Best Formal Shoe Brands In India Excel Formality In 2023

The definition of the Best formal shoe brands in India is persistent. We’ve written a book’s worth of content on those themes – whether it’s about the fineness of work, the feel of materials, or longevity. But it’s hard to make a fortune by embracing quality when dress shoes are more like a means to avoid looking lazy, unreliable, or unprofessional rather than an artifact to present sartorial credentials.

Tracing the development of our formal dressing culture, a new generation of best formal shoe brands in India rose in the mid-2010s: closely modeled on European forebears who, in fact, formed the templates of the best dress shoemaker for others around the world. It’s not hard to find places with classic Blake stitches with some excellent examples often offering deep dives into the great Goodyear Welt. 

But they always have room for walk-ins: for whom dress shoes can seem an afterthought. Best of all, almost every label narrows in on one category and strives to do it brilliantly. Rest assured, the best formal shoe brands in India are very aware of your 2023s take on formal dressing. So, no matter how sartorially evaluated you are, there are the best formal shoe brands In India to feel, observe—and acquire for that matter. 

We might be less inclined to splurge heavily on the style of shoes that will actually have the lifespan of a Snapchat message. But there’s something comforting about investing in an item of clothing that has barely changed for a hundred years or more. Perhaps it’s the knowledge that you’re wearing something immune to the whims of fashion. 

Formal shoes brands’ future sartorial credentials are assured. Their leather dress shoes endure because the shoe itself endures. Dress shoes’ basic design tenets haven’t changed in centuries and aren’t likely to undergo a radical revision any time soon. 

Of course, there’s much to be said about the care and artistry that goes into a leather dress shoe. But don’t hesitate to put a little bit of money into these formal shoes brands as they’ll craft something worth passing down the generations. 

Best Formal Shoe Brands In India: 

1. Bridlen
2. Pelle Santino 
3. Clarks
4. Hush Puppies 
5. PLNK
6. SeeandWear
7. The Royale Peacock 
8. Bata
9. Alberto Torresi
10. Red Tape 

Pros

Cons

If “out of this world” is what you’re going for, then Bridlen is the label to turn to – not that you can expect anything flashy or ostentatious from the brand. They’re courting those who aspire to have a constant air of gentlemanly sophistication surrounding you, this is the brand for you.

Many formal shoes brands dream of leading a label to The London Super Trunk status, one of the world’s largest open events on classic shoes, but – by far – Bridlen is the only label that joined the prestigious event. The Japanese genesis brand believes you can do more with less. There Founders Line, respectively, epitomize Bridlen’s clean-lined, considered aesthetic. 

Their peerless quality is born of a refusal to compromise at any stage of the production process. As might be expected, this perfectionist attitude places Bridlen comfortably at the upper end of the affordability spectrum. For men who appreciate the difference, though, it’s a price worth paying.

Bridlen put forward a legion range of shoes and boots – More than you might think. From near-bespoke caliber models to collections dedicated to the gentleman who seeks “class” on a budget. 

Compromise on some subtle bespoke level details and you’ll have a pair appreciably less expensive. But what never changes (no matter what’ll pick!) is that your feet will always be under gorgeous skin. 

Even the best formal shoe brands in India recruit Leather buyers, pinning their hopes on ’em to buy the most expensive element of their shoes. It has not always been like this, however. Not in Bridlen, at all! 

Its Founding father, Mr. Hasan, has long been recognized as a leatherman. Perfecting the leather became an obsession following visits to the best tanneries, which has an apparent impact on the brand. 

He knows in what and with whom to deal – sourcing the best materials for them to work with. The leather used by Bridlen is almost certainly going to be calf (other than a few specifics) which eclipse even the highest grade full-grain leather.  

The Skin’s natural pore structure or “grain” is healthy, and is left untouched. You get all the toughness, the ruggedness of the animal. You get a shoe that will wear for decades. It’ll age well and patina well. 

The finish (Or Patina) will evolve over time as the open pore structure of the Calfskin does absorb the pigments. Calfskin spring back a huge amount of punishment as they’re worn day-to-day (open to the elements!) and hold their shape over time. 

But leather isn’t just about responding to practicalities, and so you’ll be pleased to learn that these are materials you can have a little fun with, too. 

All the patterns are clicked by hand which allows the clicker to work around the growth marks, visible veins, or hair follicles – ensuring only the best area of that skin will please your feet. 

When it comes to Top 10 Formal Shoes Brands, our staff has tried ‘em all like it’s our job. (It is.) And in our earliest bits of testing Bridlen, we paused (for a while!) and stood back – mulling over that it’s not just great materials alone! It took us a couple of days… but we got it.

While more of your cash (so do the label’s!) goes towards the fine materials required to craft Bridlen Dress Shoes, the 200 different hand operations of tugging and stitching that leather to craft statement-making pieces that are visually arresting while marks Bridlen out as unique among its neighbors. 

Bridlen stands on the time-honored production methods and incorporates a higher degree of hand-finishing into their work. While the whole process deserves (In fact, Needs!) a dedicated article, see the sole unit, for instance. 

With longevity in mind, Bridlen shoes are built on solid foundations. From the fine, traditional Leather Sole channeled for Hand Grade finesse to the oversized Cleated Rubber sole, there is a sole for almost every affair.

However, The uppers outlast several outsoles as shoes take a pounding… and nowhere more than in their soles. But don’t worry Gentleman, Bridlen treats ’em with lockstitch – either directly stitched or through a welt – that never unravel until you want them to be-pulled-off to hold tight a new outsole again.

The label ensures you won’t need to write off your favorite brogues as landfills for years to come. Of course, You’ll get a more refined method of construction and higher stitch density as you level up – but the opportunity of re-soling is always there with a pair out of their atelier! 

Remember – we haven’t talked about the collections that utilize all of their strengths… yet! The uppers are pulled over at the toe by the lasting machine, before being side lasted by hand to have shape, quite rightly so being as the foot has shape. 

Bottoms are filled with granulated cork for comfort, support, and durability. Outsoles are channeled and stitched along with highly skilled operation giving the slow bark tanned outsole a perfectly smooth finish. 

