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Sneakers can’t do everything. Despite their meteoric rise in the last decade, sometimesthese comfy kicks just can’t get dressed up enough for a formal occasion—no matter how slick and unadorned they are. While dress codes have universally relaxed (hallelujah!) with offices at barely 30 percent capacity and pants-optional Zoom meetings, when an event calls for a proper suit and tie or tux, your box-fresh AF1s probably won’t cut it. That sharp DB blazer or shawl-collar dinner jacket requires something sleeker, something polished, something smart. It’s time for the best oxford shoes to, ahem, step in.
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Oxford shoes are unreservedly elegant. They don’t try to be anything but themselves. No hybrid-shoe drag or half-hearted attempts to traverse iffy terrain here. No, sir. The best oxford shoes set their intentions transparently so you can look your most polished and suitably dressed for the occasion. You’d wear them when you have somewhere to be, a place that has a certain level of decorum. It might even be a little bit glamorous. Oxfords both elevate your dressy-to-formal fit and gracefully fade into the background so you come off as your most dignified self. For a pair of unassuming footwear, oxfords are doing a lot.
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The Anatomy of Oxford Shoes
Let’s ground ourselves with something of a definition, which will require a brief foray into shoe anatomy. In the vast and murky landscape of lace-ups, oxfords occupy the most formal spot. (Maybe opera pumps are a tick higher, but we’re not veering into that territory for this story.) Technically, oxfords are defined by a closed lacing system, which means the shoe’s quarters (those side panels where the eyelets are) are sewn underneath the vamp (the large front portion that goes over your foot). The more casual derby has an open lacing system where the quarters are sewn on top of the vamp. Oxfords have a low heel and low-cut ankle and the taxonomy continues from there to include different varieties like cap-toe, wingtip, whole cut, etc.
As happens in many lexicons, the term “oxford” has widened in scope to include more generally dressy varieties—some newer brands are fast and loose with it with little regard to where laces are stitched.
A Brief History of Oxford Shoes
As you might imagine, the shoe became popular at Oxford University. In the 1800s the male student body started wearing a half-boot with side slits—the Oxonian—as a more comfortable alternative to tight, high boots with heels. The slit evolved with laces and moved to the instep. Ankles and heels became lower and the oxford shoe was born. Other histories speculate that oxford shoes emerged in Balmoral Castle in Scotland, invented by Prince Albert as an indoor laced alternative to his Balmoral boots that made hunting easier; sometimes “Balmoral” will be thrown around as a synonym for “oxford”. Either way, young people jumped on the trend. Although some sources say that men were initially hesitant to adopt the laces, considering them too feminine . . . said the dudes who wore (total slay!) boots with a four-inch heel.
Nowadays, some of the best oxford shoes are still produced in England, many in Northampton, by classic labels such as John Lobb and Crockett & Jones. Of course, other brands have adopted the style, making their own stellar versions in beautiful leathers and suedes. So if you’re in the market for dress shoes that are proudly situated on the complete opposite pole from sneakers, check out the best oxford shoes below.
Best Professional Oxford Shoes
John Lobb City II Leather Oxford Shoes
Buy Now on Mr Porter: $1,750
Buy Now on Bergdorf Goodman: $1,750
Buy Now on Matches Fashion: $1,750
Despite John Lobb’s tony reputation, the brand’s history is rooted in function (sort of). Its namesake founder traveled on foot from the Cornish coast to London in 1851 as an apprentice bootmaker and also journeyed to Australia during the gold rush. There, he created hollow-heeled boots in which miners could stow contraband gold nuggets. Enterprising! He came back to England and was eventually named the bootmaker to the Prince of Wales. Lobb’s City II Leather Oxford shoes with single leather soles and double-stitched cap toe evidence the brand’s commitment to artisan techniques and its 190-step manufacturing process. Team ’em with suits or highly polished with tuxes.
Date of Brand Origin: 1863.
Colors Available: 4.
Best Oxford Brogue Shoes
Church’s Masai Leather Oxford Brogue Shoes
Buy Now on Church’s: $2,200
We can’t discuss oxford shoes and Northampton manufacturing without Church’s. The Church family has deep roots in Northampton, with a family tree that can be traced back to as early as 1617. They live and breathe leather footwear and, unsurprisingly, produce an exemplary oxford. As for “brogue”, the style name derives from the Gaelic word “brog,” translating to “rough” or “stout.” In the 19th century, Scottish and Irish farmers wore a version with the telltale series of punching to allow effective drainage in the wet, boggy conditions of the land. Church’s particularly elevated answer to the classic brogue wingtip are these cordovan Oxfords, part of its Crown collection, cut from Masai calf leather with understated punching.
Date of Brand Origin: 1873.
Colors Available: 2.
Best Wholecut Oxford Shoes
Santoni Carter Wholecut Oxford Shoes
Buy Now on Saks Fifth Avenue: $1,520
Always tinged with a bit of Italian irreverence—a traffic-cone-orange interior here, a sassy burnished tassel there—Santoni is a relative newcomer to the classic footwear arena. And by “newcomer” we mean Andrea and Rosa Santoni established their studio in 1975. Rather than opting for a flat black, these oxfords, cut from a single piece of leather sourced from calves that grazed in the Alps, are a deep and somehow rich gray. Goodyear welting and classic brogueing keep them grounded. Subtle but singular, indeed.
