Journal ·
Goodyear-welted boots and loafers under $175
A welted western boot for $129, a Wisconsin penny loafer for $172.49, and the one factory second worth the gamble.
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Buy the Thursday Boot Co. Frontier in brown. It's $129, down from $220, with a full-grain leather upper, a Goodyear welt and a leather outsole. That's a welted boot for about the price of a glued one, and at this price the resole you'll eventually pay for costs less than half of what the boot did.
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What a welt buys you
Most shoes under $200 are cemented: the sole is glued straight to the upper, and when it wears through, the shoe is done. A Goodyear welt adds a strip of leather stitched around the edge of the upper, and the sole is stitched to that strip. When the sole wears out, a cobbler cuts the stitches, sews on a new one, and you keep the upper you spent a year breaking in.
That matters most on a boot, because the upper is the part that molds to your foot. A good full-grain upper creases where you bend, darkens where you handle it, and gets better for years. A welt means the sole never gets to decide when that ends.
The Frontier, brown or black
The Frontier is a western boot cut for everyday wear rather than a rodeo: stacked heel, a slightly pointed toe, and western stitching on the shaft done by hand. It wears well with dark denim and with the kind of grey wool trousers in our work wardrobe for under $500. Brown is the easier color. It goes with navy, olive, grey and denim, and it shows the leather's character as it ages.
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The black is the same boot at the same $129, and it's the one to get if most of your trousers are charcoal or black. The catch on both: the bigger sizes are gone. Brown runs 6 to 10.5, plus a single 16. Black runs 6 to 10.5 without an 8.5. If you're an 11 or up, skip to the loafers.
A note on fit: a welted boot starts stiff. The cork under the insole compresses over the first couple of weeks and the boot settles into your foot. Snug across the instep is right. Heel slip of a few millimeters is normal at first. Toes jammed at the front is not; size up.
The loafer that earns its price
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The Allen Edmonds Randolph Verse penny loafer is $172.49, down from $450. It's built on a 360-degree Goodyear welt, meaning the welt runs all the way around, heel included, with a goatskin lining, made in Wisconsin. Allen Edmonds runs its own recrafting service, so this is a shoe you can send back to the factory for a new sole instead of hunting for a cobbler.
The sand suede with chili leather is not a quiet shoe. It's for summer trousers, light denim and anything olive. If your wardrobe is mostly navy and grey, it adds the warmth those colors lack. Sizes 7 through 13 are left, with a few gaps. Suede needs a spray of protector before the first wear and a brush now and then, nothing more.
The factory second
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The Stanton bit loafer is $149.98, down from $475, and it's a factory second. That means a cosmetic flaw somewhere: a small scuff, uneven stitching on the side, a mark in the leather. Allen Edmonds sells these because they didn't pass its own inspection, not because they fall apart. The shoe itself is calfskin with a leather sole, Blake-stitched in Wisconsin.
Blake stitching is not a welt. The sole is stitched straight through to the insole, which makes a sleeker, more flexible shoe that's lighter on the foot. It can still be resoled, just by a cobbler with a Blake machine. For a dress loafer you wear to dinner and the office, that trade is fine. Sizes run 7 to 13 in D width. If a scuff would bother you every time you looked down, buy the Randolph instead.
Which pair
One pair of shoes for everything: the brown Frontier. Already own boots: the Randolph. Need something for a suit on a budget: the Stanton, flaw and all. Whatever you pick, wear it with socks that have some wool in them, and give it a day off between wears so the leather dries out. Both habits add years. The rest of this week's markdowns are in the drop.