The label’s ability to consistently produce quality construction is the work of Mr. Kiyotaka Watanabe, whose work as a Goodyear shoemaker has allowed him to have an incredible inside and control over the build process.

It’s his insight into dress shoe construction, that when combined with Mr. Hasan’s material aesthetics, makes Bridlen one of the best formal shoe brands in India. There are very few people today, that have the knowledge and skills to make Proper Dress Shoes… you’ll invest in pairs with real craftsmanship behind them. 

This respect for tradition doesn’t mean that Bridlen sticks only to what it knows, though. Each new collection introduces fresh shapes, colors, and details – transforming Bridlen into a powerful conglomerate with a focus on the bottom line.

To the untrained eye, a simple sewn leather dress shoe with a hefty price tag and no branding. To those who understand, a smooth calf-Goodyear Welted Investment Piece – distinguished not by a logo, but by how well they’re made. A shoe to broadcast your success only to those as well-informed as you.

Such visual allure is beyond the on-paper features. It’s not about satisfying one’s ego and impressing those around you – your latest iPhone will do that for you. (until a new-er one releases!) 

Those pairs are reserved for the landed gentry and wealthy, old-money types, or so the thinking goes. For whom Classic articles are seen as more desirable – than something that simply costs a lot of money. It’s less about projecting wealth as knowledge – and there’s a status in having knowledge.

It’s like owning an article that announces that you are important, and you’ll be treated better if you can display a degree of status through the things you wear, like a pair from one of the best formal shoe brands in India. And that’s all the more important when most of us no longer live in villages in which we’re known personally by their people. 

Your Bridlen was the gateway to status formal shoes – when you want most people to recognize what you’re wearing – but you upgrade to the increasing niche and run the risk that only some people will, but the right people.

Unlike your New iPhone, these pairs endure! This is a mark of a truly beautiful thing… it will be more appealing with age than when it was new – just think of a vintage car, a much-loved watch, or even a well-used leather Bridlen Dress Shoe. 

Just make sure you give them a good coat of conditioning leather cream each month, and you won’t put a foot wrong.

Pros

Cons

Bridlen’s lush leather loafers that glide around the feet or subtle bespoke-inspired details that quietly command attention – comes at a premium. But for those who need something affordable but – well – a near-definitive version of dress shoes, invest in Pelle Santino!

Pelle Santino takes all the notes you want (a durable sole-unit; a flattering straight upper with just a sleeker touch), and a few you didn’t realize you needed (the granulated cork footbed, the Goodyear Welted full-grain leather upper). 

Add to that a pretty reasonable price—from a cost-per-wear perspective, anyway—and you’ve got yourself a baseline against which all other – even the best formal shoe brands in India – can be judged.

If you value frugality (and, for practitioners of Gentleman’s notion, stone-cold sobriety) beyond overindulgence: then you’ll aspire Pelle Santino as your very best formal shoe brand in India.

Pushing back against the culture of low-quality, mass-produced footwear, the Indian label instead focuses on creating timeless wardrobe basics; the type of dress shoes that are designed to be worn day after day, year after year.

They do not believe in seasonal collections – the Haryana-based brand instead produces a persistent range of Classic wardrobe staples – which have been meticulously iterated upon until they are considered perfect.

Even though – there is a proliferation of high-design options to choose from, at the moment. Take this Black Chelsea. With Goodyear-welted soles, rubber instilled heels, Full grain leather uppers, this pair is more than up to the task of daily treks through the city (and beyond). 

Then again, if you’re, say, meeting with a client, that’ll call for something at the smarter end of the spectrum. Enter their Oxfords, which come with similar sturdy Goodyear welted soles, though! 

Though the brand is constantly raising the standard for “everyday” dress shoes, Frankly, you do have to put the amount of burnishing (compared to what some of the best formal shoe brands in India are showing) applied on the line.  

And those are details that might not concern you if you’re the type of guy who likes his menswear as classic (and functional) as it can be. They do pack some bold designs, noted for its grain-ly uppers, but at its heart is a firmly practical dress shoe. 

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Yes, Pelle Santino is really a great candidate for everyday shoes that just happens to offer superb value for money. Their collection is for men who invest in the right pieces and live in them. And at under ₹7k, every pair feels like a steal.

What is expensive (and “affordable”) really depends on, well, you. You define it on your own terms. But it is not on price or how much to spend, in fact, what will that get you is the pith. Pelle Santino prices cluster too close to their actual functional value.

The practical design plays to the Haryana’s label strengths, utilizing outdoors-specific materials, including Full-grain leather and Goodyear welted soles, to render many more practical and hardwearing qualities than your standard runners. 

Never before have there been so many Goodyear welted options available for so little dough… until Pelle Santino brought its range a year ago. Embracing such a time-honored method isn’t alone marking it out as unique among its Indian neighbors: but it’s the initial outlay to own ’em!

The “welt” (a strip of leather) is sewn around the bottom edge of a shoe. This stitching (the welt seam) attaches the welt to both the insole and the upper of the shoe. The outer sole is then sewn to the welt, with a heavy-duty lock-stitch seam.

Though expensive, time-consuming, and difficult to master, Goodyear Welt Construction makes the shoe incredibly durable. And if it is OK, for you, to place a little bit of that durability on the line… their Blake line is where your wallet might see some savings!

Like most of the best formal shoe brands in India, PS is vertically integrated, meaning it owns every part of the production process—and can therefore deliver great quality at a lower price. 

That’s how it manages to turn out both super-legit high-end pieces (under the Goodyear welt collection) at the gentler-on-the-wallet sum. Expect full-grain leather, reliable built, incredible value, and just the right variety.

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Pros

Cons

The beauty of power footwear is how the classic styles such as oxfords and brogues…. being designed and worn with leather soles and fine architectural lines – lend a feeling of power and confidence. While we can all dream of having an inexhaustible budget when it comes to the decoration of our sartorial credentials, this is not always the case. 

However, by the same token, price is not always a guarantee of quality and taste. Many streamlined manufacturing units with the best shoemakers mean Clarks can keep things reasonable when it comes to the numbers after the rupee sign. 

