OK, I admit it. I’ve put off purchasing anything remotely resembling dress shoes for a million years or so. Which makes it a bit tough when your friends get married. I’ve actually been wearing the same black dress shoes I got married in to every single wedding and special event for six years now.

It was high time to buy some shoes to wear to weddings, especially with three of them coming up within a few months. Actually, I would have kept on wearing those old Cole Haan shoes that I have since they’ve held up surprisingly well. The main issue was that there isn’t much padding on the back of the heel which I’ve found causes me chafing and blisters. Lately, it’s been like taking a vegetable peeler to your heel when wearing it longer than a few hours.

So I went a-shoe huntin’. And I found some shoes in an unlikely place: Kohl’s! I would have never thought to try there, but the other day we were shopping for shirts for upcoming weddings decided to try stop there on the way home. They actually built one within 5 minutes from our house.

Kohl’s had a surprising amount of shoes in my size (8) which was cool because they often run out. What I was going for was a black all-purpose oxford type shoe that I could wear to weddings, funerals, and every other function that required me to dress up (Full Disclosure: I hate dressing up for anything).

I immediately found these black Dockers Manhattan Oxfords in my size that were normally 70 bucks that were on sale for only $48. They also had the Dockers Gordon Oxford which are very similar to the Bishop except for a stitching line going across the front of the shoe.

I decided to jump in feet first (pun intended) and purchased the shoes. While trying them on, they certainly looked and felt like it was what I wanted, but we were a bit rushed so I had some slight concerns. This was, after all, going to be my main shoe for dress-up functions.

So, we just went to our first wedding with my new Dockers last weekend and I have to say they were a big success. Not that anyone is looking at a guy’s shoes at a wedding, but I felt pretty good in them. The comfort was definitely there on the bottom, with an “All Motion Comfort Gel pad” making your foot snug in the heel. And the back of the heel had a ton more padding than my old Cole Haan’s, though I could have used even MORE padding for extra comfort. The overall fit of the shoe was actually better as well.

I was a bit skeptical about the slightly higher heel on the bottom (seems like almost 1 inch) which almost makes it look and feel like a hiking shoe. But I think I started to appreciate that extra level of comfort that an inch of rubber makes because we had to walk in a procession from the chapel to the reception (an interesting wedding complete with latin marching band and the guests shaking maracas).

Usually, by the midpoint of the reception, I’m absolutely aching to get home and change out of my shoes but the Dockers kept my foot spirits up. They aren’t the most stylish of shoes, but they’ll do in a pinch. The only complaint I had was that the laces that came with it weren’t exactly manufactured very well. They were a bit hard to tie and kept on undoing themselves because I was walking around quite a bit. But other than that, the Dockers Manhattan is a great choice for those who want comfort in a respectable shoe that isn’t super flamboyant.

Dockers Manhattan (Men’s) - $65.00
Available at Shoebuy.com

Shoe Name: Dockers Manhattan Oxfords Purchased/Seen At: Kohl’s Approx Price: $48.00
Comfort:
Style:
Versatility:
Overall Value: