Allen Edmonds Park Avenue Boot

“AE Park Avenue (or 5th Avenue) are super classic. I would say a pair of AE Park Avenue in black calf is like the one "do you need a pair of good shoes for more formal events? buy these" recommendations I would give, absent reasons as to why not. They're not "the best" or "the cheapest" but if you can find them on sale, or seconds, or seconds on sale, you would be hard pressed to beat the value. Unless the last simply does not fit your feet, which happens -- one of the good parts about this shoe is it is probably available at most any department store, so you should be able to try them before you buy them. For me personally, my go-to would be a similar pair from Alden... which pop up on ebay etc in new or like-new condition in the $200-300 price point. But I know their lasts and sizes and what fits me, and I like them more. But I wouldn't recommend them without thought as a default option, the way I recommend AE Park Avenue, because it's a more difficult and more expensive option. Grant stone, similarly, makes perfectly good shoes. And again, the downside is that they are not so absurdly available to try on as AE is, and their pricing is more transparent but their lowest pricing you can wait for is a fair bit higher than AE seconds on sale. Meermin makes perfectly good shoes, at a great price. Problem tends to be a tougher break-in process, and they run narrower, so if your feet are wide Meermin is often not the one to go to. If your feet are narrow and you don't mind stomping around a bit, then go for it. But ...... again, much harder to find a way to try before you buy.”