Though Clark capsules cover the full spectrum of the modern male wardrobe, particularly strong in utilitarian outerwear, their dress shoes cut from Italian-sourced suede or leather – we hope you agree – will do for any classy man who does not wish to spend a fortune.

We all work in precariously image-conscious industry, debuting a strong, memorable, and, crucially, photogenic outfit – habitually – has become as weighty as, well, any other professional practice.

Now there are, of course, some boundaries within that statement. A formal setting might not be the moment to whip out your favorite Adidas stan smith; actually, any logo-emblazoned pieces or exuberantly flashy designs could overshadow your skills and what you bring to the table. 

It’s a balancing act of showing off your personality in a polished and refined manner. Clarks formal shoes are as basic as they come and don’t offer any weird or wonderful features, but it doesn’t need to – it just gets the job done exactly the way it’s supposed to.

The Clarks’ formal world has an arguably more relaxed and notably more understated approach to style than the more peacock-y formal shoes brands, which are as tricky to pull off well as it was easy to get wrong. The appeal lies in the simplicity that Blends into any formal setting.

At the heart of such a simple look is a pretty keen adherence to minimalism. You won’t find busy, cluttered models at Clarks. Collections that work powerfully, but carefully, with color, print, and texture – Attempting to part your formal regime is relatively easy, your sartorial tricks will never go awry. 

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When quality and minimalism are the brand’s shoe words, how can functionality be integrated and embraced without compromise?

Making clean, simple, and functional dress shoes – a few names in our list of best formal shoe brands in India has established such a clear vision and stuck to it faithfully. 

In fact, who doesn’t love that ahhh sensation of your first step in an exceptionally soft Clarks dress shoe? I have grown up with them, perhaps – worn their shoes to school as a callow youth, or taken them on dates, pub lunches, and nights out over the years. 

You may have used them to pad your office’s corridors every day; to see you through promotions, meetings, and lunches… don’t you feel they never miss on function! Their formal models undeniably popped in the immediate comfort department, more so than any other – even, the best formal shoe brands in India. 

Supple – soft uppers, wider toe box, lightweight EVA midsole unit with zonal foam padding, rubber (or rubber integrated) outsoles with single stitching flowing across, and staying true to our Clarks’ heritage. That duality remains fundamental to the brand’s appeal.

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Pros

Cons

It’s the “new normal” that even the formal enthusiast are inspired by the palpable comfort afforded by the gym leggings. Today, selling those eye-wateringly expensive Goodyear welted pair (that does feel a tad stiff at first and requires longer to break in) to someone screaming for comfort right off the box – is a tough ask.

And as there’s no time (or a big reason) to dress up – You’ve been forgiven for hesitating to splurge on a proper dress shoe; after all, it seems outrageous to frivolously spend so much on that Proper Good-Year Stuff as your coworkers refuse to take off their Allbirds. 

Altogether, the cards are stacked in favor of the best formal shoe brands in India that are affordable, feel good, and just dress-y to look the part. And that includes Hush Puppies. Their pairs aren’t examples of artisanal craftsmanship, it’s not necessary to make the leap – especially when formal is just formality for you! 

We live in a time where, for some people, alacrity is valued above all else. While shoemaking, generally, is a practice rooted in history and tradition for pieces that gets better as they age. Still, that doesn’t mean things in the formal shoe world don’t benefit from the occasional shakeup, which is where Hush Puppies comes in. 

Life is complicated. Horribly so. And to those not in the shoe world, it is a source of mild amusement that shoemakers speak with such pride of their “Construction” and “Smooth Calf” and whatnot. 

Pros

Cons

The phrase “leap of faith” must be indelibly imprinted on the mind of just about every young formal shoes brand who has decided to go it alone for the accolade of the best formal shoe brands in India. Though we won’t count the minefields needed to navigate to let your own particular sartorial flag fly…

…such brands can experience the sheer joy of making exactly what they want—but very few ensure it’s being made in ways that are accountable and respectful. But when P.L.N.K stages its first catalog of dress shoes in late 2018, their creation (and construction) looks more finely honed than those of most newbies. 

Fine-tuning their ready-to-wear (from blake stitched loafers to Goodyear Welted leather Derbies), shoes (made in the same factory where the world’s best formal shoe brands want their shoes to be made), and lashed a pocket-money price that’s impelled more like a collective than the industry’s typical top-down operations.

Generally, no one inquires, “What are the shoes made of?”

It’s fair to say that most of us wouldn’t know how to answer that question today. But if your dress shoe is made from the toughest layer of the hide, isn’t that the first thing you’d tell someone? 

PLNK is probably the only brand that has managed to stretch it beyond the top-grain leather – a standard for shoes in this price range. In fact, if a brand’s greatest hope is that its customers will help tell its story, then it’s smart to incorporate cutting-edge, durable, conversation-starting full-grain leather. 

Sourced from South America, it is the highest quality grade of leather that money can buy. As the top layer of the hide contains all of the natural grain (strongest fibers in the hide), imperfections, marks – it is incredibly strong and durable.

At first glance, you wouldn’t know any of this. You’re just drawn to the last definition, of-the-moment silhouettes, Which burnish and beautify as soon as you wear them. 

Develops a much sought-after patina and unique character that cannot be easily duplicated. Truly, the more you use it, the better it looks and feels.

Though, Full-Grain Leather is more expensive for manufacturers to buy and more difficult for them to work with. This is reflected in the cost to the consumer, but that (surprisingly!) is not the case here. 

They’re materials many consumers aren’t familiar with, and at a time When many of us are concerned about the environment, not just the “tree huggers,” it feels right to be talking about the impact of faux leather in general.

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It’s not just about the type of materials used. The manner to treat those materials owns the proficiency to appreciate the elegance and the depth of the materials. In fact, you can source the best materials and along with a brilliant designer that’s able to envision a beautiful, elegant last shape…

…but if it’s not made in a factory that’s able to respect those elements – you’ll never see it in the finished shoe! PLNK has managed to take the synergy between durable, elegant leather and Indan artisan’s knowledge of shoemaking.