Date of Brand Origin: 1975.
Colors Available: 1.
Best High-Fashion Oxford Shoes
Prada Asymmetric Brushed Leather Oxford Shoes
Buy Now on Prada: $1,250
Buy Now on Saks Fifth Avenue: $1,250
Mrs. Prada has a rich history of subverting classical forms. The humble nylon backpack. A pleated miniskirt. A deceptively simple button-down shirt. With the addition of Raf Simons into the Prada family, the cerebral hits just keep coming. Here, they take on the formal oxford shoe, giving it a squared-off, angled toe—a polyhedron that defies any geometry teacher’s definition. Pair with a slim tux and perform your own clever rebellion against formality. Or maybe this subtle mutation is the future.
Date of Brand Origin: 1913.
Colors Available: 1.
Best Triple-Welt Oxford Shoes
Grenson Gresham Oxford Shoes
Buy Now on Grenson: $755
Goodyear welting—the process by which a shoe’s upper is stitched to the sole with a thin strip of leather (the welt) rather than cheaply cemented—is one of the marks of extremely high-quality footwear, and Grenson is committed to the process. The brand has taken Goodyear welting to a new level with not one, not two, but three stepped welts on this pair of oxfords for a chunky and particularly sturdy aesthetic. Grenson is also part of the Northamptonshire crew, so you know the manufacturing is top-notch.
Date of Brand Origin: 1866.
Colors Available: 3.
Best Artisanal Oxford Shoes
Ferragamo Angiolo Oxford Shoes
Buy Now on Ferragamo: $1,390
Buy Now on Saks Fifth Avenue: $1,390
Buy Now on Nordstrom: $1,390
Salvatore Ferragamo’s history is well-documented, from an upbringing in Naples, Italy to a boot factory in Boston to success in Hollywood and eventually a store in Florence. The man had drive and charisma, hence his “Shoemaker to the Stars” nickname. Still family-owned, Ferragamo, the brand, produces the kind of shoes that remain on now-I’ve-made-it lists: a status symbol with the artisan chops to back it up. Its Angiolo oxfords are cut from a single piece of calfskin and, of course, made in Italy.
Date of Brand Origin: 1927.
Colors Available: 5.
Best Suede Oxford Shoes
Tom Ford Clayton Cap-Toe Suede Oxford Shoes
Buy Now on Bergdorf Goodman: $1,390
Buy Now on Mytheresa: $1,390
The patron saint of men’s formalwear has a whole array of evening-appropriate shiny lace-ups and slippers. But we chose the brand’s suede oxfords instead, because they have the refinement of a pair of red-carpet walkers rendered in a slightly more casual (but gorgeous) dark-brown suede. Ford’s signature sensuousness comes through in the elongated silhouette and supple materials. The man may not be at the helm of his house anymore, but his label is still telling the world that oxfords can be sexy.
Date of Brand Origin: 2005.
Colors Available: 2.
Best Patent Leather Oxford Shoes
Christian Louboutin Greggo Patent Leather Oxford Shoes
Buy Now on Bergdorf Goodman: $945
Christian Louboutin is known for those signature red soles and some truly out-there styles studded with all matter of rainbow crystals and teetering platforms. These are not those. He has quietly produced some of the most popular formal shoes that leading men love. Check the credits on a red carpet look and a solid portion of the men’s shoes will have come from Christian Louboutin. These Greggo patent leather oxfords show you why. They’re dressed-up without being showy. They have a low profile and graceful soles. They’re deeply appropriate and worth having on hand should you get an impromptu invitation to your friend’s premiere.
Date of Brand Origin: 1992.
Colors Available: 1.
Best Cap-Toe Oxford Shoes
Crockett & Jones Hand-Grade Lonsdale Leather Oxford Shoes
Buy Now on Todd Snyder: $730
Buy Now on Saks Fifth Avenue: $920
Our mini-tour of the incredibly well-shod town of Northampton continues with Crockett & Jones, which has been producing Goodyear welted shoes there since 1879. Consider them another one of the biggies alongside John Lobb, Church’s, and Edward Green (see below). Among royal distinctions and expansion, it also has the venerable claim of supplying styles for the James Bond film No Time to Die, which happened to be wholecut oxfords. For less action-packed pursuits, the brand’s Lonsdale leather oxfords are a posh option with a classic cap toe.
Date of Brand Origin: 1879.
Colors Available: 2.
Best Burnished Oxford Shoes
Edward Green Chelsea Cap-Toe Burnished Leather Oxford Shoes
Buy Now on Mr Porter: $1,285
Edward Green has differentiated itself from the Northampton pack by veering ever so slightly more into the boots arena. However, all of the label’s shoes, including oxfords, are still cut by hand in their Northampton workshop. We’re partial to their burnished finishes, where the leather is polished to bring out the highs and lows of the shoe. The Chelsea style here also features a softly curved, wider silhouette shaped on their 202 last.
Date of Brand Origin: 1890.
Colors Available: 2.
Authors
Isaiah Freeman-Schub
Isaiah Freeman-Schub is a Brooklyn-based writer and editor. He previously was an editor at WSJ. and Modern Luxury, covering menswear and watches. He's also contributed to Mr Porter, T and more. He…
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