The 10 Best Oxford Shoes to Dress Up Any Outfit (2024)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.