Snubbing pressure from big formal shoes brands in our country, who were able to drop prices to a level with which the small shoemakers could no longer compete, PLNK refocused their businesses on small-minimum orders, rapid fulfillment, and one thing above all: quality.

They rely on century-old ateliers to craft dress shoes distinguished not by a logo, but by how well they’re made. For PLNK – A Blake stitch, largely, is what firmly holds those hulks of tanned hide. 

Used commonly in the Italian shoe industry (Tod’s is an exemplary example), the upper is directly stitched to the sole, resulting in lighter shoes both in appearance and weight, with greater flexibility. 

Though there are many different treatments that one can give to a shoe’s sole (however this selection settles the durability and repairability) the shape is the first thing that makes a shoe beautiful.

PLNK dress shoes are crafted on sleek contemporary last. The Sharpe last definition dictates the amount of work that goes into hand lasting those shoes. 

Models from these best formal shoe brands in India are made to have shape, quite rightly so being as the foot has shape. 

It is not a block. And it curves in many places, not just the instep and the arch. It isn’t immediately apparent from a picture on a phone or computer screen, so just open your wallet wide enough to swallow the cost of such a fine experience.

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While dress shoes, generally, are a more refined and traditional section of the sartorial world. But as the new brands that don’t have a hundred-year history of design heritage, they have to respect…

…such modern interpretations play with textures, colors, and silhouettes and offer something for everyone. But most of the time, they end up on the flashy side of the spectrum. 

On the other foot, PLNK let it be known that bold and flashy designs are not the only option to generate a much need initial thrust. It might not be the most personal item to shop for, but there’s nothing worse than being half-hearted when it comes to your formal footwear.

So if you settle on PLNK from our list of best formal shoe brands in India – Think clean-cut dress shoes that eschew any boldness in favor of understated and unadulterated minimalism; sleek leather footwear sharp enough to look good with any suit.

They don’t sell any flashy dress shoes. This is a business catering to people who love high-end dress shoes in their purest form. Their sliver range is comprised of pieces that have already stood the test of time and whose future sartorial credentials are assured. 

You might not necessarily be striving for sobriety, though you may be “sober curious.” PLNK is a good way to switch your brain from “Bold” to “Effortless.” 

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Pros

Cons

The footwear industry is vast and complex. So complex that it can be practically impossible to determine what exactly you need to purchase and use from what’s actually just a money-making scheme for formal shoes brands all over the nation.

Nobody needs to be told that an expensive price tag doesn’t necessarily equal the Best Formal Shoe Brands In India. With an offering of timeless silhouettes in a subdued palette of solids, SeeandWear dress shoes are all about Value: a simple, non-complicated selection of dress shoes (excluding the obvious genuine leather, cemented sole, or a hefty price tag), shoes that will actually serve you, that are worth your time, and will do your feet good.

SeeandWear formal shoes aren’t necessarily supposed to turn heads or spark conversations. Yet it’s for this very reason that we wear them so often. For many premieres and formal occasions, gentlemen keep it simple, opting for simple pieces with understated appeal.

One of our criteria for recommending any formal shoes brands is: are you getting something that stands out at its price? But the sub ₹1k labels rarely meet such standards. But SeeandWear brings fun and flair to this template!

As our own editors put it in the recent ode to Chelsea boots: “…when S.&.W makes a ₹1k dress shoe, he knows which knobs to turn and buttons to press to make sure it belies the price tag. They’re not focused on hype, only fine-tuning each piece until it’s perfect.

Slightly sanded, finely lasted Top Grain Buff Leather upper on a rubber outsole with stitching all around edges of the shoe is a little too sophisticated and nuanced for something that costs less than you normally spend on pav bhaji at Sardar.

Pros

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I’ve just returned from Agra with much of this haul, where I traveled with the goal of smearing as many artisans as possible, both as inspiration for my own reports, BestShoe99.in but also to experience one of the nation’s historic cobbling capital.

Unbeknown to many lesser informed individuals: Agra is – what we like to call – The Mecca Of Men’s Style. There we have the biggest concentration of master shoemakers, artisans, leather ateliers In India. 

And while the bulk of your itinerary, in this sartorial hotspot, is already predetermined—see you at Majestic Gardens and the Taj Mahal, everyone!— but the Agra-based The Royale Peacock aims to offer a bit more than mere tasting notes. The label does keep the lion’s share of its production on the historic city’s shores for years now. 

The cliché that Italians are the best dressers in the world is well-worn for a reason. Quite simply, they pick pieces made to have shape, quite rightly so being as the foot has shape. 

They achieve that distinctly Italian look banking on Blake stitched shoes – a sleeker, little less durable construction.

Remember the Goodyear Welting thing we’ve mentioned earlier; it can add bulk to the shoe, as its outer edges need to be wide enough to accommodate stitches. And that Densely Grained leather makes it more difficult for them to work with!

The Royale Peacock brings a unique story and vision to this art form. Their master-shoemaker, with hard-won experiences, has developed a unique visual language that relies heavily on traditional methods.

The shape and structure are clearly there to support the quality materials, instead of the styling being the sole focus, and the materials taking the back seat.

The full-grain leather is hand lasted (the term used when referring to the ‘pulling the upper over the last) until it exhibits the exact line and shape of the last.

Then edges are closely trimmed, whereby the sole edges are trimmed to a specific shape, accurately mimicking the last it was designed for. Winding up with some of the finest details and aesthetics that we desire on a pair from the Best formal shoe brands in India.

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Pros

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Keeping up with the latest sartorial trends isn’t always easy. And testing out all of those buzzy, connoisseur-approved shoes — like Bridlen’s Founders or Pelle Santino’s Brogues — can be, to say the least, financially inconvenient.

A to-the-point, effective, and pleasantly wallet-friendly formal shoes brand could treat a wide range of concerns, Right?

The oldest name in our list of best formal shoe brands in India is, in fact, a fantastic way to get a more potent dose of your sartorial ingredients, but without weighing yourself down using heavy construction (or, well, a heavy price tag!).

