Oxford options: Please help me pick!

Dear all,

I'm having an oxford dilemma--actually I'm having a huge and somewhat paralyzing wardrobe dilemma, but I'm starting with the oxford question. What are your thoughts on the ones below?

Background: I don't currently own a good pair of oxfords. I want something comfortable and walkable, and also versatile, which I could wear with pants (ideally with different types of leg cuts) and possibly also with dresses or skirts.

I am considering buying two pairs because I need a three-season pair to be worn in cool and possibly wet weather, and I also need something for summer, for those days when I want more coverage than a sandal or ballet flat would provide.

Also: I own a couple of skinny pants but I am more of a straight-leg or bootcut kind of person. Not sure if oxfords can be worn with both, but it would be so great to find one that could. Or one for bootcuts and one for skinnies/dresses, since I will probably buy two?

Thanks in advance for any advice! Sorry I've been absent from the forum lately, a series of sicknesses at home and other time-consuming demands kept me away...

6PM.com

Wolverine Maisie Oxford

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Enzo Angiolini Fireballe

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Børn Bristol

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Fidji L473

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Aldo Legalle

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DSW

Kenneth Cole Reaction Button Ball Oxford

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Franco Sarto Alicia

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9 years ago

Mellllls

Veteran

i really like those fidgi ones. i think they'd work most seasons and with pants and skirts.

K.M.

Melllls I love them too, they are my favorites of the bunch! Glad to hear they might be more versatile than I first thought.

old chic

Active Member

I had a couple pairs of oxfords like the fidgis (in cream and black and plum and cream) from topshop a few years ago, and they worked well with both pants and skirts. I really like the laceless ones, too, though you need some bravery to carry those off with skirts, I do think they'd work with culottes or even shorts as well as pants. And they puzzle those who don't "get" the laceless thing, which I like

Daria

I own the Born pair and find it versatile and comfy. Not sure about quality/durability as they are relatively new. Fidji pair looks like fun!

rabbit

What colors of pants would you be wearing them with? My personal preference is for oxfords with skinny (particularly rolled or cropped) pants and with skirts/dresses/shorts because I think they look best with more ankle showing. Alternately with slim skinnies or pants that are fairly close fitting at the ankle (and have at least a hint of skin).

For straight legs or bootcuts my tendency might be to go with oxfords that match the pants color or are a bold color contrast -- because I'm not certain they work as a 'nude' shoe with these cuts of pants?

I'm most drawn to the yellow/buff ones and the laceless gray ones of the options above because they seem the most fresh/springy or the Fidji's if you have a retro element to your style -- I can picture them particularly with cropped pants or skirts.

Diana

I vote for the borns, as I have 2 pairs of the now discontinued Arlettas, which look almost identical, and I find them super versatile. I wear them with all kinds of pants as well as skirts and dresses. It's a low enough profile, particularly in a lighter color, to work with skirts.

The fidjis are really pretty too!

rachylou

The Aldo Legalle's I have in my Finds... and also have a pair of such laceless ones IRL... so... those are my pick (!!)

Thanks everyone for your feedback! Now I basically want them all.

Rabbit, that's a great question and partly has to do with my larger wardrobe dilemmas and needs. I think I probably need a pair of dark oxfords and a pair of lighter-colored ones. My pant colors are light taupe, cream, light gray, navy, dark jeans, light jeans, and--if I count my Fall/Winter trousers--brown tweed and salt-and-pepper tweed. If I could afford it I probably would get a black pair, a brown or cognac pair, and a lighter colored one (the Fidjis or a pair in nude). But I do have some black ankle boots that go OK with the wool trousers so I suppose I'll focus on nude and brown.

I found this pair also and am considering it for a dark option. Thoughts?

Fidji L694

cheryle (Dianthus)

(website)

The fidgis would probably look better with a skirt as they are a bit more feminine but I like the borns too.

Greyscale

For myself, I prefer slightly heavy oxfords with straight leg pants, and perhaps slimmer cut oxfords (perhaps laceless) with skinnies or skirts. Not that that's a rule, by any means. I was just pondering your point about possibly getting two pairs.

I have a pair of J Crew boys' dress oxfords that I wear with rolled skinnies or rolled boyfriend jeans. With really-skinny skinnies I wear a pair of slim Fleuvog oxfords, but I've been moving away from that look. Also, my feet are shaped more like the boys' clunky shoes than the slender Fluevogs, so there's a practical aspect.

Greyscale makes a really good point about the 'heaviness' of the shoe (sole, shape, etc.) depending on what it's pared with. I think that is what I was trying to get at but couldn't articulate.

Good points about a chunkier shoe with straight- and wide-leg cuts. I just wonder if pairing a heavier oxford (such as the Enzo Angiollini's above) with trousers would just be too all-around masculine? The other thing is that my feet are on the long side for my height and I am short-legged, so I always think I look better with slimmer shoes that attenuate this proportion. But then again it could all be in my head.

orai

Fortunately I have the fidgi ones and they are really comfortable and match perfectly with my pants.

orai, thanks for sharing your experience! Do you have them in this color (cream/caramel)?

hm..i also like the fidgis you posted in your reply. i think those would be very versatile.

Dixie

My vote goes for the second and third picture!

Mellllls, yes, I am now tempted to get them possibly instead of the other, more whimsical pair. I also like that they remind me of a low-cut ankle bootie. I also checked out the Fidji website and when I saw they way they styled the bicolor (or a similar pair), I felt differently about it. They made it look very pin-up-y.

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