catalogue and got a little overwhelmed with the endless rows of dress shoes available to you. Hopefully, you’ll have found something on this list that matches your needs. However, if you’re still looking, allow us to help you with a few tips in refining your search.
Refining Your Search By Size
We suggest that you start by simply going to the top toolbar, hovering over “men” and choosing “all shoes” at the bottom. To save time, here is a direct link to get you there immediately.
You’ll then be presented with all of the men’s shoes available on Zappos. As of writing this guide, there are nearly 20,000 men’s shoe models available! Let’s start, then, by creating an account where you can save your sizes, which will help remove anything that will be too big or small.
After all, there’s nothing more infuriating than searching for ages, narrowing it down, and discovering the shoes you end up picking won’t fit. If you don’t wish to create an account, you can simply select your potential sizes with the sidebar on the left.
We would recommend that you don’t refine by shoe width just yet, though, as it includes different measuring units. Therefore, it may eliminate things that would normally fit. However, if the width is an important factor in your choice, you might want to do this sooner rather than later.
Remember that you can select multiple sizes so don’t forget to include a range so to take into account brands that run a bit too small or large.
Refining Your Search By Category
Zappos uses broad categories for its shoes. Indeed, dress shoes are only defined as “Oxfords”. Although we consider Oxfords as a specific style, the category includes Derbies, Monk Straps, and other varieties.
If looking for a precise style, you can use the search bar at the top to narrow it down. However, not all brands will mention it and you may miss out on a few models.
Another small quirk with Zappos is that you can’t select multiple categories to trawl through at the same time. Therefore, if you also want to take “loafers” and “boots” into consideration, you’ll have to do separate searches in other tabs. It’s also worth noting that loafers include casual options while boots also feature footwear for hiking and construction work.
Nevertheless, these can be refined by specifying the materials and choosing “leather”, which helps remove many non-relevant choices.
Alternatively, you can scroll down the filters to “Occasion”. Here, you can choose multiple ones of which “dress” and “office & career” will be the most appropriate. Most of the office and career choices appear to be also labelled as dress shoes, but there are a few that aren’t included so it’s worth checking both.
The advantage of searching by occasions is that it’ll include styles from Oxfords, Loafers, and Boots. As a rule, it’ll also remove casual options from these categories. The downside, however, is that it may not include appropriate shoes that weren’t labelled as such. Nevertheless, it will provide an easier experience.
Searching By Price
Zappos doesn’t include a particularly specific price filter for its searches, which is a shame as it would be handy to be able to choose a minimum and maximum when the budget is a concern. In most cases, certain types of shoe construction and materials fall in a price range, which varies depending on the brand’s reputation and where the shoes are made.
Instead, you can only search for shoes under $50, under $100, under $200, and over $200. These are probably the most popular price points so it shouldn’t make a huge deal. Nevertheless, if you’re looking for higher-end shoes but don’t want to scroll through shoes over $400, you’re out of luck.
That said, you can sort the shoes by price, which will make it easier to find something suitable.
Sorting The Search
A feature that shouldn’t be underestimated is the “sort by” tool. While not perfect, it’s still pretty handy. Not only can you sort the results by price, but you can also scroll through them by popularity or their ratings.
That being said, the rating filter is a little misleading as it will feature shoes with just one 5-star rating at the top while a shoe with an average of 4.5 from multiple reviews will appear further down.
Conversely, an excellent shoe might have just one 1-star rating and then be pushed down at the bottom. Sometimes these are due to an unrelated issue like the delivery, which isn’t a reflection of its quality either. What would be handy here is the ability to search for average reviews compared to the number of sales as can be found on Amazon.
The best way to judge the quality according to other people’s experience is sorting by popularity. This option will order the shoes by the number of orders. You can then visually choose the ones with the highest ratings for a better idea.
When searching by ratings, be sure to read a few individual reviews to make sure that everything aligns with your expectations.
Other Filters
There are plenty of other ways to refine your search on Zappos. You can choose a specific brand, miscellaneous themes or features, and materials. Some of these can be pretty handy while others seem a bit odd.
For instance, “styles” is dominated by one called “comfort”, which is a little vague and doesn’t only feature orthotic shoes. It also contains “monk strap” and “salle shoes” while derbies, brogues, and similar are absent.
Additionally, the colour filter can be helpful if this is a very specific requirement for you. That being said, it seems to miss a lot out, especially when available in multiple colourways or one that’s unlisted.
Generally speaking, we find that searching through Zappos’ extensive catalogue is best undertaken with the filters listed above. Of course, you can perform searches for shoes with certain keywords. However, make sure that you try multiple ones so as to take into account alternative spellings or different terms.
Finally, another tool is the “selection” bar at the top. This feature allows you to quickly remove or add common filters. If you find yourself searching through a limited range of shoes, you can remove one to open it up. Meanwhile, if you find that the selection is too wide, it usually offers a handy extra filter that you can click to narrow it down some more.
What Next?
Now that you have learned about the best dress shoes that you can buy on Zappos, have you considered other situations where you may need to build out your wardrobe? Check out some of our guides below to learn more:
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