A significant portion of Bata’s massive offering behest amount that many of us drop on dress shoes without looking back, without a second glance, without experiencing even the faintest pang of guilt.

While in our list of best shoe brands in India – we do have names that are using one of the best materials held by the most promising methods. But all these formal shoes brands lack is the know-how. Bata know when to leverage the complete resources and where holding ’em would be just fine.

Though we’ve all seen how hard a factory is to set up, Bata has set records for the world’s largest shoe manufacturer and retailer – selling more than 14 billion pairs of shoes. They haven’t done this by standing still, right?

Pros

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It doesn’t really matter what shoe trends are in for men—they’re going to be some form of a comfortable flat. While it was our new stay-at-home lives in 2020 that ignited the appreciation of comfort in, well, everything! And which formal shoes brand could be more suited to life-at-ease than the aptly named Alberto Torresi.

From sole to upper, every line and detail of a pair from Alberto represents a dedication to comfort. Built by world-renowned shoemakers, those dress shoes ooze the kind of style and appeal that only the Alberto Torresi does best.

The dress shoe collection from their massive offering adorns the silhouette and every material, finish and construction have been perfectly put together to create a feeling of modern elegance with a hint of masculinity. Of the best formal shoe brands in India: Alberto Torresi is, Probably, “The Perfect” brand to relax.

In the complete list of best formal shoe brands in India, it feels like Alberto Torresi is thinking a little harder, towards a simpler and more reliable article fit for any dressy situation. For them, dress shoes had to remain relevant to the tech enthusiast, at a time when you really can’t expect a lot right off the box from even the most expensive dress shoe.

It’s nice to have expensive Goodyear Welted shoes (I mean, come on, who doesn’t like expensive Welted Shoes?), and if you had the funds at hand, you could spend up to ₹30k on this sophisticated class of formal shoes.

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Red Tape is an interesting brand and something unique from the others featured in this list of Best Formal Shoes Brands In India. The label enjoyed a dynamic and celebrated career as a formal shoe brand in India. They are known for having a user base that’s very loyal and enthusiastic about their formal models.

Red Tape has kept itself firmly in the game by producing exceptional formal shoes and is giving a tough fight to their foreign counterparts even today. Thanks to their massive offering (almost everything under the sun) at an insanely affordable price point.

Quality dress shoes can be a bit harder to nail though. But there are occasionally exceptions to the rule – Red Tape. They’re making the best cheap men’s dress shoes you can get your hands on right now that won’t compromise style for price.

Most of their models are manufactured using Top Grain and Genuine leather. As a result, they look the part and the cemented rubber soles are quite subtle and not a huge giveaway of their low price.

Across the growing landscape of name-bearing dress shoes, our region has different breeds of hardheaded shoemakers (or sellers!). Some are tailored to knowledgeable sartorialists, while others aim to apply everything until they land something you like—and all are ready a few steps away to your doorstep.

We have such shoes, perceived by their quality rather than name, passed down several generations, which seem to get even better with age—patina, marks, and all. Done with the most modest amount of consideration, Why bother for the best brands then?

An endeavor to get through the best formal shoe brands might seem too outrageous for whom dress shoes are, well, an afterthought. Then it might seem a lot to think about the best formal shoe brands in India – isn’t life complicated enough already? But here are answers to this question you may not even know you have. 

Attention-seeker? Scrooge-like? Workaholic? High flying? You don’t need to tell us — the brands you bought formals from are doing the talking for you. It was ever thus, of course. And that is all the more important when most of us no longer live in villages where we are known personally by its people.

It is a notion made of the new reality: We are no longer dressing up just for us but for the in-person soirées, IRL eyes, an array of small screens blasting our every outfit to hundreds (or thousands—even millions) of followers, or for friends, family to co-workers, bosses, potential love interests and complete strangers.

And that stare of humanity on your shoes is backed by Research that shows you can tell a lot about someone’s personality, politics, status, age, and income just by looking at a photo of their shoes (and the brand). There’s no right or wrong. It often comes from internal motivations, and in that way, You don’t just buy a brand but buy into a brand.

We spend our money on a ‘name-bearing’ dress shoe rather than on a markless one not merely because we like it but because, whether we are aware of it or not, it bestows on us the membership of a group. The nature of that group depends on the brand, and also perhaps on the nature of the particular item. 

We desire to belong to a group and to communicate that fact through what brand we wear and often, concomitantly, to communicate that we don’t belong to another group – is what drives us to splurge just not for the shoes but for the label they bear. A dress shoe may have the benefit of being a portable status object, that telegraphs your status even in the rangiest settings…

…but ‘formal’ brand lure can only be decoded by fellow cognoscenti, by others in the know. Bata was the gateway to shoes – when you want most people to recognize what you’re wearing – you upgrade to the Bridlen and run the risk that only some people will, but the right people. Go out and buy a brand, they say. Show yourself.

Of course, we align with a brand to find legitimacy in becoming a member of a community: it is not just for those around us… but for us. Brands have a lot to do with what we think about dress shoes! And that coheres when giving dress shoes any thought at all is optional, especially in our country. 

Our dressing nerds get so animated when we lace up a Goodyear Welted Black Calf Oxford from Bridlen than a cemented pair from a store down the street! It’s all too tempting to equate a dress shoe with the brand. It’s not a physical or mental issue so much as a psychological one. We’re just talking about a pair of dress shoes, after all! 

It is far easier to understand this notion: merely put your Ford Explorer Platinum in the spotlight! What if we switch it with Range Rover Sport HSE? It won’t let you get behind the wheel, nither anyone looking at it in your garage, but it enlarges your notion of what a car can be and the emotions it can provoke. 

Too often, people never think of “Branded Dress Shoes” in that way; but even unconsciously, it is there, affecting your dressing experience! Brands spend (or we should say: Invest) thousands, if not millions, to make you think about the product in a certain way. Brand shape our attitudes, desires, and how we approach formal shoes. 

But we are so used to getting our ‘formals’ from postulant, affordable sources that dress shoes’ ceremonial importance is sometimes forgotten in the blizzard of other (and more visible) sartorial preparations. The current sartorial mood in menswear is rightfully a bit “meh, do whatever you want”, and it is perhaps making dress shoes an afterthought in nature!

Get your formals from a name endowed with ancestry ’cause it forges our relationship with dress shoes and ultimately defines its role in our lives. The appeal has much to do with what it reveals about its place of origin, just as the small-town mom-and-pop cafe tells you more about where you are than any franchise restaurant ever could.

The world has too many options for, well, everything! There’s more information about products in the form of thriving communities on the internet and Instagram. New, covetable pieces launch with alarming regularity. And there are simply more doors and stores and webshops and IG accounts where you can buy your next dress shoes.

But it’s also for precisely those reasons that buying dress shoes can feel harder than it’s ever been. Yet of the more personal items to shop for, a perfect dress shoe for you really depends on, well, you: you likely had to sort through the many of those options on the market and engage in a try-on-and-error journey. 

Do you want the pair to be thick and beefy, or airy and soft? A trim, blake shoe, or a loose cemented one? Are you willing to drop some serious dough on a truly perfect pair, or does that seem outrageous for something so basic? Of course, the complexity of this process too depends on You! But there always be some elements to cross off your list find the one! 

But when you know who makes or where your very perfect pairs of dress shoes are coming from – the task becomes easier – eternally! There’s something inherently comforting about aligning oneself to a certain look, a cultural moment, or a cluster of brands. These pre-loved brands will demand the most modest consideration for your further needs. 

It’s not like you have to subscribe to a brand as it helps with further purchases! The best shoes to wear are the ones that you feel most comfortable in, irrespective of what brand they are from, and, “spark joy”. Yet such alignments do, in practice, tend to happen, particularly when it comes to aligning oneself with some labels and not others. 

With a little experience and engagement with particular designers, you quickly get used to a certain brand’s wares, manufacturing techniques, fit and overall ethos, which ultimately makes it easier when it comes to shopping, both for oneself and for others. If you like one thing from a particular label, chances are you will like another.

The modern principles of business amplify the prospect of this notion as brands are now focused more on the smallest viable audience, not the biggest possible audience! We mean it is hard to find a brand making the most affordable along with the most expensive. So if a brand for you feels interesting, believe us, they are equally, if not more, interested to serve people like you!

Several studies have also suggested that we get more happiness from anticipating experiential purchases than material goods. In dress shoes, it could be as simple as assistance to find the perfect fit, having an extra pair of waxed laces, a pot of Saphir shoe cream, or maybe an option to send those shoes back to the label for a loving repair.   

Getting your dress shoes from a good brand, rather than an unbeknown label, is a little like selecting a car: Even the least-expensive vehicle will get you where you want to go, but the trip is a different experience in the finest Mercedes-Benz. Some of our favorite heritage firms are where the experience is so high and incredible that we feel like part of those excellent labels. 

You may not be after the experience clause, and the elements we’ve mentioned here might not be that appealing to you, after all, those just dress shoes! Such concepts transpire if you’re in for the long haul – something that modern society is not set up, at least, for that kind of relationship. I hope we’ve come across readers of that caliber! Either way, you still have three good reasons to shop from the best formal shoe brands in India. 

Our country may not be the most desiring dress shoe destination in the world (for now), but it is the most crowded – Which does nothing but complicates the task of knowing who makes your very perfect pair! We have been addressing this case for over 20 years now—we certainly have opinions—but it is not something we can conclude on our own.

To know what defines “Best Brands” on neutral grounds: We have asked readers to send us the names of their favorite brands. Going past the screens of our iMac; we engage in conversations with people from all walks of the sartorial world, asking what a firm ought to have to be among the best dress shoemakers. 

And the taste of “The Best” varies widely too. One person’s strawberry is another’s cherry. It turns out that notions for the best formal shoe brands in India were nearly as varied as the readers’ reasons for choosing them, though certain brands showed up over and over, notably Clarks and Pelle Santino. 

Many readers offered a bit of background regarding their choices—which I particularly loved. Loved as it echoes a fuller picture of what makes a brand great. From there, it becomes easier to pick apart the attributes that fit a general opinion. These are the ethos of the best formal shoe brands in India

What could connote a brand’s greatness better than what they stand for? I mean, other than a decent pair of dress shoes: What else do we need to fall in love with the maker? More than any opulence artifacts, dress shoe makers are still recognized more by painstaking craftsmanship than by a renowned name.   

Any shoemaking unit can be transformed into an upscale venue, under well-heeled investors, which is certainly impressive! Our formal shoe brands columnist visited such glamorous shoe rooms not to relish the ultra-luxe geniality but to see if the pairs measure up. To see if such newfound glamour has translated into exponentially better dress shoes or just better photographs?

Now more than ever, people are interested to know how and through what materials—the products we (plan to) pay for—are made. But dress shoes are not something you can’t decide if to really like or truly despise. In this genre, the pair will scream if it is from the best makers, while they will scream even louder if they are not! 

Knowing what makes a dress shoe great wouldn’t be an intimidating experience! Though the human race can knock out a new iPhone every 12 months, the tech that lands our feet best footwear has gone largely unchanged for 5,000 years. Here are the details of a golden equation creating solid foundations for centuries.

The relationship we have with our dress shoes should be a lasting one. If the pair under consideration is crafted from the best portion of a hide, it might even be for a lifetime. The tell-tale dense fiber structure shows that we have a pair built to last! Sounds straightforward, but like most things in shoemaking, there’s a lot more to it than that… 

Leather, more than any material the world knows, epitomizes dress shoes. The type of animal, portions of its hide, and even the layers within the hide – illustrate how it’ll age. It was leather’s different personalities and characters that inspired humans so long ago to spend the next few millenniums improving their methods of shoemaking.

A raw-hide can be up to an inch thick (when it comes off the animal), and curb layers of varying qualities. The topmost layer – Full Grain Leather – is a tightly “woven” maze of dense, healthy fiber staging the typical richness, depth, and character. 

Isn’t the “Top” Quality or Layer of the hide (Don’t ask us – we didn’t name them). Smoother, thinner, more workable, and more flexible than the full-grain.

If the strongest fiber of the skin seems to be a good compromise for a uniform look, then you’re in luck with Top Grain leather. Even after sanding, Top Grain leather remains strong and durable – but the refinishing process greatly reduces the leather’s breathability, and also prevents the leather from developing a natural patina over time.

But leather isn’t the only material that bears this hallmark. While smooth leather is the classic shade for formal shoes, it’s by no means your only option. A leather dress shoe is simple and basic. But swap the shoe for soft suede and it becomes a low-key luxury piece.

You might also consider nubuck. This has a similar feel but is actually made from the top grain of an animal’s hide, like regular leather, and sanded down. We firmly believe that you cannot make/have fine dress shoes without fine upper leather.

But with material made from polyester to mimic the softness of the real thing, it’s getting tougher for folks to easily spot a fake. Few formal shoe brands in India are making dress shoes from the best versions.   

As you ease past the “Grain” mark of the material, The animal from which it comes – does make a difference. For every skin – We do have a list of features that separates ’em, but unlike the Full Grain Leather – no one animal’s skin can be tagged as “The Best”! 

Animal skin preference has always been and will always be deeply personal. There are a couple of options in the collection of our picks for best formal shoe brands in India, a subject that deserves a separate article, but a full-grain calf or calf grain dress shoe over-delivers the value you’re paying. 

As the name suggests, the calf grain comes from a younger animal that’s only four to six months old. The result is a material that is strong yet supple. The fiber structure of the leather is fresher, finer, and more supple than older skins. That is what makes it so expensive. 

The answer almost always lies in the quality of leather that wraps your feet, and pinning down a beautiful one for your next pair of dress shoes isn’t complicated… just put your own stamp on it!

Apart from Densely Grained Leather, A good firm will always have somebody fervent about the material and ardent about hospitality. Ask ’em! They want you to be happy enough to return. Rely on your senses, and make sure it smells and feels leathery. The more you know about where your shoes come from and how the best formal shoe brands in India make ’em – the better!

Let me try my best to make sense of it: Through the type of leather used… shoemakers show their ambitions. The leather they work with reflects where they want to be on the spectrum. It goes far beyond just “The Leather” for fine-tuning the dress shoe to the “best brand” caliber. 

To what extent do they reflect the shape and silhouette of the feet, the proportions of the patterns, how pointed the toe is, and how narrow the waist is, plenty more choices came away with the distinct feeling that fewer things were considered when they sent a man to the Moon!

But nowhere is a more logical mind required than to decide how to bring on the sole of the dress shoe (no pun intended)! Maybe ’cause it is classically associated as the straightforward reflection of how a firm will be perceived in the sartorial world, or how durable (or repairable) the dress shoes will be. 

Maybe ’cause of the massive dissimilarity in cost associated with different methods of bottom making. Each firm has its reason to consider it. But unlike the choices for leather: the sole of a dress shoe can either be Glued or Stitched. Or, as a brand like Thursday Boots calls them: Heritage Boots versus Disposable Footwear.   

Though the sartorial world isn’t wall-to-wall with recipes that wove a new story of how to stitch the sole of dress shoes, there are still two methods to consider! Perhaps it’s a more personal affair to rank one over the other, there still, thankfully, remains something incredibly special about the Goodyear Welting!

Roughly 170 years after Charles Goodyear map out what’s been called “the recipe to craft the most durable dress shoes,” there’s no way around it… yet! 

While just one stitch is enough to hold all the component parts of the shoe together (that’s Goodyear’s sleeker cousin – Blake Stitch) with enough capacities to reject whatever you throw on ’em…

Too often, people never come to know, that they truly like a shoe (especially dress shoes) because of its shape, not because of its patterns, color, style, etc. And what defines shape is, actually, the beating heart of a shoe—The Last. It’s not a massive catalog of styles that the best brands take pride in, but having a diverse selection of lasts is what the nerds get so animated for!

What draws us to a brand? It’s certainly not because they are super affordable. Then we’d just tie a synthetic block around our feet. Is it their world-class dress shoes? Then we might live with artifacts from Edward Green that most people can only dream of being able to afford. When you’re next settling down to a brand, you’re actually settling down to the best deal! 

The best formal shoe brands in India convey a sense of synergy between what we pay and what we get. But it’s not a physical or mental notion so much as a psychological one. We have our ways to consider the pay-and-get concern that is fraught with the fear of making a mistake, of wasting money, and of appearing foolish in front of other people.

The “race to the bottom” (or for the filthy-rich readers: race to the top!) has totally ruined our perception of value; we literally have no idea what our shoes (or clothes, or anything else) should cost, and low prices have become so normalized that we don’t even second-guess them. Price is not a straightforward reflection of what value such shoes convey. 

To know which brand will deliver you the best value, trace the Rampant discounting! It has trained us to doubt the price of anything, whether it’s a ₹20,000 dress shoe or a ₹2000 one. Wait a few weeks or months, and the price going to be marked down. And if it’s so easy for a formal shoe brand to slash those prices, then surely the original number was too high, to begin with, right?

A few hundred rupees for cemented synthetic upper shoes, double that for the upper of genuine leather. Those blake stitched full-grain leather pieces are worth nothing more than five thousand rupees and sand-off that range with a few hundred if the upper sanded as well! Indeed, Goodyear Welted artifacts won’t be easy on the wallet: but don’t stretch it beyond nine thousand.  

We have long contended that the best values in dress shoes fall into these ranges. That’s where many brands can work traditionally with different materials and still earn enough to sustain their businesses. So brands serving beyond the nine thousand rupee bar are charging for the brand name, markups, and other elements that might have little to do with the quality of the shoes, right? Wrong.

Initially, we get more out of our money. Upgrading to a better quality dress shoe—switching from synthetic leather cemented pair to a top-grain blake stitched, or full-grain blake pair—is damn affordable until we reach the bar of the nine thousand rupees full-grain welted pair—that is actually where we hit the point of satiety. 

Beyond that, begins the nuances of shoemaking! Where you have to pay way more for even the smallest tweak. Linking the price of the upper echelon dress shoes to the quality they endure to extract the best deal is tricky for many reasons. Once we steer towards incorporeal details, we begin to think: Who wants to spend more money than necessary on anything? 

Higher prices for, say, cars, are easier to justify because of tangible attributes. Anybody can notice the virtually silent state-of-the-art engine, the track record of craftsmanship, and the baubles and ornaments added as options.

But in those dress shoes, you have to be enthusiastic enough to see the sweat equity of achieving the sharpest feather line guiding a fiddle waist sole or the laborious hand-lasting work of a patient craftsman mimicking the Last Shape.

Talking much about those super-expensive shoes can cost us your attention, Gentleman! But as you’ve managed to read the things we’ve written so far, I can assume you are not from that unbeknown state where many lesser informed individuals think these pair are the same as the next, and besides, they all contain the same key ingredient… leather!

The notion that “Dress shoes are not what they are, but what they might become” raises fears. The pairs dropping away into oblivion right from the first wear will certainly worsen with age. Much worse. And some pairs mature from awkward, inarticulate youth to expressive beauty, and some can, eventually, turn into elegant complexity. 

What is clear, in an age where there isn’t much that you can’t make just as well and more cheaply, is that every dress shoe begins from the no man’s land! Indeed, dress shoes from the same shoemaker can last very differently, depending on how you use and care for ’em. Predictions of the path of evolution rely on detailed information but… 

…formal shoe brands in India have not been transparent historically, particularly about such attributes of their products.

How long can a dress shoe last? Surprisingly, not even the experts could comment on fresh-off-the-box shoes’ durability. But every dress shoe merchant would love to postulate how long their great loafers, derby, or even top-drawer oxfords will stay on a plateau of perfection, or if they could ever hurtle downhill.

Many shoemakers would wax poetic, say, about the full-grain leather they craft their shoes from. But the most important for how that leather will age is to know about the tanning process… which, well, rarely any brand will even talk about. Many such aging questions just add more layers of doubt to a subject with a seemingly endless capacity to induce angst in otherwise confident people. 

Indeed, the best formal shoe brands in India are simply about the fascinating combination of material and craftsmanship that tones with the price. But the investment becomes even more convincing when done through those who deem more knowledgeable. Predictions are the ease when a brand heritage-heavy great story behind it. 

History is big business in the sartorial world. Most formal shoe brands worth their salt have a good 50 years under their belt, if not more. Words such as “heritage”, “tradition” and “craft” are frequently sprinkled across their press releases. Reissues are presented as “icons”. Journalists visit “the archive”. 

But is it just the name heavily associated with shoemaking heritage and history, or it has anything about the quality of shoes? Such brands have served long enough to become truly fantastic at what they do. Gaining more details to learn from, a heritage-heavy brand becomes more established with every passing year.   

We visit dress shoemakers as frequently as other people do grocery stores, and not always with buying in mind, but to know the beloved story behind that firm. And the more we discover and explore, the more we realize it’s the lives of the folks behind the oxfords and derbies that we’re actually paying (celebrating) for.

We get asked often: What are you looking for in BestShoe99 Best formal shoe brands in India? We’re always hooked when there is the soul and a story to go with quality material and its commission into classic styles. It’s hard to deny the reflection of lived experience imbued in a pair from an old brand.

There’s something quietly exciting about ensembling a formal wardrobe. The skill and the thrill of hitting your sartorial measures and formality ratios just right. 

The difference a touch of the intensity or structure can make to dress shoes both suede and smooth calf. The delicate and beautiful finish of a perfectly hand-lasted pair. It’s an intoxicating business.

And that’s before we even touch on the variety of styles. With the possible combinations of Oxford, Derby, Loafers, and Brogues at your disposal, there are almost more moves sitting in your sartorial cabinet than there are in the squares of a chess board. 

But, to play this particular game right, you need to know the greatest variation. And that’s where this segment comes in. So kick back, grab a glass and trawl through these designs; the 6 silhouettes every gentleman should try.

These are “The Dress Shoe” for your dressiest demands which, in present formal attire, could be assembled past the dressiest outfits. Yet, The Oxfords remain the epitome of formal wear and aren’t likely to undergo a radical revision any time soon. 

When we’re talking brogues, we’re not talking about a silhouette, but the detailing that goes on top of it. Defined by the perforated decoration around the upper of a shoe’s visible edges, it’s possible to get Derby brogues, Oxford brogues, and even monk brogues. 

A silhouette that marks the growing desire for exclusivity – provokes when you realize that you are wearing the same style as every other person in the room. Owning a monk is – well – a purchase of something that little bit rarer – which is just one reason for the growing interest in the so-called ‘modern Derby’.

If ever something in the male wardrobe was misnamed it’s the loafer. It is, after all, the hardest working shoe around. Given its laidback appearance and light structure, you can see why the term was lent to this style of shoe, which was first introduced in Norway in the 1930s.

Low sitting and without laces, they have a moccasin-like upper, often with a piece of leather straddling the upper (the saddle). Note: no detail on the upper, and the presence of a heel, differentiates the loafer from its cousin, the moccasin. 

Inherently less formal than their laced- and buckled-up brethren. Thankfully, loafers have evolved since then. The Best formal shoe brands in India come with shapes sleek and stylish enough to wear with even your sharpest two-button. 

Of course, your choice of material and finish will determine just how formal the loafer is; suede is better suited to smart-casualwear and to the warmer, drier months, and that full-grain one benefit from rugged country-going styling. A smooth calf is perfect for wearing around town, and for formalwear.

But a black penny loafer takes on the character of any outfit—when you’re in a business suit, it’s formal; when you’re in a polo and jeans, it’s casual. No matter the loafer style you’re after, there’s not a damn thing in your wardrobe that a loafer won’t work with.

A well-styled loafer speaks of elegance and refinement – you just need to know where to find the best. Though when it comes to loafers, Bestshoe99 has a pretty decent reputation. Feel free to check our picks!

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For the gentleman struggling to Dodge The Robustness while persuing the sartorial success – imagine an old Italian cobbler got his hands on some Doc Martens, and you start to get the idea: Dress boots!